West Cook News

Laurie Fiorenza, the Oak Park and River Forest High School administrator who spearheaded the school's 2022 race-based grading initiative, is resigning her post, effective June 30.

Fiorenza's resignation was reported by the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune reported that Fiorenza, the school's "assistant superintendent for student learning," sent a resignation email to staff but didn't give a reason for her departure.

In May 2022, Fiorenza presented a powerpoint outlining her "Transformative Education Professional Development & Grading" plan to the Oak Park and River Forest District 200 School Board. It sought to equalize test scores among racial groups, ordering teachers to exclude from their grading assessments variables it says disproportionately hurt the grades of black students. Fiorenza's plan banned teachers from docking black students for missing class, misbehaving in school or failing to turn in their assignments.

In Aug. 2021, Fiorenza issued a report chronicling a spike in "F" grades by OPRF students in the 2020-21 school year. She said race-based grading would result in higher grades for black students. "OPRF’s administration will adopt language that makes and keeps the system visible and continues to name racism as a complex interconnected structure," she wrote. "We must recognize the unique challenges faced during the pandemic intensify the need for a systemic approach to confronting the racial and socioeconomic discrepancies often experienced by our underrepresented student population."

Also in 2021, in response to Fiorenza's report, OPRF teacher Amy Hill changed her grade point scale to give students an "F" only if their score was below 20 percent. Students with 65 percent would receive a "B."

OPRF salary records show Fiorenza earned $217,733 in total compensation in 2024. 

Fiorenza, of Plainfield, came to OPRF in July 2019. She previously worked as a principal in Indian Prairie School District 204 in Aurora (2015-2019), as an assistant principal in Batavia (2013-2015) and as a teacher and assistant principal in downstate. Quincy (2006-2011). She's a 1994 graduate of Quincy University.