WHAT'S NEW
THE LATEST INFO ON OUR PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
2020 Virtual Poetry Slam
How do you have a poetry slam when you can't gather? You do it virtually! Just like the rest of the world, our Spoken Word program had some unexpected challenges this year. But, our poets prevailed. For the first time, we had a combined Brooks/Julian club. The poets...
Good-Beye to Mr. Ellwanger
One of the things that made us saddest about canceling this year's Bingo Bash was that we were losing the chance to give Mr. Ellwanger, also known as Mr. E, the 2020 Staszak Educator Award. Mr. Ellwanger started his Oak Park career as a music teacher at Beye, and...
BASE Camp Cancelled for Summer 2020, Seeking New Ideas
It is with great sadness that we have decided to cancel our four weeks of in-person BASE (Build A Summer Education) Camp. We’ve consulted with our board, staff, D97 leaders and other community partners, and it has become clear that there will be no way to safely run...
BASE Camp Update and Response to Pandemic
The following is the most recent communication around the planning and status of BASE Camp. This letter was sent to our community April 17 after the governor's announcement about the closure of school buildings and extension of remote learning through the end of the...
Spoken Word Club resumes virtually
Calling all Spoken Word fans! The OPEF after-school club for Julian and Brooks students is back and running virtually on Monday afternoons from 3-4:30 pm through the end of May. Here is the link by video: meet.google.com/xif-vqkr-rax Students also can join on the...
BASE Camp Update and Information
Hello BASE Camp families, We know this is a challenging time for all, but we wanted to send some information and reassurance your way about something you may not be thinking of quite yet--your summer plans. The BASE Camp team is continuing to plan and prepare for a...
Lucky Llamas Take Top Honors at Battle of the Bots
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...
BASE Camp 2020
Mark your Calendar! Registration for BASE Camp 2020 opens February 5th at noon. Our full list of 2020 camps can be seen here. Camp runs June 15th to July 10th. What is BASE Camp? OPEF’s summer BASE Camp offers a wide variety of STEAM-focused camps with topics such as...
Now Offering Partial Scholarships for BASE Camp
NEW! Partial Scholarships Available For the first time, thanks to our generous donors, we are offering PARTIAL scholarships to D97 families with campers going into grades 1-8 in the fall. If you don't qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program, but still find it a...
2018-2019 Annual Report
In the summer of 2019, we made a lasting mark outside four elementary schools, installing vibrant mosaic murals of a blooming tree. Those trees also remind us of our reinvention as an organization—branching out towards a new future while firmly rooted by our 30-year...