'Bigger Picture Worth Considering' By Investing In A New CMS: OPINION

EVERGREEN PARK, IL—I've lived in Evergreen Park for 13 years, and this community has become home to our family of five.

I currently have two children in Evergreen Park ESD 124, and my oldest just graduated and is now at Evergreen Park Community High School. We've had a lot of experience with these schools (Southwest and Central Middle School). I can say that the teachers have been wonderful, and I've watched CMS and its leadership make meaningful improvements over the past several years.

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That's also why I know how important the middle school years are. Being a pre-teen or teenager is a wonky enough time in life without having your school environment add to it. Kids deserve a place that feels safe, welcoming, and built for the way they learn today.

Central Middle School is approaching 100 years old, and the district's proposal would replace it with a new building. I understand the financial consideration for homeowners and why that's something everyone has to think seriously about. The funny thing is that my own kids probably won't benefit from the new school. By the time it opens, they'll have moved on.

And yet, that's EXACTLY what makes me think about this differently.

Schools aren't only about the children who happen to be sitting in the classrooms today. People move to Evergreen Park because of the schools, the neighborhoods and the sense that this is a place where families can put down roots.

We are a village. What we build, maintain, and invest in today becomes part of the community that future families inherit.

I don't pretend the cost isn't important. It is. But I also think there is value in looking beyond our own immediate circumstances and asking what kind of community we want Evergreen Park to be years from now, even if our own children won't be the ones sitting in those new classrooms.

For me, that bigger picture is definitely worth considering.

Karen Shimek,

Evergreen Park resident