Oak Park & River Forest High School Reviews

759 reviews

As an alumni of OPRF I realized once I went to college how odd some of the things that occur at this school are. There were constant fights between students and the school police had been fired during my time there. Overall the teachers were great and the level of education that I received was good but the outside of class issues caused a bad reputation for the school. The school overall was also dirty and has had a cockroach infestation for years.

I like this school a lot and feel adequately ready for college as a result. Fosters a real enthusiasm about learning that many other schools lack.

I've enjoyed attending OPRF, people have a lot of school spirit and it is overall a fun place to be. For the most part the teachers are pretty good, although some are definitely better than others. The food is good especially the stir fry, nachos, and cookies. I feel safe here for the most part other than the occasional lock down.

Review Oak Park & River Forest High School

My experience as a student here has been quite the rollercoaster, especially coming in during the COVID year as a freshman. Over the last three years, the school has had 3 different schedules and has 3 separate schedules for each day of the week. I enjoyed my 9th-11th grade years with little to no issues with teachers or students in the building. During my Senior year, this all changed, due to new managerial positions and newly tenured teachers. With all of the changes in the building, from construction to reassigning classes, on top of the new restraints put on the public, teachers and students have been forced to jump through more hoops than usually required within the last 3-4 years. On the academic side, this school has proved me with more resources than I can keep up with most days, seeing as we have a whole student center dedicated to tutoring students, and for testing outside of the classroom. OPRF has it's problems like every school, but they do not have the same options.

I've been a student at Oak Park and River Forest High School for the last (nearly) four years, and I have a lot of complex feelings about the school. On the one hand, we as students are very privileged to have access to such a wide range of classes, from academic ones to extracurriculars more focused on the arts. We also have access to facilities that most other public schools do not, and fortunately the money to keep those facilities up to date so they can best serve the students that use them. However, I will say that like every school, students often feel unheard by the administration and their teachers.

OPRF is one of the many schools that upholds it's reputation above it's students needs. As much as I would like to say I enjoyed my time there, that wouldn't be the entire truth. I've encountered prejudice from other students, staff members, and even the administration itself. An example of the school putting it's reputation above its students needs is the amount of times there were school-shooting threats. Instead of allowing the students to go home and alerting the parents, the school would instead allow the children to go on about their day and tell us not to tell our parents in order to not "make a big deal" out of the situation.

This school offers some good things like school spirit and certain sports and academics. However, it feels unsafe a lot and has many negatives.

The best part of my experience was the art programs offered at the school, I wish they would receive a bit more funding. Tenured teachers tended to be insane or totally disinterested. Had a great experience w/ the art faculty.

Oak Park and River Forest provides students with really great opportunities and electives based on their interest. The school is clean and looks nice, and there are endless clubs, sports, and activities. However, the school has a wide variety of students, and I find that many of the new rules being put into place are only meant for those disrupting the flow of the school day. These rules are not preventing the target students from breaking them, but only serve as punishment and take away independence from students who are working hard and typically follow directions. There are also many teachers who do not cater to students needs. I find that depending on the teacher you get, an honors class may be easier than a college prep class, which is unfair.

I am lucky to have gone to Oak Park River Forest High School. Although it is not always the safest school to be in, there are the best opportunities I could ask for.

Overall, my experience of the school comes from the perspective of a transfer student from a Bay Area High School which emphasized STEM programs, facilitated school spirit and community, had great food, etc. In comparison, this school had a student body which was two times larger and a faculty which had a consequently impersonal relationship with students. Additionally, I found that higher level AP classes were less rigorous than honors classes at my old high school. In terms of required courses, the average culture of the student body seemed to represent those whose disinterest in academics were fueled by the culture of busywork teachers assigned for the sake of instrumentalising their students. I'd like to see more freedom to waive required courses, as they are often a waste of time for those high achievers who would like the freedom to take extracurriculars.

This is a very rigorous community public HS. It offers a wide range of supports and the faculty for the most part are supportive and challenge students to their best work. The school has a strong commitment to diversity equity, and has a wide range of activities that allow students to find a home within the HS community. I have 3 students at the school and all are having a good experience.

OPRF is a huge school and seems to have a wide range of student groups. My kid found his group of friends easily and has had a good social life and educational experience the 3 years attending.

Oak Park and River Forest High School is really good overall. It's a microcosm of city life, which is where I love to be. For one thing, it's a huge school with lots of resources, classes, and a diverse student body. However, safety can sometimes be a concern. I have seen fights break out and it can get scary. There is something for everyone here, though. And I like that it prepares me for adult life.

OPRF has been an excellent place for me to learn and I've really been able to find my community here.

The teachers are great. There are some safety issues. They started to become more strict with things like IDs and I hope that continues.

I'm really grateful that i get to go to a school like OPRF. There are so many opportunities to explore your passions there. No matter what you're interested in, there's a club for it and we have a ton of freedom with picking our classes. However, I do wish that the administration was more willing to work with the students towards change for the better rather than pretending they have a "student voice."

Review Oak Park & River Forest High School

Throughout high school I have had many amazing teachers who make learning really fun and interesting and I’ve met some amazing friends as well. I think some changes that could benefit students is offering ap classes earlier and helping students get prepared for ap and college classes in middle school. I think it would also be nice to have a school that feels overall safer for more students because currently there are a lot of safety issues.

I love being at River forest because the teachers I had my junior year were the best and had so much fun in all of my classes and my guidance counselor was amazing too, i could always go to him for all of my problems or concerns. I can’t wait to see who my teachers are going to be my senior year and can’t wait to meet any more new people along the way.

I feel as if the school needs to up their security but other than that, it is a really nice public school that offers a lot of opportunities that other high schools don’t offer!

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