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.

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8] After two failures, and threats of students needing to attend double shifts, the bond issue passed in December 1971.^[9][10]

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).^[11]

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.^[12][13]

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.^[14]

Athletics

Oak Forest is a member of the South Suburban Conference. Its teams are called 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 men and women in basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Men may also compete in baseball, football, wrestling, while women may also compete in badminton, cheerleading, and softball. There is also a district water polo team which students from Oak Forest, Bremen, and Tinley park can compete with.^[15]

The athletic facilities include two gymnasiums (each with its own locker rooms), the smaller of which is predominantly used for wrestling. There is a small natatorium for swimming classes and competitive swimming and diving. The main athletic field used for football, soccer, and track and field has permanent lights. Baseball and softball fields, in addition to tennis courts, round out the outdoor facilities.

The following sports teams have placed in the top four of their respective state tournament sponsored by the IHSA:^[16]

• Badminton: 4th place (1979–80)
• Baseball: State Champions (1984–85); 2nd Place (2011)
• Basketball (girls): 4th place (1978–79)
• Softball: State Champions (2008–09)
• Volleyball (girls): 3rd place (1983–84, 1985–86); 2nd place (1979–80)
• Track & Field (boys): 4th place(2010)
• Cheerleading 2009,2010,2013 3rd place in state, 2012 2nd place in state 2016 State Champions
• Wrestling: 3rd place (2014),(2015)

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, FHA, National Honor Society, and Operation Snowball.^[17]

The Group Interpretation team won the IHSA State Championship in 1977–78.^[18]

Notable alumni

• Tim Byrdak (class of 1991) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher (1998–2000, 2005–present), currently pitching with the New York Mets.^[19][20]
• Jason Frasor (class of 1995) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher (2004–present) with the Kansas City Royals.^[21]
• Rick Gorecki (class of 1991) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. (1997–98).^[22][23]
• Jeff Kunkel (class of 2001) is a minor league baseball player and Major League Baseball coach^[24]
• Jimmy Pardo (class of 1984) is a professional comedian who has made hundreds of television appearances including The Tonight Show, That '70s Show, Conan and has his own half hour special on Comedy Central. He is also the host of Race To Escape on Science Channel. Jimmy is often described as a podcast pioneer for his long running podcast Never Not Funny, available on Earwolf. (http://www.earwolf.com/show/never-not-funny/)
• George Saunders (class of 1976) is an acclaimed American writer of short stories and essays.
• Tevin Coleman (class of 2012) is an American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana University, where he was a unanimous All-American.
• Kyle Funkhouser (class of 2012) is a baseball pitcher who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2016.

References

External links

• Oak Forest High school (official site)