Strategic Plan 2013-2018 - Oak Park and River Forest High School

Oak Park and River Forest High School 

District 200 

Strategic Plan 

2013-2018 

Presented to the Board of Education 

June 27, 2013

Contents 

Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………………. 3 

Steering Committee and Task Force Members……………………………………………… 4 

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 

Strategic Planning Process………………………………………………………………………. 7 

Values, Vision, Mission…………………………………………………………………………… 9 

Goals and Actions………………………………………………………………………………….. 10-14 

Frameworks for Action……………………………………………………………………………. 15-29 

Timeline ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 30 

Glossary………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31 

2 • Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Strategic Plan

Acknowledgments 

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 gratefully acknowledges the efforts of more than 

2,000 community members, parents, students, faculty, and staff members who provided input into the 

Strategic Plan via surveys and focus groups. In addition, we offer our deepest thanks to the Steering 

Committee and Task Force members (see page 4), who worked diligently and enthusiastically over 

many months to create a plan that truly reflects the values of the Oak Park and River Forest 

community. 

Board of Education 

John Phelan, President 

Jeff Weissglass, Vice President 

Dr. Jackie Moore, Secretary 

Tom Cofsky 

Dr. Steve Gevinson 

Dr. Ralph Lee 

Sharon Patchak-Layman 

Immediate Past Board Members 

Terry Finnegan 

Valerie Fisher 

Amy McCormack 

Dr. Dietra Millard 

Strategic Planning Consultants 

Dr. Allan Alson 

Patricia Maunsell 

District Leadership Team 

Dr. Steven Isoye, Superintendent 

Phil Prale, Assistant Superintendent for 

Curriculum and Instruction 

Cheryl Witham, Assistant Superintendent 

for Finance and Operations 

Dr. Tina Halliman, Assistant Superintendent for 

Pupil Personnel Services 

Mike Carioscio, Chief Information Officer 

Nathaniel Rouse, Principal 

Amy Hill, Director of Research and 

Assessment 

Karin Sullivan, Director of Communications 

and Community Relations 

Administrative Assistant to the 

Superintendent/Clerk of the Board 

Gail Kalmerton 

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Strategic Plan • 3

Steering Committee and Task Force Members 

*Steering Committee member 

#Task Force member 

Jonathan Adelman, OPRFHS Staff# 

Nina Allen, Thrive Counseling Center*# 

Dr. Allan Alson, Facilitator 

Jan Arnold, Park District of Oak Park* 

Carmen Avalos, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Marge Balchunas, OPRFHS Staff* 

Dr. Deborah Baness King, Triton College# 

David Benson, District 97# 

Dr. F. David Boulanger, Oak Park Township# 

Randy Braverman, OPRFHS Staff# 

Dr. Ginger Brent, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Mary Jo Burns, Ascension School* 

Leah Carlin, OPRFHS Staff* 

Dick Chappell, River Forest Community Center*# 

Anna Chavez Schaider, Roosevelt PTO*# 

Aleta Clardy, Parent*# 

Anthony Clark, Community Member*# 

Ronald Clark, Community Member* 

Dr. Edward Condon, River Forest Elementary 

Schools* 

JP Coughlin, OPRFHS Faculty*# 

Dr. John Duffy, Community Member*# 

Robert Cole, Village of Oak Park* 

Fawn Donatucci, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Valerie Fisher, OPRFHS Board Member* 

Julie Frey, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Joyce Gajda, OPRFHS Faculty*# 

Kathryn Gargiulo, OPRFHS Faculty* 

Larry Garstki, District 90* 

Nancy Guarino, Parent*# 

Dr. Tina Halliman, OPRFHS Administrator*# 

Sheila Hardin, OPRFHS Faculty*# 

Nancy Heezen, OPRFHS Staff*# 

Naomi Hildner, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Amy Hill, OPRFHS Administrator*# 

Burcy Hines, APPLE* 

Jennifer Hoffmann, OPRFHS Administrator# 

Dr. Chala Holland, OPRFHS Administrator# 

Maria Hoye, Community Member* 

James Paul Hunter, OPRFHS Faculty* 

Alejandra Ibanez, OPRF Community Foundation# 

Dr. Steve Isoye, OPRFHS Administrator*# 

Mary Johnson, OPRFHS Student* 

Kris Johnson, OPRFHS Counselor*# 

Ambria Jones, OPRFHS Student*# 

Grace Kavinsky, OPRFHS Student* 

Ray Kennelly, Dominican University* 

Kathy Kern, Parenthesis*# 

Dr. Glynis Kinnan, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Larry Landfair, Community Member* 

Dr. Avi Lessing, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Dana Limberg, OPRFHS Faculty* 

Sophia Lloyd, OPRF Community Foundation* 

Jim Madigan, Oak Park Public Library* 

Patricia Maunsell, Facilitator 

Kristen McKee, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Melanie McQueen, Parent*# 

John Messina, APPLAUSE*# 

Allison Myers, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Kerry Nelson, PTO/P4SS*# 

Andrea Neuman, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Carolyn Newberry Schwartz, Collaboration for 

Early Childhood*# 

Melinda Novotny, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Katie O’Keefe, OPRFHS Faculty# 

Sharon Patchak-Layman, OPRFHS Board Member*# 

Jan Pate, West Cook YMCA* 

Regina Peterson, OPRF Scholarship Foundation* 

Phil Prale, OPRFHS Administrator*# 

Janice Pyrce, Citizens' Council*# 

Bobbie Raymond, Alumni Association*# 

Brian Reilly, OPRFHS Staff* 

Dr. Al Roberts, District 97* 

Latroy Robinson, OPRFHS Student* 

Nathaniel Rouse, OPRFHS Administrator*# 

Stephanie Rowe, Community Member*# 

Claudia Sahagun, OPRFHS Administrator# 

Joanne Schochat, District 97* 

Steve Schwartz, OPRFHS Faculty* 

Josh Seldess, OPRFHS Administrator# 

Jonathan Silver, OPRFHS SID# 

Carollina Song, Gwendolyn Brooks PTO*# 

Tina Stekette, District 90# 

John Stelzer, OPRFHS Administrator* 

Jessica Stovall, OPRFHS Faculty*# 

Felicia Starks-Turner, District 97# 

Karin Sullivan, OPRFHS Administrator*# 

Drew Swope, OPRFHS Student*# 

Rick Tanksley, Oak Park Police Department* 

Jane Townsley, Parent* 

Mark Trinka, Hephzibah Children’s Association* 

Jason Tyszko, Community Member* 

Alysia Wallace, OPRFHS Staff* 

Brenda Jones Watkins, Triton College* 

Kimberly Werner, Supported Education Association*# 

Cathy Yen, Huskie Booster Club* 


Introduction 

Mission 

Oak Park and River Forest High School embraces its diversity and provides a rich, dynamic, 

supportive learning environment for all students. The school provides an equitable, holistic 

education and cultivates the knowledge, skills, and character necessary for success and leadership 

in a global society. 

