Oak Park and River Forest High School

History

OPRF has been listed six times on Newsweek's top 1500 American public schools, as measured by the Challenge Index. In 2009, the school was ranked #549. In previous years, the school was ranked No. 554 (2003), No. 590 (2005), No. 501 (2006), No. 688 (2007), and No. 379 (2008).

Boundary

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 are Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and River Forest School District 90.

Traditions

School crest

The school's crest is a shield divided into three sections. The top left section depicts an acorn cradled in the leaves of an oak tree. 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"). The top left section is separated from the other two sections by a wide divider inscribed with the school's motto ΤΑ Γ'ΑΡΙΣΤΑ (Those things that are best). The crest has been a symbol of the school since 1908.

Scholarship Cup

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.

Academics

In 2008, OPRF had an average composite ACT score of 24.5, and graduated 94.3% of its senior class.

The following Advanced Placement courses are offered (not complete list):

Student life

The arts

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.

Among the school's music and song groups are a gospel choir, two jazz bands, a jazz combo, a marching band & color guard, and a pep band. The school also has three choirs during the school day: a Treble Choir, a Chorale, and an A 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, a Madrigals group, and a show choir. 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 a drill team and an orchesis group.

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. In support of these, the school not only sponsors a stage crew group for students but a theatrical makeup group as well. Student performers who excel in their performance may be inducted into the school's chapter of the International Thespian Society. 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.

Among the plastic arts the school supports an overarching arts club in addition to a photography club and wheel throwing club which emphasizes pottery.

The School has a speech team that participates in the IHSA State series.

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.

Activities and clubs

OPRF offers over 60 clubs and activities ranging from athletic and artistic to competitive academic, cultural, and social awareness.

Among the clubs which are affiliates or chapters of notable national organizations are ASPIRA, Best Buddies, Business Professionals of America, Cum Laude Society, and Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).

An intramural program sponsors both competitive round robin and free play competitions in basketball, badminton, ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, and flag football.

The following non-athletic teams have won their respective IHSA-sponsored state competition or tournament:

Chess: 1984–85

Debate: 1982–83, 1983–84

Athletics

OPRF competes in the West Suburban Conference. The school is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most sports and competitive activities. The school's teams are stylized as the Huskies.

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in: basketball cross country, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and water polo. Young men may compete in baseball, golf, football, and wrestling, while women may compete in badminton, cheerleading, gymnastics, and softball. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors teams for young men and women in lacrosse, in addition to a field hockey and drill team for young women. While not sponsored by the school, there is an ice hockey team affiliated with the school.

By school policy, athletes must maintain a "D" average (1.0 GPA) to compete and practice. 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. Any athlete finishing two consecutive quarters of study with a failing grade are ineligible for athletic participation.

The following teams have won their respective IHSA-sponsored state championship tournament or meet:

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 the hammer throw, three-legged race, sack race, and obstacle course. 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.

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 the Suburban League, which would eventually splinter off into several smaller leagues, one of which was the West Suburban Conference.

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 to Northwestern University (then known as the Purple), 1–27.

Notable alumni

Letters and journalism

Kenneth Fearing, poet, novelist (The Big Clock) and founder of The Partisan Review

Michael Gerber, author of the Barry Trotter series and parodies of the Harry Potter books; humorist whose work has appeared in The Yale Record, The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Saturday Night Live

Tavi Gevinson, founder and editor-in-chief of Rookie Magazine

Jane Hamilton, novelist (The Book of Ruth, A Map of the World)

Paul Harvey, Jr., radio news writer, producer, and on-air talent best known for his work with The Rest of the Story, which was long hosted by his father

Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize- and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer

George Gruhn, author and expert on vintage American guitars; founder of Gruhn Guitars

Janet Lewis, librettist, poet, and novelist (The Wife of Martin Guerre)

Michelle McNamara, freelance writer, crime blogger, author of I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

Barbara Mertz, bestselling writer of more than 60 mysteries under the pen names Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels

Francis Morrone, an architectural historian known for his work on the built environment of New York City

Bruce Morton, Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning television journalist, spending most of his career with CBS News

Fine and performing arts

Heléne Alexopoulos, ballet dancer; principal dancer with the New York City Ballet

Dan Castellaneta, actor best known for providing the voice of Homer Simpson on the television series The Simpsons

Bruce Davidson, documentary photographer, best known for his coverage of the American Civil Rights Movement

