The Oak Park Advantage

Dear OPS Families,

As this last school day ends, we want to thank our students, staff and families for your support as we navigated this unprecedented school year. When I consider all that our students have experienced over this past school year, I am extremely proud of their resilience, dedication, adaptability and the empathy that they expressed for others. During our Class of 2021 Commencement Ceremony, it was not only a celebration of the accomplishments of our graduating seniors, but a shared sense of nostalgia of a pre-pandemic time when we were able to fellowship with others with ease.

I would like to publicly acknowledge the support, work ethic and dedication of our faculty and staff, which made this school year a success. Additionally, I believe this is an opportunity to celebrate our collective successes as a school district community. Please join me in celebrating the many things that we have been able to accomplish this year!

• Established, coordinated and implemented a Hybrid Return to Learn Plan that honored our guiding principles and met the needs of all families
• Provided PPE and cleaning supplies to all staff and students and 18-hours of COVID-19 training total
• Passed a $54.5 million-dollar bond proposal with an 80% YES vote to address critical infrastructure needs of our school facilities
• Distributed over 3000 Chromebooks and 1000 hotspots
• Implemented a new district-wide communications newsletter (The Advantage), Oak Park Schools App, and Blackboard Communications system to email, text and call parents, staff and students within minutes
• Prepared and distributed nearly 300,000 meals to students, families and community members
• Established our own partnerships for weekly COVID-19 diagnostic testing, partnerships for student COVID-19 vaccines and childhood immunizations and hired a full time, experienced district nurse
• Installed (3) new playgrounds at Einstein, Key and Pepper
• Completed the renovations of the Oak Park High School cafeteria
• Conceptualized, planning and coordination of the impending opening of the Oak Park Schools Early Childhood Center
• Renovated the Einstein, Key, and OPPA Media Centers and staffed all schools with media specialists
• Implemented a 5-day schedule which allows all students in grades K-5 to have access to the equitable specials/elective opportunities
• Made significant cement/pavement repairs, redesigned and repaved the OPPA parking lot
• Installed new lighting internally and externally in parking lots with LED lighting for safety
• Upgraded all alarm systems to a higher level of security, repaired gates and fencing in the stadium and rear OPHS parking lots; Rekeyed the district; established a staff ID and parking lot pass protocol
• Implementation of the hiring process and recruitment system to attract and retain teachers
• Won OPHS Football Regional Championship and OPHS Track & Field State Championship
• Coordinated and executed an amazing and COVID-19 safe class of 2021 commencement ceremony and more!
  
  Despite a uniquely challenging school year, great things are happening in Oak Park Schools! We look forward to a wonderful summer school program. We wish all of our students, families and community a happy and healthy summer vacation! Again, thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Jamii J. Hitchcock, Ph.D.
Superintendent

In order to meet the needs of all of our students, we are hard at work planning learning options for the 2021-2022 school year. To help us plan for next school year, we are asking all families to complete an Intent to Return for all students by Friday, June 11, 2021.

This process is completed in the MISTAR Parent Portal. Your responses will be used to plan for next year. Please follow the steps below to complete your intent for EACH child enrolled in the Oak Park School District.

1. Log in to Parent Portal. Your username is an assigned number. If you need assistance with your login credentials, please select the Need Your Login Information? option below the PIN and Password field. This will prompt you to supply your email address and your PIN and Password will be emailed to you.

1. Click on "Intent to Return" link at the top of the page.
2. Select “Update/Confirm Now” under each Student.
3. Fill out the required fields within "Intent to Return".
4. Click the "Submit" button at the top.
5. Repeat for each student in your home.

For additional direction and support with the Intent to Return process, we have created screen shots and a video to simplify this process. Please click: Screen Shots & Video for support.

If you have any issues during this process or have any questions, please email us at opsenrollment@oakparkschools.org.

Thank you and we are looking forward to planning a great 2021-22 school year!

We are now enrolling grades Pre-K - 12 for the 2021-2022 academic school year.

Schools of Choice(Out of District Residents) applications are being accepted until September 3rd! ENROLL TODAY!

