History of District 68
Our school district opened in 1898 in a two-room schoolhouse called Sharp Corner School. It was located at the corner of Gross Point, Church, and Hwy. 41. The school served a large township; children walked to school from areas now known as Glenview and Evanston . Below are some selected highlights from our long history.
 
Designated as District 1 in the town of Niles Center in 1901

Became Niles Center District 68 in 1902

Jane Stenson began teaching at Sharp Corner School in 1916

A second school, College Hill School , opened sometime after Sharp Corner School . College Hill left District 68 in 1930 and became District 68.5 until they joined the Evanston School District .

Sharp Corner School was rebuilt in 1928, with additions in 1934, 1936, 1950, 1958, and 1960

District 68 PTA established in 1929

Graduates from Sharp Corner School attended Evanston High School until 1930. After 1930, graduates attended Niles Township High School (currently Lincoln Jr. High - Dist. 69)

Jane Stenson became principal of Sharp Corner School in 1929

The town of Niles Center was renamed Village of Skokie in 1940

A three-man Board of Directors governed the school district from 1898 – 1944. A seven-person Board of Education was instituted in 1944

Jane Stenson left Sharp Corner in 1949 due to illness but returned to full-time teaching there in 1950. She retired from District 68 in 1957

Jane Stenson School was built in 1953

Devonshire School was built in 1955

Highland School was built in 1958

Old Orchard Junior High was built in 1960. Offices of the Board of Education were housed at OOJH

Student enrollment in District 68 was 4, 216 in 1965

Sharp Corner School rented to Solomon Schechter in 1978

The Board of Education built the Educational Service Center in 1972. The offices of the Board of Education remained at the ESC until 1982. From 1982 to 1986 the ESC was rented to a private business, and the offices of the Board of Education moved back to OOJH. Since 1989 the ESC has been used for offices of the Board of Education and until April, 2007, a portion of the building was rented to the Niles Township Schools Credit Union. The Credit Union moved to their own site in the spring of 2007. Currently, 1,300 square feet of private office space at the south end of the Educational Service Center is dedicated to the Niles Township ELL Parent Center.

 

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