Oak Park and River Forest High School is widely considered an outstanding high school, known 

for its high level of student achievement; excellent instruction; exceptional performing arts, 

athletics, clubs, and activities; and innovative academic programs. But even the strength of 

our programs and the top awards our students and staff consistently earn are not enough to 

satisfy the central mission of the school: to provide the knowledge, skills, and character 

necessary for success and leadership in a global society. We must see achievement rise for all 

students, not only those who struggle in our classrooms but also those already achieving at 

high levels. We also must narrow disparities that appear in teaching and learning outcomes 

when we disaggregate our data by race. Both goals—excellence and equity—are at the center 

of this plan. Achieving these goals requires that we be deliberate in the priorities we set and 

the choices we make over the next few years. 

Challenges 

District 200 last created a strategic plan nearly two decades ago. Since then a great deal has 

changed. Federal and state mandates have increased the demands made on teachers and 

administrators. College admissions have become increasingly competitive as record numbers 

of students compete for limited openings. College and career pathways require more intensive 

and ever-changing technical skills. The high school facility, a vintage building dating back to 

1907, requires upkeep and upgrading for the emerging technologies that allow individuals to 

succeed in the worldwide workplace. Finally, rapid economic change has affected area 

residents, who provide essential financial and logistical support for local schools, and we must 

find a responsible way to manage the needs of the community and the resources of the school. 

One concern that has not changed is that race continues to have a significant impact on 

students’ experiences at OPRFHS. A critical element for the future success of the high school is 

to fulfill the promise and challenge set forth in the 1990s, to eliminate the predictability of race 

as an indicator of school or student outcomes. Identified by the last four superintendents as a 

central issue in the progress of the school, excellence for all students is a main theme of our 

work. The work of the high school will move all students forward, maintain the academic 

excellence of the school, and address the need for equity and access to that excellence for our 

entire community. 

Our Plan 

Creating a strategic plan establishes how we will respond to circumstances that are always 

changing and challenging us as a school and as a District. Articulating an overarching vision for 

the future of Oak Park and River Forest High School ensures that the entire school community 

is working toward a common purpose and participating in the effort to maintain the academic 


excellence of the school, provide equity and excellence for all students, and respond 

responsibly to the needs of our community. In essence, a strategic plan is a road map of 

priorities for what to do and how to move forward. 

This strategic plan includes 37 action steps in five critical areas of focus: Holistic Community 

Education; Equity; Supportive Learning Environment; Transformational Teaching, Learning, 

and Leadership; and Facilities and Finances. Delineating these areas with discrete action steps 

is a way to break down the work into manageable pieces. But the ideas we developed for 

various areas overlapped, ran parallel, and, in some situations, felt like similar responses to 

different needs. 

Collaboration, not Isolation 

Our work should not be addressed in silos but instead must stress collaboration. Thus, we have 

deliberately left in areas of overlap within the action steps and details, to show that they were 

identified as priorities in multiple areas of focus. Improving communications, for instance, 

specifically is mentioned among the action steps for Holistic Community Education; 

Transformational Teaching, Learning, and Leadership; and Facilities and Finances. During 

implementation, these separate threads may be woven together into a single communications 

plan. Another crucial aspect of implementation will be examining the plan as a whole to 

determine how best to allocate dollars and resources. 

Each of these high-level action steps is further divided into substeps that contain benchmarks, 

providing data-oriented measures for each step. We recognize the long-term nature of the 

implementation of this plan. We have set forth steps we believe are both ambitious yet 

attainable. We recognize that in five years our work will not be complete, but will be in need of 

review and, if necessary, redirection. 


Strategic Planning Process 

Phase 1: Process Development (June — September 2012) 

The Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education launched strategic 

planning in June 2012, when it began reviewing proposals for leading the process. In July, the 

Board approved hiring Dr. Allan Alson as its strategic planning consultant. Dr. Alson, Board 

members, and the District Leadership Team (DLT) mapped out the process and timeline, 

identified stakeholder groups, invited stakeholders to join the steering committee, and 

developed a communications plan. 

Phase 2: Data Collection and Synthesis (October 2012—January 2013) 

The 60-member steering committee began meeting twice monthly to examine data in a 

variety of areas, including student achievement, school climate, and District finances. Dr. 

Alson and his associate Patricia Maunsell led 21 focus groups, drawing participation from just 

under 200 students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members. In addition, more 

than 2,100 stakeholders participated in a strategic planning survey. 

An analysis of this wealth of data found that the values of the community could be organized 

around five main themes: 

1. Holistic Community Education 

2. Equity 

3. Supportive Learning Environment 

4. Transformational Teaching, Learning, and Leadership 

5. Facilities and Finance 

Phase 3: Values, Vision, Mission, and Goals (January—March 2013) 

Working collaboratively, the steering committee, as well as a writing subcommittee, 

developed and refined value, vision, mission, and goal statements. The value statements 

encompass the core beliefs and principles of the District and inform our actions. The vision 

statement answers the question, “What will OPRFHS look like after we carry out the plan?” 

The mission statement describes how we will carry the plan forward. The goals provide broad 

starting points for action steps created by task forces. 

Phase 4: Task Force Work (March—May 2013) 

Task forces were formed around the five main themes: Holistic Community Education; Equity; 

Supportive Learning Environment; Transformational Teaching, Learning, and Leadership; and 

Facilities and Finance. Task forces comprised steering committee members who wished to 

continue their involvement plus new stakeholders with interest and expertise in the five areas. 

The task forces were charged with creating broad action steps to support the overarching 

goal(s) for each area of focus. 

Phase 5: Plan Adoption (Late Summer/Early Fall 2013) 

It is anticipated that the Board of Education will formally approve the strategic plan in late 

summer/early fall 2013. The plan will be shared with community members, parents, staff, and 

students through various print and electronic formats. 


Phase 6: Implementation, Reporting, Refinement (2013—2018) 

Following approval of the plan, implementation committees will be formed to develop and 

execute the action steps. Using the groundwork laid by the task forces as a foundation, 

implementation committees will create detailed plans to achieve the action steps, setting and 

meeting more granular benchmarks for each step. The work of implementation will be 

transparent, coordinated, and collaborative, with regular updates provided to the Board of 

Education and the community to ensure that progress on the plan is being monitored and that 

benchmarks are being met. This plan is not set in stone but instead is a living document, and 

mid-course corrections may be needed as the work unfolds. 


Values 

We believe that all students are capable of success. We further believe in… 

 

 

Strong collaboration and 

communication among students, 

families, schools, and the community. 

Cultivating an appreciation for diversity, 

a sense of self-worth, engaged 

citizenship, social responsibility, and 

lifelong learning in a global community. 

 

 

Nurturing the professional 

development of staff, faculty, and 

administration to support all students’ 

learning. 