GET THE OAK PARK ADVANTAGE!

• 22 AP COURSES
• FREE TUTORING
• SMALL CLASS SIZES
• 1:1 TECHNOLOGY @ SCHOOL & HOME
• IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL LEARNING
  
  VISIT US ONLINE AT www.oakparkschools.org
  

Be sure to learn more about the Center for Advanced Studies & the Arts (CASA)! CASA is a consortium available to Oak Park High School students. CASA offers 16 Advanced Placement courses, a vibrant visual arts curriculum and a robust advanced dance program.

To learn more, visit us at www.oakparkschools.org, click on the Schools tab and scroll down to CASA!

A special thanks to Director Jennifer Gebbie and CASA program students Fred and Tomi for your amazing presentation to the Board of Education on Monday evening!

To view the CASA presentation slides, please click: https://drive.google.com/.../1_qPkR2cQKlaoQYgBNq957Z.../view

Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, Director of Kids Kicking Cancer was named the winner of Hometown Health Hero award for 2021. This award recognizes individuals and organizations across the state working tirelessly to maintain and improve the health of their local communities. The Hometown Health Hero award is a major part of the Public Health Week in Michigan.

Headquartered in Southfield, Kids Kicking Cancer has partnered with Oak Park Schools for the past two years bringing the Hero’s Circle to second and third graders Kids Kicking Cancer uses martial arts therapy to help children fighting cancer and other serious illnesses by empowering them and providing a sense of power, peace and purpose.

As the 2021 school year comes to a close, Columbia University is offering a Summer Immersion program for high schoolers (grades 9-12). Admissions will be reviewing applications for Session 2 (July 20–August 6) and Session 3 (August 9–August 13).

This an excellent opportunity for bright, high-achieving high school students, this program will give a rigorous college preparatory educational experience through exploratory coursework and community activities.

SUMMER IMMERSION HIGHLIGHTS

• Interact with Columbia scholars and experts in their fields.
• Engage with an international community of students.
• Prepare for college and the admissions process through specially designed programs.
• Participate in extracurricular activities led by current students.
• Earn a Columbia University Certification of Participation and evaluation letter.
  
  If you have any questions about Summer Immersion or Columbia University’s other Programs for High School Students, please contact Erik Nelson, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at hsp@columbia.edu.
  
  https://precollege.sps.columbia.edu/highschool/online...

Oak Park Schools & Gleaners Community Food Bank are continuing to serve our community this spring. We want to ensure all families wishing to receive meals can do so. Families and individuals in need of food are encouraged to attend an upcoming drive-up distribution provided by Gleaners Community Food Bank

The distribution will take place on Friday, June 18 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Oak Park High School (13701 Oak Park Blvd, Oak Park 48237). PLEASE ENTER OFF OF COOLIDGE HWY.

Please contact Vicky Zoldos at 313-530-8736 with any further questions.

Office of Teaching and Learning

District Wide Updates

w/o May 24, 2021

• Summer School!

• Oak Park Schools is proud to offer Summer Enrichment Learning for our K-12 students. Our summer program will run Monday - Thursday from June 28th - August 5, 9:00am - 4:00pm. Any parents or students interested in registration, please see the linked flyer. Any staff members interested in applying to teach, please email teachingandlearning2@oakparkschools.org for more information.

• Young people are passionate, courageous, creative, and resilient. They are full of hope and have the potential to generate positive change in the world. Oakland Youth Innovation Lab will build on these strengths to ignite a joy of learning for all. This unique learning experience will be grounded in a strong sense of community and will engage students in deep learning that is meaningful and authentic. OYIL is seeking teachers who are interested in being part of a unique design process for a new way of facilitating learning. Interested in learning more? Click HERE.
  
