Oak Forest High School

Oak Forest High School is a public high school located in Oak Forest, Illinois. It is part of Bremen Community High School District 228 which also includes Tinley Park High School, Hillcrest High School and Bremen High School. It serves most of the community of Oak Forest, as well as portions of Midlothian and Crestwood in Bremen Township in the south suburbs of Chicago in Cook County.

Oak Forest High School
Address
15201 S. Central Avenue

Oak Forest
,
Illinois
60452

United States
Coordinates41.61562°N 87.756232°W / 41.61562; -87.756232
Information
School typepublic secondary
MottoACADEMICS plus ACTIVITIES equal EXCELLENCE[1]
Opened1971
School districtBremen High School District 228
SuperintendentBill Kendall[2]
PrincipalDr. Brad Sikora[3]
Teaching staff84.00 (FTE)[4]
Grades9–12
Gendercoed
Enrollment1,362 (2018-19)[4]
Student to teacher ratio16.21[4]
Campussuburban
School color(s)     Black
     Vegas Gold
Athletics conferenceSouth Suburban Conference
MascotBengal
NicknameBengals
PublicationKama
YearbookSafari
Websiteoakforest.bhsd228.com

History

In March 1968, taxpayers of District 228 approved a US$1.3 million loan from the Illinois School Building Commission to begin first phase construction of the district's fourth high school. In August 1968, the Board of Education approved the new school's name, and in September, the architectural plans were approved.[5] The construction contract was approved in March 1969, with the plan calling for an initial "first phase" of construction, and a second phase to be added on if necessary.[6]

Oak Forest High School opened in 1971 as a remedy to the excessively high numbers of students attending the three other existing high schools in the district. Before the school had even opened, it became clear that the school would not be sufficient to contain the increasing student population. The district again turned to voters to approve a bond issue to add onto the school.[7] After two failures, and threats of students needing to attend double shifts, the bond issue passed in December 1971.[8][9]

On December 2, 1985, a fire broke out at the school causing severe damage to the school's electric systems. After missing a week of school, and with the building still not inhabitable, Oak Forest students were required to temporarily attend classes at Tinley Park High School with split shifts set up (Tinley Park students from 7 am to noon, and Oak Forest students from 12:40 to 6 pm).[10]

Construction to the building in the summer of 2005 created a new Instructional Materials Center (IMC), which serves as media lab and library. Additionally, the space occupied by the old IMC was re-structured into additional classrooms, a move towards solving the approaching five-year deadline of the outdoor portable classroom mobile units (commonly referred to as the "trailers"). The room numbers were also changed in the process with the numbering system developed by Adam Hillier (Class of 2005).

Academics

In 2007, Oak Forest High School had an average ACT score of 21.2 and graduated 97.3% of its senior class. The average class size was 20.2.[11][12]

In accordance with the federal law No Child Left Behind, Oak Forest has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The school has no subgroups that meet the minimum number to be included in testing.[13]

Athletics

Oak Forest is a member of the South Suburban Conference, with its teams named as the Bengals. The school's teams participate in state championship tournaments sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The school sponsors interscholastic teams for boys and girls in basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Boys may also compete in baseball, football, wrestling, while girls may also compete in badminton, and softball. There are also district water polo and lacrosse teams which students from Oak Forest, Bremen, Hillcrest, and Tinley Park high schools can collectively compete.[14]

Activities

Oak Forest has 46 student organizations in fields ranging from community service to the arts and from academic competition to career related groups. Among these 46 organizations are some groups of national notability with chapters or other representation at Oak Forest. These include: Science Olympiad, Business Professionals of America, DECA, FCCLA, National Honor Society, Scholastic Bowl, Mathletes, Speech Team and Operation Snowball.[15]

Notable alumni
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References
  1. "Letter from the principal, noting the school motto; accessed 31 August 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  2. "District 228 Administration; accessed 30 August 2008". Bhsd228.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  3. "Oak Frest High School". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  4. "Oak Forest High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  5. Bremen Board OK's Plan for High School, 29 September, 1968, Chicago Tribune, p. S9; accessed 1 September 2008
  6. Bremen School Board Awards High School Construction Contract, 27 March 1969, Chicago Tribune, p. S10; accessed 1 September 2008
  7. Colvin, Robert, Second 'Go-Round' Slated for Vote on Building Bond Issue, 13 June 1971, Chicago Tribune, p. S_A12; accessed 1 September 2008
  8. Voters to Decide High School Fate, 25 November 1971, Chicago Tribune, p. S5; accessed 1 September 2008
  9. Reject Two Tax Plans, Accept One, 5 December 1971, Chicago Tribune, p. A16; accessed 1 September 2008
  10. Fegelman, Andrew, Fire makes odd schoolfellows; Blaze forces Oak Forest students to attend rival, 10 December 1985, Chicago Tribune, p. A3; accessed 1 September 2008
  11. "2007 School Report Card, ACT results & graduation rate, p.3; accessed 1 September 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  12. "2007 School Report Card, avg. class size, p.1; accessed 1 September 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  13. "2007 School Report Card, AYP, p.8; accessed 1 September 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  14. "Oak Forest HS Athletic Department; accessed 1 September 2008". Bhsd228.com. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  15. "Student Activities at Oak Forest HS; accessed 1 September 2008". Bhsd228.com. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  16. Bremen District 228 (September 26, 2017). "Oak Forest HS Hall of Fame Induction". Patch (Press release).
  17. "Tim Byrdak Major League stats". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  18. Pree Release from South Suburban College regarding Tim Byrdak's return to baseball; accessed 1 September 2008 Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Jason Frasor stats & bio; accessed 1 September 2008". Toronto.bluejays.mlb.com. 2010-01-01. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  20. Rick Gorecki career stats; accessed 1 September 2008
  21. Major League Baseball draft picks from Oak Forest HS; accessed 1 September 2008
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