The new academic year is underway for the more than 3,000 students at Oak Park-River Forest High School, with the school hosting a weeklong “Spirit Week” that started Monday.
“We’ve all been commenting [on] what a really smooth start we’ve had to the school year,” School District 200 spokeswoman Karin Sullivan told Pioneer Press.
OPRFHS is the lone school in the district.
Sullivan said a host of new courses rolled out this school year, including Asian American Voices, advanced placement African American studies (a pilot during the 2023-2024 school year), AP research, and additional math and science classes, along with English Language Learner Study Skills and Supports.
According to Sullivan, OPRFHS is in the midst of a $102 million project which began in early June and should be completed by the end of summer 2026.
“We’re replacing the southeast wing of our building, which is the physical education wing,” Sullivan said. “Our PE and athletics program have had to find new places to practice and ways to use our spaces.”
She explained that Imagine OPRF Project 2, which is part of a long-term capital projects plan, includes a new single pool, new all-gender locker rooms, performing arts space enhancements and a new elevator for the million-square-foot building.
“We’re replacing century-old facilities that no longer serve our students,” Sullivan said.
She added that a separate project will install 270 geothermal wells under the football field.
“This geothermal system will supply 100% of the heating and cooling for the Project 2 spaces, and will get us significantly closer to our Sustainability Policy goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 100 percent of 2012 levels by 2050,” Sullivan said.
According to Sullivan, enrollment for this 2024-2025 year is 3,350, up from 3,314 students enrolled last school year.
The high school, which serves families of the west suburban towns of Oak Park and River Forest, has 16 new faculty members and 13 new staffers.
“It’s always exciting to bring in new teachers,” Sullivan said. “To see their excitement to be joining us is fun. We have a strategic plan goal of increasing the diversity of our faculty to most closely mirror our student demographics. We’ve made progress on that.”
The new school year started Aug. 15.
“We want to make sure every student in our building feels welcome and included and that we are giving them all the opportunity to reach their full potential,” Sullivan said.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