An engaging, challenging education 

that fully prepares students for all options 

after high school. 

 

Strong, trusting relationships that 

establish a safe and respectful school 

community. 

 

Providing the academic and social 

supports students need to achieve 

success. 

 

 

An academic environment that fosters 

curiosity, imagination, leadership, 

critical thinking, and communication 

skills. 

High-quality, differentiated instruction 

that engages, supports, and stretches 

learning. 

 

 

Allocating resources in transparent and 

purposeful ways to ensure equity and 

fully support the individual and the 

collective needs of the school 

community. 

Ensuring that race, income, gender, and 

learning differences are not predictors 

of achievement. 

Vision 

Oak Park and River Forest High School will become a model for educational excellence and equity. 

Achievement gaps will disappear in a learning environment that is characterized by high 

expectations, integrity, trust, and compassion and that nurtures the human spirit and allows all 

students to reach their full human potential. 

Mission 

Oak Park and River Forest High School embraces its diversity and provides a rich, dynamic, 

supportive learning environment for all students. The school provides an equitable, holistic 

education and cultivates the knowledge, skills, and character necessary for success and leadership 

in a global society. 


Goal 1: Holistic Community Education 

OPRFHS will collaborate with other educational institutions and social service organizations to 

create seamless transitions for students. Students and adults will build partnerships across our 

communities and create an engaged, socially responsible citizenship. 

Actions 

1. Improve transitions from middle school to high school, especially for students of color, 

students with special needs, and students at risk of failure. Years 1-3 

2. Communicate consistently and effectively with faculty, staff, parents, and the community 

at large. Years 1-3 

3. Promote, support, and participate in a continuum of integrated high-quality educational 

programs from birth to post-secondary education and/or training. Years 4-5 

4. Collaborate with Triton College and key four-year institutions to improve transitions from 

high school to post-secondary institutions, particularly for students of color, students with 

special needs, and students at risk of failure. Years 4-5 

5. Improve transitions for students who choose to go directly into the workforce. Years 4-5 

6. Collaborate with social service agencies, philanthropic organizations, business, and civic 

organizations, as well as other governing bodies, to develop a comprehensive system that 

fosters students’ social-emotional development and civic engagement, with attention paid 

to strategies that best support students of color, students with special needs, and students 

at risk of failure. Years 1-5 


Goal 2: Equity 

The adults and students at OPRFHS will create an environment where the academic 

achievement and social and emotional growth of students will no longer be predictable by 

race. 

Actions 

1. Expand access to rigorous teaching and learning so that race is not a predictor of a 

student’s academic rigor, pathway, or performance. Years 1-5 

2. Provide personnel and students with restorative justice strategies. Years 1-3 

3. Create a school community in which all students experience a sense of belonging. Years 2-4 

4. Demonstrate a developing racial consciousness in all personnel hired. Years 2-5 


Goal 3: Supportive Learning Environment 

Everyone in the OPRFHS community will foster a learning environment that supports and 

affirms the uniqueness of individuals; values trust, risk-taking, reflection, and self-advocacy; 

and nurtures a system of supports to meet the evolving needs of all students. 

Actions 

1. Ensure that every student feels close to and supported by one adult in the school 

community. Years 2-5 

2. Create a school culture of acknowledging and celebrating the positive accomplishments of 

every student and adult in the school community. Years 2-4 

3. Establish rituals and structures that address safety concerns while recognizing the 

humanity of all students and adults. Years 1-5 

4. Set clear, meaningful expectations that are consistently and fairly enforced and promote a 

safe, trustful, nurturing environment. Years 1-3 

5. Build capacity of every adult and student in the school community to develop selfawareness, 

make responsible decisions, develop resiliency, and manage emotions in a 

positive, productive manner. Years 1-5 

6. Create and articulate a system of support that identifies school community needs, 

especially for those who are in distress, creates shared ownership, and measures impact 

and efficacy. Years 1-5 


Goal 4: Transformational Teaching, Learning & Leadership 

 

 

 

 

All OPRFHS educators will provide rich, engaging learning opportunities that set high expectations 

for all students and foster collaboration, problem solving, reflection, critical thinking, and 

independent learning. 

All OPRFHS educators will monitor student progress, and use the information to revise and improve 

teaching practices and student learning. 

OPRFHS will support student learning by providing all educators with professional growth and 

collaboration opportunities that enhance effective teaching and leadership. 

All OPRFHS decision-makers will set high expectations for all, while affirming and supporting 

teaching and learning in all policies and practices. 

Actions 

1. Identify incoming freshmen’s proficiency in learning skills, and improve the skills of transition-level 

students. Years 1-3 

2. Write targets for collaboration, problem solving, reflection, critical thinking, critical literacy, and 

independent learning skills for each core class at each grade level. Years 2-5 

3. Change classrooms as needed to reach learning targets and Common Core benchmark goals. 

Years 3-5 

4. Engage stakeholders in supporting critical race consciousness and academic success for all 

students. Years 2-5 

5. Build on sense of shared leadership for enacting strategic plan goals. Year 1 

6. Provide academic support for students so that each student experiences academic challenge and 

success. Years 3-5 

7. Increase academic rigor in all courses, both core and elective, and at the honors, college prep, and 

transition levels. Years 1-5 

8. Identify resources that ensure students are known and respected in all classrooms and 

accommodate different learning needs. Years 3-5 

9. Enhance the use of technology for teaching and learning in all classrooms. Years 1-5 

10. Establish a summer articulation program with D97, D90, and an area university to promote 

internships and encourage new technologies. Years 1-3 

11. Examine and improve student-centered teaching and learning strategies at all levels, including 

honors, college prep, and transition courses. Years 1-5 

12. Determine class size caps that make it possible for teachers to monitor the progress of all of their 

students and to employ appropriate interventions. Year 1 

13. Set learning and course targets for all courses. Years 1-5 

14. Strengthen existing program of professional development. Years 1-3 

15. Address school improvement. Years 1-5 

16. Create a community mindset that the highest expectations should be set for all students and the 

highest level of resources should be available for all students. Years 3-5 

17. Increase adult-to-adult communication that promotes high visibility, support for teachers, access to 

shared decision making and experiences, and effective feedback on work submitted. Years 1-5 


Goal 5: Facilities and Finances 

As responsible stewards of OPRFHS assets, everyone in the OPRFHS community will make 

student-centered decisions relating to facilities and finances and allocate resources to ensure 

excellence and equity. 

Actions 

1. Develop and begin implementation of a long-term facility plan to accommodate projected 

increase in student enrollment. Years 4-5 

2. Promote and sustain a model of future financial planning specific to fund balances through 

the Finance Advisory Committee. Year 1 

3. Allocate resources to support the strategic plan. Years 1-5 

4. Create communication plan. Years 1-5 


Framework for Action 

Goal 1: Holistic Community Education 

OPRFHS will collaborate with other educational institutions and social service organizations creating seamless transitions for students. 

