Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) is a public four-year high school located inOak Park, a suburb ofChicago,Illinois. It is the only school in Oak Park and River Forest District 200. Founded in 1871, the current school building opened in 1907.
OPRF has been listed six times onNewsweek's top 1500 American public schools, as measured by theChallenge Index.[14] In 2009, the school was ranked #549.[14] In previous years, the school was ranked No. 554 (2003), No. 590 (2005), No. 501 (2006), No. 688 (2007), and No. 379 (2008).[14]
The boundary of the school district, which is also the attendance boundary of the high school, includes all of Oak Park and almost all of the area of River Forest (the remaining part of River Forest is zoned for recreational/institutional use). The feeder school districts areOak Park Elementary School District 97 andRiver Forest School District 90.[15]
The school's crest is a shield divided into three sections.[16] The top left section depicts anacorn cradled in theleaves of anoak tree.[16] The bottom section consists of horizontal wavy lines, suggesting a flowing river, while the right section depicts a group of three trees which represents a park or forest (thus incorporating the town names "Oak Park and River Forest").[16] The top left section is separated from the other two sections by a wide divider inscribed with the school's mottoΤΑ Γ'ΑΡΙΣΤΑ (Those things that are best).[16] The crest has been a symbol of the school since 1908.[16]
Instead of having a valedictorian, the high school presents the Scholarship Cup. This is an award presented to the graduating seniors with the highest weighted GPA in their graduating class after the seventh semester of enrollment (though transfer students remain eligible for the award, provided they have been in attendance for five semesters before the Cup is awarded.[17]
The school sponsors several organizations related to studying or performing in the arts.
On October 31, 1907, the school's orchestra was founded. While more common today, Oak Park was one of the first schools to offer credit toward graduation based on student performance in the orchestra.[25][26]
Among the school's music and song groups are agospel choir, two jazz bands, a jazz combo, amarching band &color guard, and apep band.[27] The school also has three choirs during the school day: aTreble Choir, aChorale, and anA Cappella Choir. The school also has three small audition-only student-run groups, which include 5–6 members each. These are Take 5 (boys only), Six Chicks (girls only), and No Strings (girls only). There are also medium-sized groups that are school-sponsored, aMadrigals group, and a show choir.[27] It also has a concert band, symphonic band, wind symphony, wind ensemble, two concert orchestras, and a symphony orchestra.
The school supports a dance team in addition to adrill team and an orchesis group.[27]
The school supports eleven stage productions each year, including four in the "Little Theatre," four in the black box "Studio 200" space, a summer and winter musical, and a one-act festival.[27] In support of these, the school not only sponsors a stage crew group for students but atheatrical makeup group as well as aprops group which locates for purchase, repairs, and maintains props for the various productions.[27] Student performers who excel in their performance may be inducted into the school's chapter of theInternational Thespian Society.[27] The Studio 200 group supports students interested in gaining experience in all aspects of theatrical production from acting and directing to publicity and the technical arts.[27]
Among theplastic arts the school supports an overarching arts club in addition to a photography club and wheel throwing club which emphasizespottery.[27]
The School has a speech team that participates in the IHSA State series.[27]
The school also has an annual literary and arts publication,The Crest, which has been active since 1893 and displays student-submitted art and poetry and is published and distributed to students toward the end of every school year. It is one of the oldest high school literary journals in the country.