Paul Dinello, writer, director, producer and actor

Amir El Saffar, musician

Eleanor Friedberger, of the Fiery Furnaces

Matthew Friedberger, of the Fiery Furnaces

Mason Gamble, actor (Dennis the Menace, Rushmore)

Kathy Griffin, comedian and actress (Suddenly Susan, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List)

Kara Jackson, National Youth Poet Laureate and musician

John La Montaine, composer; 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Music

Felicity LaFortune, actress

Thomas Lennon, actor (Reno 911!, The State) and screenwriter (Night at the Museum)

Ted Levine, an actor known for the film The Silence of the Lambs and the television series Monk

Ludacris, rapper, entrepreneur and actor

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, actress best known for her work in film (The Abyss, Scarface, White Sands)

Science

Richard C. Atkinson, psychologist; director of the National Science Foundation; chancellor of the University of California, San Diego; president of the University of California

Wallace S. Broecker, geologist, perhaps best known for coining the phrase "global warming"

Winifred Cameron, astronomer at NASA 1959–1984

James Bennett Griffin is regarded as one of the most influential North American archaeologists in the 20th century. He was professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan.

Peter J. Hansen, animal scientist and distinguished professor at the University of Florida known for his work in domestic animal embryo transfer and reproductive biology

James B. Herrick, medical doctor; the first to identify sickle cell anemia and coronary thrombosis

Kermit E Krantz, surgeon, physician, author, and inventor; co-developed the Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz procedure

Wilton Krogman, professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania

Peter N. Peregrine, archaeologist and cross-cultural researcher specializing in cultural evolution.

Jay Ruby, anthropologist specializing in the field of visual anthropology

Susan Subak, environmental scientist and author working on climate change

James Thomson, biologist best known for his work with human embryonic stem cells

Sports

Johnny Barrett, former NFL player

Don Canham, track and field coach at the University of Michigan before becoming its athletic director (1968–1988)

Leo Chappell, former NFL player

Ellis Coleman, 2012 Olympian in wrestling

Jim Dewar, former NFL player

Alfred Eissler, former NFL player

Dallis Flowers, NFL cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Grand View and Pittsburg State.

Milt Ghee, former NFL player

Greg Guy, 1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball scoring champion

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 of Lands' End.

Charlie Hoag, member of the 1952 gold medal U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball team

Brandon Knight, NFL player

Reynold Kraft, former NFL player

Eric Kumerow, football player for Ohio State and a first-round draft pick of the NFL's Miami Dolphins

Sean Lawrence, pitcher (1998) with the Pittsburgh Pirates

Emery Lehman, speed skater who participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter Olympics, and 2022 Winter Olympics (bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics)

Other

Bruce Barton, U.S. Congressman (1937–1941), author (The Man Nobody Knows), and ad executive

Gregory W. Cappelli, CEO of Apollo Group, which owns the University of Phoenix, the largest for-profit higher education institution in the US

Mike Feinberg, co-founder of Knowledge Is Power Program

GAWNE, rapper, singer, and songwriter

Walter Burley Griffin, architect and city planner best known for designing the capital city of Australia, Canberra, as well as the development of the carport and "L-shaped floor plan"

Otto Kerner, Jr., 33rd Governor of Illinois (1961–1968); namesake of the national Kerner Commission

Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's; did not graduate, instead enlisting as an ambulance driver in World War I

Heather Mack, is an American heiress and criminal

Prentice H. Marshall, a federal judge who sat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1973—1996)

Phil C. Neal, dean of the University of Chicago Law School 1963– 1975

Phil Radford, environmental, clean energy and democracy leader; executive director of Greenpeace

Roberta L. Raymond, founded the Oak Park Regional Housing Center in 1972, named one of the top housing programs in the United States by the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Louis Sauer, architect, urban designer, and academic; won numerous awards for developments in modern medium density low rise row housing, particularly in Philadelphia

Notable staff

Glenn Thistlethwaite, football and track and field coach at the school (1913–1922) before becoming the head football coach at Northwestern University (1922–1926) and the University of Wisconsin (1927–1931), among others

John W. Wood, school's soccer coach; in 1952, was appointed head coach of the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team

Robert Zuppke, football and track and field coach at the school (1910–1913) prior to becoming the head football coach at the University of Illinois (1913–1941); member of the College Football Hall of Fame; some sources cite his innovations (like the flea flicker and screen pass) as having started when he coached here