by Amanda Young | Mar 11, 2020 | Battle of the Bots, Brooks, D97 Schools, Events, Julian, News, OPEF Programs, VEX Robotics
It took a lot more than luck for the “Lucky Llamas” to take home the top honor at the Battle of the Bots middle school robotics competition this weekend. For this all-girl team of 7th graders from Julian Middle School, winning the VEX Robotics Excellence Award... 
by Laura Garcia | May 17, 2019 | Brooks, D97 Schools, Julian, News, Poetry Slam, Spoken Word
OPEF Spoken Word students shook the house at the School of Rock with their raw honesty and powerful words last week. The poetry slam, titled Respect the Mic, fostered creativity and self-expression while giving kids the opportunity to speak about their lives in a... 
by Tracy DellAngelaBarber | Feb 21, 2019 | Fundraising Events, Julian, News, Spoken Word
‘Allowing teachers to see students for who they really are’ Buying a ticket to OPEF’s re-invented fundraiser not only allows you to support amazing enrichment programs in Oak Park schools, it also gives you a chance to celebrate an influential teacher who does... 
by Marta Segal Block | Feb 11, 2019 | Events, Fundraising Events, News
What does it take to pull off a bingo-themed party for 200 people and make sure your guests can win great prizes, enjoy yummy food and drinks, and support a great cause while having fun with friends and neighbors? The first, most important step is to deploy an... 
by Marta Segal Block | Feb 4, 2019 | Events, Fundraising Events, News
This spring there’s a whole new kind of FUNdraiser coming to town! At OPEF our mission is to provide kids with meaningful, enriching and fun hands-on educational opportunities, why shouldn’t our fundraisers be the same? OK, Bingo is not exactly... 
by Marta Segal Block | Nov 6, 2018 | News, Open House
Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday for our annual Open House event: Super STEAM Saturday. Over 100 families representing all of the D97 schools (and a few others) came out to create mandalas, drive robots, write poetry, draw buildings, play with LEGOs and...