Students and adults will build partnerships across our communities and create an engaged, socially responsible citizenship. 

Oak Park and River Forest High School is at the core of local 

community life for our villages. The school is where the 

majority of local youth come together for four crucial years in 

their development. In those years, our young people acquire 

academic knowledge and skills, grow socially and 

emotionally, and learn their roles as citizens of the world. Our 

community needs a way to plan for the development of our 

children, including how to share information, collaborate on 

programs, and provide a coordinated network of support 

among local community entities. Building holistic community 

educational supports is essential to helping students reach 

their full potential, not just while they are in high school but 

for the rest of their lives. 

Actions Details Benchmarks 

HCE 1. Improve transitions 

from middle school to high 

school, especially for 

students of color, students 

with special needs, and 

students at risk of failure. 

Years 1-3 (See also SLE 1-2, 

SLE 5-2, TTLL 1) 

HCE 1-1. Identify current transition practices. 

HCE 1-2. Collaborate with sender schools to determine 

additional supports and strategies needed. 

HCE 1-3. Determine what practices would better support 

students transitioning into OPRFHS from non-sender 

schools at all grade levels. 

HCE 1-4. Establish effective information-sharing protocols 

between sender and non-sender schools and the high 

school. 

HCE 1-5. Expand program and transition opportunities for 

students in grades 6, 7, and 8. (See also TTLL 10-1) 

HCE 1-6. Strengthen transition practices for ninth to tenth 

grade. 

HCE 1-7. Work with sender schools to implement best 

practices for seventh- through tenth-graders, so all 

students experience instruction and support as movement 

through a coherent system. 

Year 1: Comprehensive transition protocol between all 

sender and non-sender districts established. Legal channel of 

shared information implemented. 

Year 2: 85 % of parents and students rate transition good or 

excellent. 



HCE 2. Communicate 

consistently and effectively 

with faculty, staff, parents, 

and the community at large. 

Years 1-3 (See also TTLL 17, 

FF 4-1) 

HCE 2-1. Examine the flow of internal communication 

through candid discussion with stakeholders. (See also 

TTLL 17-1) 

HCE 2-2. Establish new methods of internal communication 

where needed, including ways for internal stakeholders to 

communicate effectively with the Board of Education and 

administration. 

HCE 2-3. Establish communication structure among 

OPRFHS departments/divisions to improve student 

experience. 

HCE 2-4. Examine the flow of external communication 

through candid discussion with stakeholders, with 

particular focus on parent and community groups that are 

not currently engaged. 

HCE 2-5. Establish new methods of external 

communication where needed, including ways for external 

stakeholders to communicate effectively with the Board of 

Education and administration. 

Year 3: 10 % per year growth in faculty, staff, parents, 

students, and community rating communications as good or 

excellent. Web-based “hub” online and accessible. 

HCE 2-6. Collaborate with local government and 

community partners to create a web-based “hub” of 

information and resources for students, families, and the 

community at large. 

HCE 3. Promote, support, 

and participate in a 

continuum of integrated, 

high-quality educational 

programs from birth to postsecondary 

education and/or 

training. 

Years 4-5 

HCE 3-1. Work toward establishing a comprehensive 

database that encompasses birth through post-secondary 

education and/or training. 

HCE 3-2. Explore legislative remedies to improve data 

sharing between sender schools and OPRFHS. 

HCE 3-3. Foster and participate in open dialogue and 

shared learning about best practices for creating seamless 

transitions from birth to post-secondary education and/or 

training. 

Year 4: Collaborative committee with sender districts 

established to create/explore P-20 integrated data system. 



HCE 4. Collaborate with 

Triton College and key fouryear 

institutions to improve 

transitions from high school 

to post-secondary 

institutions, particularly for 

students of color, students 

with special needs, and 

students at risk of failure. 

Years 4-5 

HCE 5. Improve transitions 

for students who choose to 

go directly into the 

workforce. Years 4-5 

HCE 4-1. Identify current transition practices, especially 

those identified as supporting students of color, students 

with special needs, and students at risk of failure. 

HCE 4-2. Identify causes of disparities in post-secondary 

education success rates for students of color and students 

with special needs. 

HCE 4-3. Collaborate with Triton College and key postsecondary 

institutions to determine additional supports 

and strategies needed for successful transition of every 

graduating student. 


institutions to establish effective informationsharing 

protocols. 

HCE 4-5. Expand partnerships with Triton College and key 

post-secondary institutions to include transition 

opportunities for all students. 


institutions to identify and implement best 

practices for instruction and student support so that every 

student experiences the transition from high school to 

post-secondary education as movement through a 

coherent system. 

HCE 5-1. Determine the scope of students involved and 

their needs. 

HCE 5-2. Examine current practices and identify gaps. 

HCE 5-3. Implement new practices as needed. 

Year 4: Number of students entering Triton in remedial 

courses reduced by 10% per year. Increased percentage of 

students of color, students with special needs, and students 

at risk taking dual credit courses. Target for measures of 

persistence for post-secondary school established. 

Year 5: Work-study program and education-to-career 

pathways established, with dual credit course offerings to 

provide certifications. 



HCE 6. Collaborate with 

social service agencies, 

philanthropic organizations, 

business, and civic 

organizations, as well as 

other governing bodies, to 

develop a comprehensive 

system that fosters students’ 

social-emotional 

development and civic 

engagement, with attention 

paid to strategies that best 

support students of color, 

students with special needs, 

and students at risk of 

failure. Years 1-5 

HCE 6-1. Know, understand, and use partnerships, with 

attention paid to strategies that best support students of 

color, students with special needs, and students at risk of 

failure. 

HCE 6-2. Identify and fill gaps and deficits in services. 

HCE 6-3. Establish an internal infrastructure to foster 

effective partnerships and ensure optimal use of all 

resources by students and their families. 

HCE 6-4. Develop and implement a service-learning 

requirement for all students, with attention paid to 

strategies that best support students of color, those with 

special needs, and those at risk. (See also TTLL 3-1) 

HCE 6-5. Provide an easily accessible resource for students 

to explore post-secondary options, service involvement, 

and community resources. 

HCE 6-6. Cooperate with other local government entities 

to share resources where possible, to meet the needs of 

both students and the broader communities. 

Year 3: Internal infrastructure for service-learning graduation 

requirement established. 

Year 5: Service-learning graduation requirement established. 


Goal 2: Equity 

The adults and students at OPRFHS will create an environment where the academic achievement and social and emotional growth of 

students will no longer be predictable by race. 

The diversity of the high school’s student body attracts many 

families who choose to live in Oak Park and River Forest. 

However, to truly achieve the academic achievement and 

excellence we describe in our mission, vision, and values, we 

must do more to ensure success for our students of color. We 

look at the data along racial lines because we have learned 

that it is a common thread that weaves through so many 

areas affecting student achievement. Disproportionate 

outcomes appear when we look at how we assign special 

education services and disciplinary consequences, and how 

we provide access to honors and accelerated courses. 