  

• Additional Summer Learning Opportunities

• The Michigan Learning Channel launched in January 2021 with the goal of making high-quality educational programming accessible at home to every student and family in Michigan—with or without home internet access. The channel is available statewide on broadcast television through a partnership between Michigan’s six PBS stations as well as on-demand and streaming to any device at www.michiganlearning.org. In Summer 2021, the Michigan Learning Channel is offering an 8-week program for grades Pre-K-6. The program includes standards-aligned ELA and Math lessons for each grade, plus physical fitness activities, hands-on STEM programs, and fun enrichment activities that bring in partners from across the state around a weekly theme.
  
  

• Article of the Week:

• There is growing consensus within the professional and medical fields that all schools will need to deeply focus on the social emotional support of students, families, and staff. Check out an article from EdWeek about this very subject! Thanks to OPHS ELA teacher Peter Haun for sharing.

• Professional Learning

• Interested in a FREE Virtual Engineering Boot Camp for Teachers? Engage with science and engineering practices of NGSS through real-world applications of engineering and hands-on activities you can incorporate into your classroom.

Oak Park Schools is excited to announce the release of a mobile app designed specifically to keep our families better informed and connected to what’s going on in our schools.

The new Oak Park Schools mobile app for both Apple and Android devices will keep you connected while you are on the go. The app is FREE and available for download today!

The app will deliver real time school news to your smart-device for fast, up-to-date access. With the app you can:

• Get the latest district and school news
• Select the schools you want to follow
• Get push notifications about breaking news, closures, weather, events, and more
• See the latest photos from school events
• Tap to see school locations, phone numbers, and staff information

Download the new app in 3 easy steps:

From a smart-device, go to the iTunes App Store® or Google Play®

Search Oak Park Schools

Then select the “Oak Park Schools” app for free download

School news in the palm of your hand, your new Oak Park Schools mobile app is just a few taps away. Download it today!

Our mission is to provide a quality education that promotes respect for the individual and cultural differences of students and provides college and career readiness skills to become lifelong learners and productive citizens.

The Oak Park School District’s nearly 4,500 students are served at Einstein, Key and Pepper elementary schools (grades PreK-5), the Oak Park Preparatory Academy (grades 6-8), , Oak Park High School (grades 9 -12), NOVA (grades 3-12) the Oak Park Alternative Education Center (ages 16-19 years old) and My Virtual Academy of Oak Park (grades 5-12) in Oak Park, MI in Oakland County located in a suburban community near Detroit with approximately 30,000 residents. Our district consists of over 450 staff members, including 250 teachers and 11 building administrators.

Our school district boasts an abundance of educational and co/extra-curricular programs to meet the needs of a vast array of learners from Pre-K through twelfth grade. We encourage students to challenge themselves academically, explore comprehensive course offerings, and take risks to discover their individual gifts. We are dedicated to providing an intellectually challenging educational experience in safe, nurturing school environments that thrive on cultivating and empowering students to be their authentic selves. In addition, our academic and co/extra-curricular opportunities provide agency and shape self-identity, which are critical components to the adolescent development process.

Oak Park Advantage

The Oak Park Advantage is a holistic approach to education that not only prepares students academically, fosters a sense of belonging but creates long-lasting connections to the Oak Park community. While attending Oak Park Schools, students develop a confidence that is woven throughout their post-secondary, professional and social-emotional well-being years after they graduate.

Contact an Oak Park School District principal and take a tour! Get the Oak Park Advantage!

Our 2020 Goals

Maintain dynamic, healthy, and safe learning environments that inspire unlimited equitable opportunities for optimal classroom instruction to increase student achievement.

Implement ongoing transparent best practices to reduce operating costs to create opportunities to invest in human capital and professional learning, sustain quality facilities, establish a healthier organizational culture, and ensure fiscal stability.

Strategically design and implement organizational systems to increase efficiency, boost productivity to allow staff and students to focus entirely on student learning and social-emotional well-being.

Review and refresh curricular needs and resources employing planned adoption schedules based on current research with technology integration for classroom instruction.

Operate collaboratively district-wide and abandon ineffective silos.

Website: www.oakparkschools.org
Location: 13900 Granzon Street, Oak Park, MI, USA
Phone: (248)336-7700
Facebook: facebook.com/oakparkschools
Twitter: @oakparkschools