By Trine Tsouderos, Tribune staff reporter.
published on April 19, 2005 in the ChicagoTribune, North Shore Final
Copyright 2005, Chicago Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

A tiny private elementary school has signed an agreement to buy National-Louis University's historic campus on Sheridan Road in Evanston and Wilmette, school officials announced Monday.

The news comes as welcome relief to Baker Demonstration School's 280 pupils, their parents and staff, ending months of uncertainty after Baker's parent institution, National-Louis University, announced last year that it would sell the approximately 7-acre campus where the school is housed.

"This is our home," said Bill Melsheimer, director of the elementary school. "Not only our physical presence, but also our psychological and symbolic presences are really here."

Baker is also considering selling a portion of the NorthShore property to a developer for single-family homes, said officials, who added that details of the plan are still being worked out. Dennis Marino, director of Evanston's planning division, said the city is interested in what happens to the property but did not know any specifics.

School officials would not disclose terms of the agreement, including the purchase price and when they would take possession. But last year, university officials said they hoped to get as much as $25 million from the sale of the campus, which is near Wilmette's landmark BahaiTemple.

Private sources put up the money behind the bid for the campus, officials said.

"We're blessed to have some families who have been extremely generous in terms of making gifts to make this possible," said Mark Ter Molen, Baker's school board president.

Baker was founded by what is now National-Louis University in 1918 as a place to train teachers. In 1926 the university and the elementary school moved from Chicago to Evanston.

Last May, National-Louis announced it would sell its NorthShore campus, citing students' desires for a school closer to Interstate Highway 94 and better parking, said Chris Anderson, National-Louis spokesman.

Also, retrofitting the buildings with technology proved to be prohibitively expensive, Anderson said.

The university plans to move within 5 miles of its NorthShore location, he said. School officials will make an announcement on the university's new home within several weeks, he said.

National-Louis' decision to sell the campus left the fate of Baker up in the air.

"We were concerned about where we were going to hang our hats," Melsheimer said.

In September, National-Louis agreed to relinquish control of Baker, granting it independence. The school is scheduled to take over the reins this summer.

Despite the separation, virtually the entire staff is expected to stay on, said Ter Molen.

Baker is known for small classes and for its practice of placing two teachers in every classroom.

"The best thing about the school is they figure out ways to get each kid excited about learning," said Ter Molen, who has two children in the school.

Tuition is on a sliding scale but averages $11,500 to $12,000 a year, officials said.

With extra space once National-Louis moves out, Baker may expand to about 450 pupils, Melsheimer said.

"We have been working on this very hard for about a year," said Ter Molen. "And it's nice to see the fruits of our labor."

Copyright 2005, Chicago Tribune. All Rights Reserved.