Disparities based on gender, sexual orientation, and other 

factors should be investigated in the future. But to begin to 

move forward, addressing disparities that appear in the 

racially disaggregated data will help ensure that we are 

achieving our mission of providing a high-quality education 

for all students. 


EQ 1. Expand access to 

rigorous teaching and 

learning so that race is not a 

predictor of a student’s 

academic rigor, pathway, or 

performance. Years 1-5 

EQ 1-1. Investigate current placement practices and their 

impact, including placement tests, parent overrides, and 

teacher recommendations. (See also TTLL 7-1) 

EQ 1-2.Investigate diagonal movement over a four-year high 

school experience. 

EQ 1-3. Research and adopt a rubric for rigorous teaching at 

all placement levels. 

EQ 1-4. Implement a revised approach to four-year planning 

so that all students have the opportunity to learn at the 

highest levels/diagonal movement possible for that student. 

EQ 1-5. Ensure that a greater proportion of each student 

cohort achieves at or above proficiency in each of its four 

years in high school. 

EQ 1-6. Ensure that the number of students achieving A’s 

and B’s in each course reflects school demographics. (See 

also TTLL 11-3) 

EQ 1-7. Increase the proportion of graduates achieving 

college/career readiness in each graduating class. 

Year 1: Rubric for rigorous teaching at all placement levels 

adopted. 

Year 3: Revised approach to four-year planning implemented. 

Year 5: In each year of the plan, an annually growing 

proportion of each student cohort achieves at or above 

proficiency, and an annually growing proportion of graduates 

achieves college/career readiness. The number of students 

achieving A’s and B’s in each course reflects school 

demographics. 



EQ 2. Provide personnel 

and students with 

restorative justice 

strategies. Years 1-3 

EQ 3. Create a school 

community in which all 

students experience a sense 

of belonging. Years 2-4 (See 

also TTLL 8, TTLL 12-2) 

EQ 4. Demonstrate a 

developing racial 

consciousness in all 

personnel hired. 

Years 2-5 

EQ 2-1. Examine discipline data. (See also SLE 4-4) 

EQ 2-2. Choose a plan/program for restorative justice, to 

teach conflict-resolution skills, build stronger relationships, 

and provide alternative approaches to “zero-tolerance” 

discipline. 

EQ 2-3. Begin implementation of restorative justice 

plan/program. 

EQ 2-4. Complete implementation of restorative justice 

program. 

EQ 3-1. Analyze Five Essentials Survey data. 

EQ 3-2. Implement specific supports for incorporating, 

maintaining, and ensuring fidelity to social-emotional 

classroom practices, which foster skills such as 

responsibility, empathy, and self-control that are essential to 

successful learning. (See also SLE 5) 

EQ 3-3. Create an advisory period during the school day to 

build long-term teacher-to-student and student-to-student 

relationships. (See also SLE 1-3) 

EQ 4-1. Develop parameters and process for hiring teachers 

of color and racially conscious teachers. 

EQ 4-2. Hire more teachers of color. 

EQ 4-3. Determine whether racial patterns exist in reasons 

for leaving. 

EQ 4-4. Use data from exit interviews to revise support 

system for remaining faculty, staff, and administration to 

improve retention rates. 

EQ 4-5. Ensure retention rates do not reflect racial 

disparities. 

Year 2: Restorative justice plan/program created/chosen. 

Year 3: Restorative justice plan/program implemented. 

Year 5: 100% of staff trained. Program fully implemented. 

Survey data indicate greater proportions of students 

experience sense of safety and belonging. 

Year 1: Completed Five Essentials Survey data analysis. 

Completed plan to address needs. 

Year 3: Specific supports in place for incorporating and 

maintaining SEL in classroom practices for all staff. Increased 

rate of extra-curricular participation. Hallways/classrooms 

display student work. 

Year 5: 100% of staff incorporate observable SEL strategies. 

Decreased rates of tardies, absences, and discipline referrals. 

Students display self-advocacy skills. 

Year 2: Parameters and processes for hiring teachers of color 

and racially conscious teachers in place. Increased percentage 

of teachers of color hired. Systematic practice of exit 

interviews in place. 

Year 3: Increased percentage of teachers of color hired. 

Retention rates do not reflect racial disparities. 

Year 5: Increased percentage of teachers of color hired. 

Retention rates do not reflect racial disparities. Progress in 

hiring racially conscious teachers can be quantified. 


Goal 3: Supportive Learning Environment 

Everyone in the OPRFHS community will foster a learning environment that supports and affirms the uniqueness of individuals; values 

trust, risk-taking, reflection, and self-advocacy; and nurtures a system of supports to meet the evolving needs of all students. 

Schools are places of purposeful and powerful human interaction. 

Students and teachers engage their passion and creativity as they 

build knowledge, skills, and a sense of community. Recent research 

has identified supportive schools as places that deliver support to 

every student, provide authentic acknowledgments of student 

success, make student safety a daily priority, and implement a 

clear, coherent system of supports for students and families. Our 

aim is for every student to have a connection with a supportive 

adult in the building. Supportive schools have added another 

critical area on which to focus: the need to instill the combined 

characteristics of perseverance, resilience, optimism, collaboration, 

and self-reflection. The responsibilities and possibilities held in 

teaching today’s youth extend beyond academic-, knowledgebased 

endeavors. Our high school must build and implement 

supportive structures that foster achievement in all areas of a 

young person’s life. 


SLE 1. Ensure that every student feels close to and 

supported by one adult in the school community. 

Years 2-5 

SLE 2. Create a school culture of acknowledging 

and celebrating the positive accomplishments of 

every student and adult in the school community. 

Years 2-4 

SLE 1-1. Explore what “close relationship” 

means; identify successes, opportunities, and 

barriers. 

SLE 1-2. Establish intentionality around 

relationship-building. (See also HCE 1) 

SLE 1-3. Develop and implement programs with 

common themes and measurable goals, such as 

advisory. (See also EQ 3-3) 

SLE 1-4. Evaluate effectiveness of all programs. 

SLE 2-1. Define “positive accomplishment.” 

SLE 2-2. Explicitly teach positive behaviors and 

good citizenship. (See also TTLL 15.1) 

SLE 2-3. Implement structures/programs that 

celebrate positive behaviors and 

accomplishments. (See (See also TTLL 15.1)TTLL 

15.1) 

SLE 2-4. Evaluate structures/programs and 

improve as needed. 

Year 1: Spaces where close relationships do/do 

not occur and reasons for success/barriers 

identified. 

Year 3: More articulated programs, such as 

advisory, implemented. Intentionality around 

relationship building established. 

Year 5: Common themes and measurable goals 

established. Effectiveness evaluated annually 

using such data-collection methods as sociogram. 