The school has one of the country's oldest continuous high school television news programs,Newscene, founded in 1982. The television program won a Cable ACE in 1983 for innovative programming forExtra-Help an early live interactive program. Today the school's high-definition television studio hosts numerous productions, including the award-winning weekly newsmagazine showNewscene Live, airing throughout the metro area on Comcast Cable.[citation needed]
In January 2018, a docuseries entitledAmerica to Me premiered at the Sundance film festival. Director Steve James and his team followed several OPRF students throughout the 2015–2016 school year to explore the relationship between race and education.[28]
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in: basketballcross country, soccer, swimming anddiving, tennis,track and field, volleyball, andwater polo.[32] Young men may compete in baseball, golf,football, andwrestling, while women may compete in badminton,cheerleading, gymnastics, andsoftball.[32] While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors teams for young men and women inlacrosse, in addition to afield hockey anddrill team for young women.[32] While not sponsored by the school, there is anice hockey team affiliated with the school.[33]
By school policy, athletes must maintain a "D" average (1.0GPA) to compete and practice.[30] If in any week, an athlete has any cumulative grade in any course that is not a minimum of a "D", that student is required to attend an academic support program for a minimum of 10 minutes the following week.[30] Any athlete finishing two consecutive quarters of study with a failing grade are ineligible for athletic participation.[30]
The following teams have won their respective IHSA-sponsored state championship tournament or meet:[31]
IHSA State Championships for Oak Park-River Forest HS
In the school's early history, there were semi-annual "field days" in which students competed for various prizes (medals, cups, sporting equipment, cakes) in events such as thehammer throw,three-legged race,sack race, andobstacle course.[34] In the absence of regularly scheduled interscholastic meets, the Cook County High School Athletic Union hosted an annual field day which would involve top athletes from the county schools.[35]
From 1900 to 1913, Oak Park was a member of the Cook County League. In 1913, the schools outside of Chicago were expelled, and formed theSuburban League, which would eventually splinter off into several smaller leagues, one of which was the West Suburban Conference.[36]
Before this was made illegal by the IHSA, Oak Park, on at least one occasion, played games against college teams, such as a baseball game on April 4, 1900, when Oak Park lost toNorthwestern University (then known as the Purple), 1–27.[37]
In 1927, the school constructed a 219 ft x 128 ft (67 m x 39 m)fieldhouse at a cost of $750,000. It contained four inside gymnasiums, two swimming pools, an indoor track, and seating for 1,000 people. The facility helped Oak Park build a champion track program and helped other area schools promote indoor track and field as a sport.[38]
Through the end of the 2008–09 school year, the boys track & field program holds state records for state championships, top 3 finishes, and top ten finishes.[39] Starting in 1930, the school hosted the "Oak Park Relays", a track & field competition that grew into the largest in the Midwest, with nearly 1,500 athletes from 63 school competing in 1960.[40][41] In 1963, the field was 1,340 athletes from 77 schools, and was now the largest high school indoor track meet in the United States.[42][43] By 1964, the field rose to over 1,900 athletes from 95 schools.[44] Despite the school's successes in track & field, the school did not have an outdoor track, and by 1998, the indoor cinder track was no longer in competitive condition.[45] The school entered into a partnership withFenwick High School andConcordia University to construct a new outdoor track on the campus of the university.[45]
The OPRF lacrosse program is one of the three oldest high school programs in the state of Illinois.[46]
While water polo would not be sponsored by the IHSA until 2002, Oak Park High School sponsored a team at least as early 1901, playing a match against the Armour Institute (later renamed theIllinois Institute of Technology).[47]
In 1905, in the wake of a student killed in a football game, Oak Park's (and several other schools') school board voted to cancel the remainder of the season and ban football from the school.[48][49][50] In 1907, football was restored in Cook County, however Oak Park refused to rejoin the league.[51] Instead, Oak Park competed as an independent team.[52]
From 1904 to 1906, Danny Roberts was the state champion among the roughly 300 girls' teams in the state.[53] In 1907, the Illinois State High School Athletic Association (previous name of the IHSA), banned all girls from participating in inter-school basketball because "roughness is not foreign to the game, and that the exercise in public is immodest and not altogether ladylike."[54] Oak Park was thus denied a fourth state title.
