Park
School
Park School History
In 1949, Shore Community Services, a group of parents of children with disabilities was formed. Led by Lois and Thomas Lloyd, they established the first school for North Shore children with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, initially inside the Lloyd's Evanston home. In 1953 the program, which came to be known as Park School, became a state-supported pilot project for children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. It was one of the first of its kind in the state of Illinois. In 1954, the Evanston School Board assumed responsibility for Park School, and in 1985 it moved to its current home on Main Street, on the site of the former Central School.
It is unknown exactly where the name Park School came from. It may relate back to a related summer play school for children with disabilities that Shore Community Services ran in Leahy Park in the 1950s, and/or to Ellingwood Park, which was near the school when it was based at Covenant Methodist Church in North Evanston.
The D65 School History project is the result of a partnership with Evanston History Center. This research was completed by the Evanston History Center with references to www.shoreservices.org and Evanston Review, November 20, 1980 p15.
School History
Interested in the history of other District 65 schools?
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