Year 1: “Positive accomplishment” defined. 

Positive behaviors and good citizenship explicitly 

being taught. 

Year 3: Structures celebrating positive behaviors 

and accomplishments established. Gaps in 

systems (who is left out, what is redundant) 

identified. 

Year 5: Annual evaluation continues. Innovative 

encouraged. 



SLE 3. Establish rituals and structures that address 

safety concerns while recognizing the humanity of 

all students and adults. Years 1-5 

SLE 4. Set clear, meaningful expectations that are 

consistently and fairly enforced and promote a 

safe, trustful, and nurturing environment. 

Years 1-3 

SLE 5. Build capacity of every adult and student in 

the school community to develop self-awareness, 

make responsible decisions, develop resiliency, 

and manage emotions in a positive, productive 

manner. Years 1-5 (See also EQ 3-2) 

SLE 6. Create and articulate a system of support 

that identifies school community needs, especially 

for those who are in distress, creates shared 

ownership, and measures impact and efficacy. 

Years 1-5 

SLE 3-1. Evaluate effectiveness of current systems 

and identify gaps. 

SLE 3-2. Address areas of greatest concern 

according to students and school community. 

SLE 4-1. Gather student input on successes and 

opportunities. 

SLE 4-2. Establish expectations. 

SLE 4-3. Implement systemic SEL/problemsolving 

model. 

SLE 4-4. Eliminate racial predictability of 

discipline statistics. (See also EQ 2-1) 

SLE 5-1. Train all District and building leadership, 

faculty, and staff in social-emotional learning 

(SEL). 

SLE 5-2. Create SEL pilot program for freshmen. 

(See also HCE 1) 

SLE 5-3. Expand pilot program to other grade 

levels. 

SLE 5-4. Incorporate SEL in clubs, athletic teams, 

classrooms, curriculum, learning strands, 

professional development, assessment, and family 

support. 

SLE 6-1. Examine impact, efficacy, and 

redundancy of existing systems and identify 

needs. 

SLE 6-2. Begin implementing process to provide 

supports to students, staff, and families. 

SLE 6-3. Implement data system to track 

progress. 

SLE 6-4. Complete process implementation and 

continue evaluating with reliable data. 

Year 1: Evaluate current rituals and structures and 

perceptions of them using an evidence-based 

evaluation tool such as the School Evaluation Tool 

(SET). Student input gathered. 

Year 3: Areas of greatest concern identified. 

Teams in place to assess and respond in a 

systematic, effective manner. 

Year 1: Student voices examined. Clear and 

concise expectations set. 

Year 3: Systemic SEL/problem-solving model 

implemented. School-wide expectations 

understood and enforced by all. 

Year 5: Discipline statistics do not show 

predictability when disaggregated by race. 

Year 1: All faculty and staff trained in SEL. SEL 

emphasized in all meetings with teachers, faculty, 

and staff. 

Year 3: Yearlong pilot program implemented for 

freshmen. 

Year 5: SEL is incorporated in clubs, sports, 

classroom, curriculum, learning strands, 

professional development, assessment, and family 

support. 

Year 1: Needs identified. Research on impact, 

efficacy, and redundancy of systems begun. 

Year 3: Systems articulated. Process established 

to provide supports. Data system being used to 

track progress. 

Year 5: System of supports implemented. Impact 

and efficacy evaluated using reliable data. 


Goal 4: Transformational Teaching, Learning, and Leadership 

 

 

 

 

All OPRFHS educators will provide rich, engaging learning opportunities that set high expectations for all students and foster 

collaboration, problem solving, reflection, critical thinking, and independent learning. 

All OPRFHS educators will monitor student progress and use the information to revise and improve teaching practices and student 

learning. 

OPRFHS will support student learning by providing all educators with professional growth and collaboration opportunities that 

enhance effective teaching and leadership. 

All OPRFHS decision-makers will set high expectations for all, while affirming and supporting teaching and learning in all policies 

and practices. 

Sir Ken Robinson, a noted speaker and adviser on education and 

creativity, challenges us to think of our current ninth-grade 

students, born in the year 1999, and the world into which they will 

retire when they finish their work careers, in the year 2066. What 

knowledge, skills, and processes will they need to know to 

participate fully, thrive, and succeed in the rapidly changing 

community and workplace they will encounter? The answer to that 

question is the key to the action steps below, which are designed to 

move teaching, learning, and leadership forward. Classrooms must 

move from using traditional instructional models, where teachers 

dispense information and students respond on exams, to spaces 

where student voice and input provide the basis for new 

knowledge. They must become places where applying existing 

knowledge and skills propels students to address real-world 

problems and to discover possible solutions. A sense of shared 

leadership will encourage all stakeholders in the school community 

to ensure that these and other goals of the plan are enacted. 

Robust instructional technologies and proven, research-based 

teaching and leadership methods will press teachers and 

administrators to align technologies with student needs and to 

build partnerships across both villages in support of equity, 

achievement, and excellence for all students. 


TTLL 1. Identify incoming freshmen’s 

proficiency in learning skills and improve the 

skills of transition-level students. Years 1-3 

(See also HCE 1) 

TTLL 1-1. Build a profile of students who will benefit 

most from increased expectations, resources, and 

supports. 

TTLL 1-2. Develop and pilot a program of providing 

these resources and supports. 

TTLL 1-3. Expand program of providing these 

resources and supports. 

Year 2: Identify data systems. Build a workable 

profile of reading, math, and noncognitive skills. 



TTLL 2. Write targets for collaboration, 

problem solving, reflection, critical thinking, 

critical literacy, and independent learning skills 

for each core class at each grade level. 

Years 2-5 (See also TTLL 13-1) 

TTLL 3. Change classrooms as needed to 

reach learning targets and Common Core 

benchmark goals. Years 3-5 

TTLL 4. Engage stakeholders in supporting 

critical race consciousness and academic 

success for all students. Years 2-5 

TTLL 5. Build on sense of shared leadership for 

enacting strategic plan goals. Year 1 

TTLL 6. Provide academic support for 

students so that each student experiences 

academic challenge and success. Years 3-5 

TTLL 2-1. Create and publish a curriculum map for 

each course. 

TTLL 2-2. Make curricula accessible to families via the 

web. 

TTLL 3-1. Incorporate recent technology, use realworld 

applications, and make students participants in 

their own learning in all classes. (See also HCE 6-4) 

TTLL 3-2. Challenge students to lead for change and 

progress. 

TTLL 3-3. Accelerate learning through studentcentered 

options. (See also TTLL 11) 

TTLL 4-1. Organize a series of community dialogues. 

TTLL 4-2. Determine what data to use to measure 

progress in increasing engagement and addressing 

gaps. 

TTLL 4-3. Improve the rate of parent and community 

involvement. (See also TTLL 15-5) 

TTLL 4-4. Increase stakeholders’ level of satisfaction 

with equity-focused initiatives. 