In 1961, the pool at OPRF was used for the annual Canadian-American Invitational swim meet. Among those competing were Tom Stock,Ted Stickles, andJoan Spillane.[56]
Morris McNeal Musselman, screenwriter and author; a classmate of Ernest Hemingway, and collaborated on what is believed to be Hemingway's first play,Hokum[64]
Robert Halperin, 1960 Rome Olympic bronze medal winner and 1963 Pan American Games gold medal yachting medalist; college and professional football player; one of Chicago's most-decorated World War II heroes; chairman of Commercial Light Co., and a co-founder ofLands' End.[90][91]
Walter Burley Griffin, architect and city planner best known for designing the capital city of Australia,Canberra, as well as the development of thecarport and "L-shaped floor plan"[59]
Louis Sauer, architect, urban designer, and academic; won numerous awards for developments in modern medium density low rise row housing, particularly in Philadelphia
^Nicholas, Dorothea (December 8, 1960). "Oak Park School Utilizes Wasted Space: Structures Now Valued at 9 Million WASTED SPACE IS UTILIZED AT HIGH SCHOOL Oak Park Unit Looks Like New Structure".Chicago Tribune. pp. W1.ProQuest182754212.Much of the school's tradition stems from its motto appearing throughout the building in ancient Greek and meaning "those things that are best".[dead link]
^Banas, Casey (January 8, 1979). "Tradition runs deep at two top area high schools :109-year-old Oak Park is a model of a comprehensive high school".Chicago Tribune. p. 6.ProQuest171812670.[dead link]
^"ORCHESTRA A REGULAR COURSE: Pupils at Oak Park High School to Get Credit if They Win Places on Musical Organization". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 1, 1907. p. 3.ProQuest173349357.[dead link]
^"MUSIC UPLIFT IN OAK PARK: High School Pupils to Learn to Play Orchestral Instruments". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 2, 1907. p. 2.ProQuest173344523.[dead link]
^"FIELD DAY FOR OAK PARK: Events at the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Athletic Association". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 26, 1890.ProQuest174445279.The Athletic Association of the Oak Park High School held its third semi-annual field-day yesterday ...[dead link]
^"High School Field Day. Field Day at Lake Forest. General Sporting Notes". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 14, 1891.ProQuest174590822.The third annual field day exercises of the CCHSAU were held yesterday ...[dead link]
^"CHICAGO "PREPS" BREAK UP LEAGUE: New Organization Will Be Formed with Suburban Athletes NO CHANGE UNTIL FALL". Chicago Daily Tribune. May 22, 1913. p. 12.ProQuest173727067.[dead link]
^"COLLEGIANS DEFEAT SCHOOL LADS: Maroons defeated West Division and Purple Players Rout Oak Park". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 5, 1900.
^Pruter, Robert."The Development of Indoor Track and Field". Illinois High School Association. RetrievedJune 26, 2011.Perennial track and field power Oak Park took the lead among Chicago area high schools in supporting indoor track and field by building a spectacular $750,000 field house in late 1927. TheChicago Herald & Examiner earlier in the year reported the impending structure: "The field house will contain four inside gymnasiums and one outdoor on the roof, two swimming pools and eventually an auditorium to seat 1,000 people. It will be built in units, which, when completed, will serve a maximum of 5,000 students...The field house will measure 219 feet by 128 feet. Among other features it will contain a running track ten feet wide. It will allow 300 boys and 300 girls to take their physical training at one time."
