West Cook News

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 has announced that its Board of Education is among 42 school boards in Illinois to receive the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) 2025 School Board Governance Recognition designation. This two-year award acknowledges local school boards that have demonstrated commitment to board development and participation.

Board president Audrey Williams-Lee commented on the focus of the D200 Board: “In the two years since I became a board member, we’ve had a deliberate focus on governance to improve our efficiency and effectiveness as a district. This has been an evolution for our Board. Some of the work started a decade ago and provided a foundation for the more recent efforts.”

A recent initiative by the board was the creation of a Board member “atlas.” The document outlines the board’s operating rhythm, norms, goals, and includes information on fiscal stewardship such as financial benchmarking with peer districts, debt issuance guidelines, and frameworks for funding capital projects.

Williams-Lee explained, “Our Board member atlas is a culmination of the focus on governance. This has improved how we work as a Board, our oversight of the district, the level of transparency and communication we have with the community, and trust with the District Leadership Team. I am very proud of our governance focus and how it has raised the bar for us as Board members.”

Oak Park and River Forest High School serves students in grades 9 through 12 in Oak Park and Cook County. During the 2019-2020 school year, enrollment stood at 3,393 students. Of these students, grade 10 had the highest concentration at 26.2 percent according to data from Illinois Report Card. The student body was composed of approximately 56.9 percent white students, 18.2 percent black students, 12.6 percent Hispanic students, and 3.8 percent Asian students during that same period (source).