TTLL 5-1. Determine lines of accountability for action 

steps. 

TTLL 5-2. Communicate with stakeholders about 

their roles in the plan. 

TTLL 6-1. Identify and increase the use of classroom 

practices that improve student engagement in 

transition and college prep classes. 

TTLL 6-2. Improve school community’s beliefs about 

and expectations and perceptions of classroom 

learning climate and instructional engagement in 

transition and college prep classes. 

TTLL 6-3. Create conditions for improving student 

achievement in transition and college prep classes. 

TTLL 6-4. Ensure all students meet career and college 

readiness benchmarks. 

24 • Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Strategic Plan 

Year 3: Curriculum maps for all core classes 

published on website. 

Year 5: Develop service-learning options such as 

internships, externships, community service, etc. 

All graduating seniors meet technology standards. 

Year 3: Community dialogue on critical race 

consciousness developed in partnership with 

parent organizations, faith community. 

Year 1: Completed implementation plans that 

include leadership from multiple stakeholder 

groups and communicate how regular reporting 

will occur. 

Year 5: 100% of students are college and career 

ready as measured by Partnership for Assessment 

of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) 

standards.


TTLL 7. Increase academic rigor in all courses, 

both core and elective, at the honors, college 

prep, and transition levels. Years 1-5 

TTLL 7-1. Disaggregate course enrollment by race 

and gender, and examine grade distributions within 

course levels. (See also EQ 1-1) 

TTLL 7-2. Work with community and school 

organizations to develop a pilot program addressing 

racial and curriculum equity. 

TTLL 7-3. Narrow enrollment and grade-attainment 

disparities. 

Year 5: Disaggregated course enrollments show 

no disproportionality. 

TTLL 8. Identify resources that will ensure that 

students are known and respected in all 

classrooms and that will accommodate 

different learning needs. Years 3-5 (See also 

EQ3, SLE 3) 

TTLL 9. Enhance the use of technology for 

teaching and learning in all classrooms. Years 

1-5 

TTLL 10. Establish a summer articulation 

program with D97, D90, and an area university 

to promote internships and encourage new 

technologies. 

Years 1-3 

TTLL 8-1. Determine sustainable and progressoriented 

class sizes for courses and course levels. 

TTLL 8-2. Determine how classes will create 

connected spaces for all students in the high school. 

TTLL 8-3. Reduce the predictability of race as a 

determining factor for student achievement. 

TTLL 9-1. Set student and teacher technology 

standards. 

TTLL 9-2. Implement program to improve teachers’ 

skills. 

TTLL 9-3. Implement program to improve students’ 

skills. 

TTLL 10-1. Create summer camps for math, science, 

arts, ELA starting in sixth grade. (See also HCE 1-5) 

TTLL 10-2. Build a partnership with a nearby 

university for summer activities and academics. 

Year 4: Class sizes determined. Plan for creating 

connected spaces for all students created. 

Year 1: Technology standards for students and 

teachers published online. 

Year 3: Technology standards incorporated into 

curriculum maps. 

Year 2: Intergovernmental agreement to develop 

programs with a university created. 



TTLL 11. Examine and improve studentcentered 

teaching and learning strategies at 

all levels, including honors, college prep, and 

transition courses. Years 1-5 (See also 

TTLL 3-3) 

TTLL 11-1. Identify student work and assessments of 

student-constructed assignments that will 

demonstrate authentic growth. 

TTLL 11-2. Develop a system for collecting and 

storing electronic portfolios of student work. 

TTLL 11-3. Demonstrate a narrowing of achievement 

disparities via test scores and portfolio assessments 

when the data is disaggregated by race. (See also 

EQ 1-6) 

Year 3: System created for collecting and storing 

electronic portfolios of student work. 

TTLL 12. Determine class size caps that make 

it possible for teachers to monitor the progress 

of all of their students, and to employ 

appropriate interventions. Year 1 

TTLL 13. Set learning and course targets for all 

courses. Years 1-3 

TTLL 12-1. Class size is capped. 

TTLL 12-2. Teachers will have time during every class 

period to check in with every student. Each student 

will be visible to all of his or her teachers. (See also 

EQ 3) 

TTLL 13-1. Teachers publish course targets in all core 

courses for review by and feedback from parents, 

students, and colleagues. (See also TTLL 2) 

Year 3: Analysis of class size in relationship to 

achievement and finances completed. 

Year 3: Curriculum maps for all core classes 

published on website. 

TTLL 14. Strengthen existing program of 

professional development. Years 1-5 

TTLL 13-2. Teachers determine consensus course 

assessments for all core courses. 

TTLL 13-3. Students meet outcomes on performance 

and summative assessments in all core courses. 

TTLL 14-1. Deepen existing opportunities for 

collaboration, for example, shared leadership, 

professional coaching and mentorship, and 

presentation at conferences. 

Year 1: Regular reports on enhanced professional 

development offerings. 

TTLL 14-2. Find additional ways for learning strands 

to integrate with one another. 



TTLL 15. Address school improvement. Years 

1-5 (See also SLE 2.2, SLE 2.3) 

TTLL 15-1. Incorporate positive behavior strategies. 

TTLL 15-2. Incorporate noncognitive skills that 

support student learning. 

TTLL 15-3. Incorporate metacognitive strategies that 

leverage students’ expertise in new technology. 

TTLL 15-4. Incorporate research-based effective 

teaching strategies, especially student self-efficacy 

skills that lead to engagement. 

TTLL 15-5. Create programs that develop and involve 

parents as a part of leadership and professional 

development. (See also TTLL 4-3) 

Year 2: Number of student discipline infractions 

has decreased. Supportive programs developed. 

TTLL 16. Create a community mindset that 

the highest expectations should be set for all 

students and the highest level of resources 

should be available for all students. Years 3-5 

TTLL 17. Increase adult-to-adult 

communication that promotes high visibility, 

support for teachers, access to shared 

decision-making and experiences, and 

effective feedback on work submitted. 

Years 1-5 (See also HCE 2) 

TTLL 16-1. Survey classrooms to determine the level 

of expectations in classrooms. 

TTLL 16-2. All teachers will hold the same high 

expectations for all students in all classes. 

TTLL 17-1. Conduct a review of internal 

communication patterns and opportunities. (See also 

HCE 2-1) 

TTLL 17-2. Conduct a communication audit to 

benchmark recommendations. 

Year 3: Community dialogue on critical race 

consciousness developed in partnership with 

parent organizations, faith community. 

Year 2: Communications plan published. 


Goal 5: Facilities and Finances 

As responsible stewards of OPRFHS assets, everyone in the OPRFHS community will make student-centered decisions relating to 

facilities and finances and allocate resources to ensure excellence and equity. 