^Leo, Ralph (April 2, 1959). "Record 1,222 Athletes Await 29th Oak Park Relays, Midwest's, Biggest: 51 Schools Eye Heavy Action Saturday".Chicago Tribune. pp. S11.ProQuest182327437.[dead link]
^Leo, Ralph (March 31, 1960). "Record 1,490 Athletes from 63 Schools Await Oak Park Relays This Saturday: Midwest's Biggest Prep Meet Gains Spotlight".Chicago Tribune. pp. N12.ProQuest182463717.[dead link]
^"Phillips tops record field at oak park".Chicago Tribune. March 28, 1963. pp. S12.ProQuest182625367.[dead link]
^"77 Schools Send 1,340 to Oak Park Meet Today".Chicago Tribune. March 30, 1963. pp. B4.ProQuest182644140.[dead link]
^Leusch, John (March 28, 1964). "34th Oak Park Relays Draws 1,958 Competitors :1,958 to Vie in Relays at Oak Park".Chicago Tribune. pp. B1.ProQuest179403166.[dead link]
^abSherlock, Barbara (October 22, 1998). "3 diverse schools run together in unusual deal for a modern track".Chicago Tribune. p. 4.ProQuest418694061.[dead link]
^Hall, Tom (April 13, 1975). "Lacrosse Lives: Now that the U.S. has captured its second world championship, this grand old game seems destined to go on about as obscurely as before. Professional leagues die quickly; nobody comes to watch".Chicago Tribune. pp. G54.ProQuest171305776.Lake Forest College has a team .... and four high schools have teams: New Triers East and West, Evanston, and Oak Park ...[dead link]
^"Ready for game show: animals at coliseum for private exhibition". Chicago Daily Tribune. February 26, 1901. p. 3.ProQuest173014397.The Oak Park High School and Armour Institute water polo teams will also meet in contest.[dead link]
^"BOY KILLED AT FOOTBALL: Vernon Wise, 17 Years Old, Fatally Hurt in Game. EXPIRES TWO HOURS LATER. Victim the Favorite of Oak Park High School "Second." Four Crippled Early in Game Favorite in School and Village. Savage Playing from the Start. Doctor's Efforts Are Futile. Team Likely to Be Disbanded. Lineup of the Team. Six Other Football". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 4, 1905.ProQuest173246424.[dead link]
^"FATALITY DOOMS FOOTBALL GAMES: Mass meeting of Oak Park High School Students and Faculty Will Abolish the Sport. EDUCATION BOARD TO ACT. Principals Condemn Brutality on the Gridiron and Would Substitute Less Perilons Pastime. Inquest Over Football Victim. Plea by Heartbroken Father. Whole Village Is Aroused. Substitute Games Proposed. Supt. Cooley to Investigate. Mayor Dunne Urges Discipline. Capt. Pruner to Be Arraigned. Opposed to Brutal Sports. Minister Favors Calling Halt. Denounced by Local Paper". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 5, 1905.ProQuest173231999.[dead link]
^"SCHOOL TRUSTEES FIGHT FOOTBALL :Board of Education Would Like to End Game as It Now Is Played. QUIT'S SPORT FOR SEASON. Oak Park Eleven Cancels Schedule, Following the Death of Vernon Wise. Oak Park Abandons Game. Copley Outlines Position. Principal Loomis Defends Boys. Trustees Are Against Game". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 7, 1905.ProQuest173238151.[dead link]
^"ONLY THREE TEAMS ENTER: Fate of High School Football League Depends on Crane". Chicago Daily Tribune. September 24, 1907. p. 7.ProQuest173399620.[dead link]
^"SCHOOL ELEVENS AT WORK: Formation of League Restores Confidence to Players – Three are Independents". Chicago Daily Tribune. September 29, 1907. pp. C2.ProQuest173379356.[dead link]
^"BARS GIRLS FROM BASKETBALL: Illinois State High School A. A. Rules Against Sport". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 3, 1907. pp. c3.ProQuest173345949.[dead link]
^abcdef"OAK PARK HIGH SHOWS ACORNS GROW TO OAKS: Display Early Writings of Alumni Authors". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 24, 1949. pp. W A6.ProQuest177670344.[dead link]
^"Find 'cornball' 1st play by Hemingway".Chicago Tribune. May 15, 1978. pp. D6.ProQuest171696806.Baker cautioned, however, that Musselman – a high school chum of Hemingway in Oak Park who became a successful screenwriter in Hollywood – probably wrote more of the play than Hemingway.[dead link]
^abcdefMcCarey, Deb (December 9, 2008)."Stage left, right & center – At age 40, OPRF's three theater stages are still going strong". Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest. RetrievedJuly 30, 2009.Movie and stage veteran Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio first acted on the Little Theater stage at OPRF; Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, performed in plays and wrote original comedy skits for the speech team. Television actress Felicity LaFortune, irreverent comedian Kathy Griffin, and Comedy Central Reno 911's Tom Lennon, started their careers here, as did prima ballerina Helene Alexopoulos who leaped from OPRF to the New York City Ballet.[permanent dead link]
^Austin, Michael; Wehunt, Jennifer (February 2007)."Before They Were Famous". Chicago Magazine.com. Archived fromthe original on October 28, 2009. RetrievedJuly 30, 2009.
