Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The proposal to transition locations, vacating two buildings and erecting another, was presented to the Oak Park Village Board on Monday night as a “win-win-win-win-win.”
A new collaborative proposal from Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and the Park District of Oak Park to build a joint administrative facility atop the parking lot south of the Oak Park Village Hall was presented to the Village Board of Trustees on Monday, with the Districts pledging an overall benefit to taxpayers and to the Village. The concept, which the presenters freely acknowledged is still rough and relatively broad at this point, would move D97 and Park District administrative services to the new building, freeing up the current locations at 970 Madison St. and 218 Madison St. for sale and relocating their Buildings and Grounds departments as well as Village Public Works. (See graphic to the right for all proposed location …
41.880015
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Village Hall, Village of Oak Park
123 Madison St, Oak Park, IL
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246066
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
Substandard progress, defined by the No Child Left Behind act, triggers a transfer option at Oak Park elementary school.
- BACK TO SCHOOL
- Casey Cora
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
Parents of students in William Beye Elementary School will have the option to move their children into other Oak Park Elementary District 97 schools. Parents were notified in an Aug. 8 letter of the option to move their kids out of Beye Elementary, where a "subgroup" of students for the second year in a row did not meet its reading and math targets laid out in the controversial No Child Left Behind law. That means Beye has been placed on what's known as "federal improvement status," which, among other mandated improvements, requires so-called underperforming schools to offer families a chance to switch to Whittier Elementary School or Hatch Elementary School, facilities that closely match Beye's enrollment figures. (Plus, they're the …
Monday, May 21, 2012
Oak Park middle schoolers earn top honors in state track meet and music festival.
From Oak Park Elementary School District 97 The track teams from Gwendolyn Brooks and Percy Julian Middle Schools earned several medals and top finishes during the state meet held by the Illinois Elementary School Association on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 in East Peoria, Illinois. Mary Blankemeier, a seventh grader from Brooks who took first place in the 2011 Girls AA Cross Country Champion state meet held in the fall, captured first place and set a state record of five minutes and 10.23 seconds in the 1600 meter run. In addition to Blankemeier, who also took second place in the 800 meter dash, Chisom Nwoko, an eighth grader from Brooks, finished first in the 400 meter dash. Other notable performances included: The girls track …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
School board OKs recommendations to fill spots at Brooks and Julian middle schools.
Oak Park's two middle schools have new principals. The Oak Park Elementary School District 97 school board on Tuesday approved recommendations by Supt. Al Roberts to hire veteran educators Todd Fitzgerald and Mike Michowski. Fitzgerald will lead Percy Julian Middle School, taking over for retiring principal Victoria Sharts. Michowski takes over Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School after principal Tom Sindelar announced his surprise resignation in March. Fitzgerald, 39, has served as principal for Brookfield's S.E. Gross Middle School for the past six years. Michowski, 47, has been principal of Prairie Hill School in South Beloit for the past 13 years. The pair beat out roughly 75 candidates for the jobs. They'll start July 1, with base salaries …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Announcements to come at Tuesday's D97 board meeting.
The Oak Park Elementary School District 97 school board is expected to name new principals to its two middle schools on Tuesday, according to an online agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting. Longtime Percy Julian Middle School principal Victoria Sharts announced her retirement earlier this year. Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School principal Tom Sindelar announced his surprise resignation in March. About 75 applicants applied for Julian position. Shortly after Sindelar's resignation, the applicants for both jobs were pooled together, district spokesman Chris Jasculca said. Through a screening process, the pool was narrowed by Supt. Al Roberts and other administrators to 12 and then down to six. Those six candidates underwent interviews by …
Friday, January 20, 2012
Inclement weather scraps most extracurriculars; OPRF Athletics are still on for Friday.
Fenwick High School students were released on an early dismissal at 1:15 p.m. Friday. All athletics and extracurriculars canceled. Oak Park-River Forest High School students did not attend classes today, part of a prescheduled day off. The building closed to staffers at 2 p.m. but officials say all home and away athletic events are still on for Friday, including 4:30 p.m. freshmen boys basketball; 5 p.m. boys swimming; 6 p.m. sophomore boys basketball; 7:30 p.m. varsity boys’ basketball and the wrestling meet at Glenbard West. Trinity High School closed Friday at 1 p.m. River Forest Public Schools District 90 has canceled Friday's district-related activities and PTO-sponsored events. Lincoln and Willard schools will dismiss at 3:10 p.m…
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Government agencies will meet Tuesday to announce settlement agreement.
Update: The elected boards of the Village of Oak Park, Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and Oak Park River Forest Community High School District 200 voted to approve the settlement agreement at Tuesday's meeting. The vote was 19-1, with District 200 Trustee Sharon Patchak-Layman opposing the measure and Oak Park Trustee Bob Tucker absent. In her opposition, Patchak-Layman offered an impassioned plea against tax increment finances (TIF) funding. "The problem with TIFS is that those school dollars are diverted from services to something called 'economic development,'" she said. "I do not believe that school tax dollars should be used for anything but providing an educational program to students." Original story: A years long tussle …
Friday, November 4, 2011
With international flair, Oak Park elementary school throws a party.
Hungry for a cultural experience? Then head over to the International Taste of Holmes celebration on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School, 508 N. Kenilworth Ave. in Oak Park. Organized the Holmes PTO, the event is "allows families, students and staff to participate together in an evening that features a potluck, an international fashion show and multicultural education." Sounds like fun. And if you're headed out there on Saturday, why not share some pictures with us? It's easy. Just click the big lime-green "submit my photos" button above.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Oak Park attorney will take over vacant board seat until April 2013.
An Oak Park mother of twin boys, attorney and civic luminary has been appointed to seat on the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 board vacated by Jennifer Reddy. Amy Felton was unanimously selected by board members at Tuesday's school board meeting. Her term begins immediately and will expire in April 2013. Earlier: District 97 Sets Process to Fill Board Vacancy “Though there were a number of exemplary candidates who applied for the position, Amy’s experience, leadership in the community and vision for the district set her apart,” board president Peter Barber said in a statement. “We believe she will be a wonderful addition to our team, and look forward to working with her on the important issues that will shape the future of our …
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
To honor Indian custom, students take to the sidewalk to create drawings.
Visitors to Brooks Middle School, consider yourselves welcomed. Students have taken to the sidewalks outside the school at 325 S. Kenilworth Ave. to practice their take on Rangoli, the traditional Indian folk art used as temporary welcoming mat outside a home, as "visual prayers and to ward off evil and bring good luck," said art instructor Kristi Murray. Tuesday's colorful exercise was part of a larger program at the school in which students will focus on a new country or region each month. Throughout the year, they'll learn about the culture and customs of Japan, South Africa, the Caribbean and other points around the globe. In addition to the Rangoli drawings, which saw small groups of students kneeling on the sidewalk and creating …
41.882924
-87.796994
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
325 S Kenilworth Ave, Oak Park, IL
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246236
/locations/5524882
Casey Cora
11:59 am on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Some additional comments from District 97 spokesman Chris Jasculca: "While we believe NCLB has some redeeming qualities, it also has significant flaws that tend to mislead the general public and unfairly malign the hard work of educators. In addition, it promotes a shortsighted, box score approach to assessing student achievement and fails to accurately measure how much progress students have … more ›