District 200 is in a very healthy financial condition, yet nevertheless 

faces significant fiscal challenges in the coming years. Enrollment is 

projected to grow by nearly 700 students over the next decade, 

requiring additional resources. Our vintage building needs 

improvements that include new science labs, renovated pools, and 

technology infrastructure. Pension reform may involve shifting 

costs to local districts. While facing these expenditures, the District 

also seeks to maintain an educational experience of the highest 

quality possible for students. We must target resources wisely to 

support the goals of the strategic plan; the vision, mission, and 

values of the plan are the lens for focusing decision-making. 

Committees and processes already are in place to guide financial 

decisions, and will continue to work in support of strategic plan 

goals. In 2009-2010, the Board of Education established the 

Advisory Leadership Team (ALT), which comprises both school 

and community stakeholders. Each year ALT examines the 

District’s financial projections, generates a financial-gap analysis, 

and makes cost-containment recommendations. The current target 

established by ALT is for the District to cut a cumulative total of 

$22.4 million in costs through fiscal year 2023. The projection 

model used by ALT takes into account the need to increase 

classroom teacher staffing as the student population grows, but the 

model has not projected the proper time to add support services 

such as counselors, social workers, nurses, etc. 

In April 2012, the Board established the Long-Term Facility 

Planning Committee to create a plan for updating the building and 

accommodate the projected increase in student enrollment. Since 

then, the committee—also composed of school and community 

stakeholders—has worked with the District’s architecture firm to 

create timelines, conduct extensive interviews and focus groups 

with stakeholders, propose estimates, and create a first round of 

architectural drawings for consideration. 

In April 2013, the Board established a new Finance Advisory 

Committee in response to community concerns regarding the 

District’s total fund balance. The committee, which again includes 

both school and community members, will scrutinize the District’s 

total fund balance, as well as other financial matters, and 

determine the appropriate level of that balance. 

The work of these committees will help ensure the District’s longterm 

stability through careful planning to balance fiscal and 

instructional needs, as well as the needs of the community, which 

has a significant financial investment in the high school. 



FF 1. Develop and begin implementation of 

a long-term facility plan to accommodate 

projected increase in student enrollment. 

Years 4-5 

FF 2. Promote and sustain a model of 

future financial planning specific to fund 

balances through the Finance Advisory 

Committee. Year 1 

FF 3. Allocate resources to support the 

strategic plan. Years 1-5 

FF 4. Create communication plan. Years 1-5 

FF 1-1. Develop plan, including determining 

finance structure and community’s role. 

FF 1-2. Prioritize concepts (facilities and 

programs) to begin renovations and build 

out. 

FF 1-3. Cluster work appropriately. 

FF 2-1. Launch committee to discuss fund 

balances. 

FF 2-2. Assess current status of fund balance 

projections. 

FF 2-3. Make recommendations for district 

revenues and use of fund balances. 

FF 3-1. Work closely with implementation 

teams to identify early, mid-, and late-step 

budget needs on an annual basis. 

FF 3-2. Collect cost projections for 

determining resources in each goal area. 

FF 3-1. Imbed into current District financial 

projections. 

FF 4-1. Communicate current conditions and 

projections, as well as the model used for 

current strategic purposes. (See also HCE 2) 

FF 4-2. Communicate how the work of 

strategic plan affects the current model. 

Year 1: Board approves a building concept and finance 

decisions. Internal implementation teams created. 

Year 2: Finance and work plan developed. 

Year 3: Drawings and bids completed. 

Years 4 and 5: Construction begins. 

Year 1, summer prior: Committee formed. 

Year 1, fall: Potential recommendations to Board researched 

and discussed. 

Year 1, Nov./Dec.: Recommendation to Board. 

Semester 1 of each year: Implementation teams report out 

initial cost projections for the following year. 

Year 1: Communication strategies for landmark decisions 

created. Various constituents informed of implications. 

Years 2-5: Ongoing. 


Timeline 


Glossary 

Advisory period: A regular meeting time between a teacher and group of students intended to provide 

academic and social support to strengthen connections between adults and students and foster a 

supportive learning environment. 

Articulation: The ways in which schools, districts, and other educational entities coordinate programs 

to ensure students’ smooth transition through the education system. 

Core classes: Those classes required to graduate and to establish a solid academic basis for college and 

career readiness. 

Curriculum map: A tool for defining what currently is being taught in a particular course. Curriculum 

mapping involves identifying the core skills and content being taught and the student outcomes for 

that course. 

Diagonal movement: The movement of a particular student from a transition-level course to the 

college prep level, and then from college prep to the honors level. 

Differentiated instruction: Tailoring class content, teaching methods, projects, tests, learning 

environment, etc., to meet individual student learning needs. 

District Leadership Team (DLT): Comprises the superintendent, assistant superintendents, chief 

financial officer, chief information officer, principal, director of human resources, director of research 

and assessment, and director of communications and community relations. 

Equity: Raising the achievement of all students while narrowing the gaps between the highest and 

lowest performing students, and eliminating the racial predictability and disproportionality of which 

student groups occupy the highest and lowest achievement categories. 

Learning strands: One component of OPRFHS’s program of professional development. Faculty rotate 

through one of five learning strands each year. The strands are Racial Equity, Literacy, Social-Emotional 

Learning, Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning, and Data-Driven Decision Making. 

Metacognitive skills: Metacognition is the process of thinking about thinking; metacognitive skills are 

those that allow a student to understand and analyze his or her own learning. Meta-memory, for 

instance, is a student’s awareness of his or her own memory systems and strategies for effectively using 

his or her memory. 

Noncognitive skills: Behaviors, skills, attitudes, and strategies key to academic success, for instance, 

perseverance, self-confidence, and time management. 

Non-sender schools: Local private schools. 

Parent override: The process through which a parent may override a teacher recommendation and 

request a course change for his or her student. 

Restorative justice: A program of teaching conflict-resolution skills, building stronger relationships, 

and providing alternatives to “zero-tolerance” discipline. 


Rubric: A description of a class assignment that includes the expectations for the assignment, the 

grading criteria, and the points or grade a student can earn based on how effectively a student’s work 

meets those criteria. 

Self-efficacy skills: Skills that influence a student’s belief in his or her ability to succeed. When faced 

with a challenging problem, for instance, a student with a strong sense of self-efficacy would view it as 

a task to master while one with weaker self-efficacy would avoid the task. 

Sender schools: Brooks Middle School and Julian Middle School in Oak Park and Roosevelt Middle 

School in River Forest. 

Social and emotional learning (SEL): Developing self-awareness, ability to manage emotions, social 

awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Research indicates that competency in 

these skills improves academic outcomes. 

Social-emotional classroom practices: A way of teaching that incorporates strategies and 

environmental factors to foster social and emotional learning (see social and emotional learning, 

above). 

Transition-level classes: Offered in English, history, math, and science for students whose 

standardized test scores fall below established achievement levels.

Strategic Plan 2013-2018 - Oak Park and River Forest High School

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