Editing Oak Park, Illinois (section)

===Schools===
[[Image:Oak park library.jpg|thumb|right|Oak Park Public Library]]
The public [[primary school]]s (Lincoln, Mann, Longfellow, Beye, Irving, Holmes, Whittier, and Hatch) and the [[middle school]]s, [[Percy Lavon Julian|Percy Julian]] Middle School (formerly [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]) and [[Gwendolyn Brooks]] Middle School (formerly [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]]) are operated by [[Oak Park Elementary School District 97]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.op97.org/# |title=Schools |publisher=Oak Park Elementary School District 97 |access-date=September 6, 2007 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929075542/http://www.op97.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> These ten schools serve the entire city limits.<ref name=CookCoSchoolDistMap>{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st17_il/schooldistrict_maps/c17031_cook/DC20SD_C17031.pdf |title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cook County, IL |publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]] |page=6 (PDF p. 7) |accessdate=July 6, 2021 |archive-date=July 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701025131/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st17_il/schooldistrict_maps/c17031_cook/DC20SD_C17031.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There are also multiple private schools.

Performance ratings for schools in Oak Park (as evaluated by standardized statewide tests) are released periodically, known as the school report cards.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://schools.chicagotribune.com/city/oak-park |title=2014 Illinois school report cards, Oak Park Schools |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314184221/http://schools.chicagotribune.com/city/oak-park |archive-date=March 14, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The renaming of the junior high schools, now middle schools, after prominent African-Americans rather than famous American literary figures was done in part to motivate minority students in their educational pursuits. A gap in school performance, referred to as "this intolerable and persistent inequity,"<ref>{{cite web |author=Oak Park African American Achievement Study Team |date=May 2003 |title=The Learning Community Performance Gap at Oak Park River Forest High School |url=http://www.oprfhs.org/documents/LearningCommunityPerformanceGap2003.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709055636/http://www.oprfhs.org/documents/LearningCommunityPerformanceGap2003.pdf |archive-date=July 9, 2015 |page=18}}</ref> remains, as of the date of the report.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/12-19-2006/Here's_what_District_97_is_doing_about_'the_gap' |title=Here's what District 97 is doing about 'the gap' |author=Andersen, Kevin |publisher=Wednesday Journal |work=Opinion |date=December 19, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref>

Oak Park is the home of two high schools: [[Oak Park and River Forest High School]], the sole school in educational District 200, which also serves the entire city,<ref name=CookCoSchoolDistMap/> and [[Fenwick High School (Oak Park, Illinois)|Fenwick High School]]. Oak Park and River Forest High School is a public school with its district including both Oak Park and neighboring [[River Forest, Illinois|River Forest]], and Fenwick High School is a Catholic college preparatory school run by the [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]], affiliated with the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago]]. Both high schools have a long history of high academic standards. Oak Park and River Forest High School bestows the Tradition of Excellence Award to distinguished alumni, including [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Ray Kroc]], [[Dan Castellaneta]], football Hall-of-Famer [[George Trafton]], actress [[Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio]], astronomer [[Chad Trujillo]], geochemist [[Wallace Broecker|Wally Broecker]], and environmental leader [[Phil Radford]]. Oak Park and River Forest High School is one of seven secondary educational institutions in Illinois with the ability to induct students into the [[Cum Laude Society]].