^"Mason Gamble". Mason Gamble. Archived fromthe original on August 31, 2006. RetrievedAugust 19, 2009.After attending Oak Park River Forest High School, where he was a member of the football team and captain of the track team as a state-qualifying pole-vaulter, he became a National Merit Scholar Finalist
^"Minutes of the Regular School Board Meeting: 23 October 2003"(PDF). Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200. October 23, 2003. p. 1. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on January 7, 2009. RetrievedAugust 19, 2009.Board of Education members commended the following National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists: Joseph Euler, Harriet Fertik, Matthew Fisher, Mason Gamble....
^Ryan, Jeanette Mines (October 21, 1983). "High school launches its alumni hall of fame".Chicago Tribune. pp. WCS 14.ProQuest175976496.Posthumous winners include Dr. James Herrick, the first to describe sickle cell anemia and the first to diagnose coronary thrombosis.[dead link]
^"Minutes of the Regular School Board Meeting: 28 June 2007"(PDF). Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200. June 28, 2007. pp. 1–2. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on June 13, 2010. RetrievedAugust 18, 2009.approved the Tradition of Excellence Winners for the 2006–07 school year as follows: ... James Thompson, Class of 1977, Scientist, researcher and creator of the concept of the Stem cell process.
^Peterson, Carolyn (June 2007)."Chad Trujillo: Trailblazing in the Outer Solar System"(PDF). Hilo, HI: Gemini Focus – Newsletter of the Gemini Observatory. pp. 52–54. RetrievedJuly 30, 2009.Chad has given talks at Sonoma State University in California, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Hawai'i, as well as at Oak Park River Forest High school (which he attended) ...
^"Billy Martin wins, faces Borg today".Chicago Tribune. December 27, 1972. pp. B2.ProQuest170314043.Martin ... who moved to California after his freshman year at Oak Park-River Forest High School, will face Borg, the 1972 Wimbledon Junior champion ...[dead link]
^Tagge, George (January 17, 1960). "Otto Kerner: He Steps on No One's Toes: Candidate for Governor Is Confident".Chicago Tribune. p. 5.ProQuest182431870.Kerner attended Oak Park High school, got his A. B. degree at Brown University ...[dead link]
^Clark, William (February 5, 1961). "Believes McDonald Drive In Future Lies in Shift to Chain: Drive-In Franchise Firm Discusses Shift to Chain".Chicago Tribune. pp. A9 & 11.ProQuest182811308.Kroc, who left Oak Park High school to enlist, underage, in World War I as an ambulance driver ...[dead link]
^Koziol, Ronald; Rowley, Storer (April 6, 1980). "$22 million FALN terror case bail set: $22 million bond for 11 FALN terror suspects".Chicago Tribune. p. 1.ProQuest170143528.Torres, an Oak Park-River Forest High School graduate and son of a Congregational minister, has been in hiding since a November 1978 raid on his Chicago apartment, then dubbed a "virtual bomb factory".[dead link]
^Walter, Eckersall (October 7, 1925). "Thistlethwaite Rose from Obscurity to Coach at N. U.". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 30.ProQuest180687698.In 1913, when Robert Zuppke left Oak Park High school to take over the coaching of football teams at Illinois, Thistlethwaite was engaged by officials of the suburban school. Glenn remained at Oak Park from 1913 to 1922.[dead link]
^"Wood, Oak Park Coach, Gets Olympic Soccer Post". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 10, 1952. pp. D2.ProQuest178246920.[dead link]
^Woodruff, Harvey T. (October 29, 1937). "MEET THE BOB ZUPPKE OF 1913—ILLINOIS' NEW FOOTBALL COACH". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 29.ProQuest181947387.Last fall Oak Park went east to play the Everett [Mass.] ... Oak Park's "Ghee Haw", Flea Flicker", and "Flying Dutchman" plays were a revelation to the effete cast and Everett was beaten ...[dead link]
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