One of the best things about BASE Camp is the way it connects students not only to each other, but to their community. This presentation was created by campers at Oak Park Go! under the guidance of D97 teacher John Colucci and with help from the OPRF Historical Society and the Oak Park Regional Housing […]
A look back at the 2016-17 season in which we served more kids in more ways than ever before.
What does it take to have a fun, educational summer? Apparently it takes 35 empty 2-liter soda bottles, golf balls, CDs, a ton of newspaper, broken chairs and a bunch of other random items! These are just some of the hundreds of items on Base Camp’s wish list of supplies. To you, they’re just clutter, […]
How do you get a room full of third graders to stay interested as the school year winds down? Bring them some Legos and show them how they use simple machines in every day life. Working in groups of two the nineteen students in Ms. Swanson’s third grade classroom built and experimented with OPEF’s Lego […]
On May 17, Mr. Podlasek’s second grade class brought music, singing, and lots of smiles to the residents of Belmont Village. The Longfellow second graders have been working with local musician John Milan as part of OPEF’s Art Start program. Milan has been working with OPEF since its beginnings in 1998 and has been joining forces […]
What do hydrogen peroxide, gummy bears, glycerol, Mentos and household insulation all have in common? They were all part of a chemistry extravaganza enjoyed by fourth graders at Whittier Elementary School–the culmination of an Science Alliance residency sponsored by the Oak Park Education Foundation and taught by volunteer scientist Dr. Brent Friesen, a chemistry professor at Dominican […]
Marta Segal Block, an experienced communications specialist and longtime Oak Parker, has joined the team at the Oak Park Education Foundation as its new Director of Communications. “A former teacher, Marta brings to us a great enthusiasm for our work and our mission,” said Tracy Dell’Angela Barber, OPEF’s Executive Director. “She’s a savvy writer with a keen […]
Fifteen Oak Park middle schoolers shared their intimate and humorous perspectives on a range of subjects– school, friends, relationships, rejection, adult authority, political upheaval and gun violence–in a moving night of poetry performances for the culmination of OPEF’s Spoken Word program. Families, teachers, and supporters packed the performance space for the 2nd Annual “Respect the Mic” Poetry Slam […]
¿Qué pasa in la clase de Señorita Bartell? Señorita Bartell’s Spanish Immersion classroom at Lincoln explored the concepts of wheels and axles – one of the simple machine units offered through the Oak Park Education Foundation’s Geared Up program. Geared Up provides Spanish language instruction booklets, and the various lessons on simple machines give the […]
Lessons about simple machines came alive for more than 100 third graders from Holmes Elementary this week during a field trip to the Oak Park Public Works facility–the culmination of a Geared Up residency provided by OPEF. As a street sweeper rumbled to life, Geared Up Coordinator Gretchen Junker called out to the gathered students: “What […]
Students got a chance to dip their toe into the exciting world of VEX Robotics in a new pilot program this year.
Dr. Silver Daniel (pathologist at Central DuPage Hospital) led 5th graders in Ms. Moncatch’s class on an exploration of cells and their function in the human body. To help the students remember the components inside of a cell, they made their own edible cell model. Cookies represented the cell, icing was the “cytoplasm” and various […]