Central Junior High School at 9400 South Sawyer, the first public school in Evergreen Park, Illinois is the only public junior high school serving the community. Its colorful history provides an illustration of the commitment to education and family that is evident even today. Prior to 1875, the children of Evergreen Park School District 124 attended school in the city of Chicago and the neighboring suburb of Blue Island. The rural community was determined to have the children receive the education that had been denied their parents. A public school was not in the original village plans. The inceptive intention of its Dutch founders was to provide private religious education for the children thus, keeping taxes low. As the population expanded, the first public school was built on the site of the present Central Junior High School Campus in 1875. It housed 4 rooms, 1 classroom, 1 teacher and 14 students. The community of Evergreen Park continued to grow and in 1928, the current Central School was constructed in response to the increased demand for educational facilities. Today, several of the children who attend Central Junior High School are descendents of the original settlers. In the year 2000, Central Junior High School, Evergreen Park’s first school, will celebrate 125 years of public education.
Central Junior High School has a total current enrollment of 504. 249 students are in 7th grade and 210 students are in 8th grade. The school also hosts the districts early childhood and pre-kindergarten program, which accounts for the remaining student enrollment of 55 students. 55% of the students enrolled are male and 45% of the students are female. The school has witnessed a significant increase in enrollment in the last 10 years, opening a number of classrooms that had been ‘closed’. Central Junior High School operates as a junior high school with an integrated middle school philosophy. The school provides a culture of high academic standards in a nurturing, supportive atmosphere that individualizes instruction to meet the unique needs of all students. The school is a unified system of instruction providing inclusive equal educational opportunities through co-teaching, clustering and integrated learning. Central Junior High School supports the district's technology plan as evidenced by our strong commitment to engaged-learning.
In the past 5 years, the district has had 5 different superintendents, two of which were hired on an interim basis. Although the district was transitional the Board and building leadership remained consistent and focused. In 1989, the community of Evergreen Park had the highest number of senior citizens per square mile in the state of Illinois, but has recently been in transition, as characterized by an influx of young families. Central Junior High continues to see parochial children transfer in for grades 7 and 8 to take advantage of the academic and co-curricular offerings.
Evergreen Park is a suburb coterminous with the City of Chicago’s southern border. The district is funded predominantly through a residential and small business tax base. Per pupil expenditures are approximately 13% below the Illinois State average, while student scores on standardized and state testing continue to be above the state and national averages.
In the spring of 1997, a group of parents, community members, faculty and staff members and students began meeting to create the mission statement for School District 124. Strategic goals and plans were established for implementation. As an outcome of this district wide strategic process, Central Junior High went through self-evaluation and reflection with the School Improvement Process outlined by the Illinois State Board of Education. Each faculty and staff member, parent and child at Central participated in the process to create the vision and beliefs for our school while evaluating current practices and planning for future instruction and implementation of best practices. The ‘whole community’ orientation at Central Junior High School has been the basis for its continued success as a premier educational institution in Evergreen Park.
The mission of Evergreen Park School District 124 is "In the tradition of children first, Evergreen Park Elementary School District 124 is committed to a community partnership that provides a safe, nurturing, learning environment that will develop life long learners. In keeping with that mission, the vision we have established for the students of our school is " Central Junior High seeks to provide a multi-faceted experiential learning environment that provides challenging academic exploration with positive social growth and renewal through a continuous learning process." The vision and beliefs were established through collaborative planning with parents, community members, faculty and students. Key and critical objectives further provide the framework of expectations for quality education.
All students will succeed.
Students are effectively scheduled to maximize individual learning experiences. A homogeneous tracking model was evident 10 years ago, but major changes in the service delivery system has provided a unified system of education and equal access to all academic and co-curricular offerings for all students. Philosophical and best practice models include clustering, co-teaching, student support and participation in self and peer evaluation processes redefined the culture of our learning community.
We are a community of teaching and learning.
Faculty and staff members work in collaboration to provide students the opportunity to learn across the curriculum. In addition, a supported inclusive learning environment provides evidence that children are encouraged to learn to their full potential in the least restrictive environment. Teachers consider their management of instruction through planning, instructional delivery and interaction, management of students and achievement. Each department participates in yearly planning and evaluation through goal setting, analysis of current assessment data and a review of current research. Staff development activities including curriculum committees, training and visitation opportunities are available and encouraged. A teacher-mentoring program exists as well as a teacher assistance team which provides an opportunity for teachers to discuss teacher and student needs and strategies for improvement.
Parents and teachers are partners in their child’s education.
Parents are an integral part of their child’s education. A strong parent teacher organization meets monthly to discuss and share ideas and information regarding the students at Central Junior High School. Discussion Club, another active parent group meets monthly to discuss curricular issues with the Superintendent and other key members of the District 124 staff. An open door parent teacher conference model provides opportunities for dialogue throughout the school year. In addition, all contracting, assessment, goal setting, homework and discipline policies include a parent participation component.
We are a community resource.
Central Junior High School provides opportunities for community learning and recreation. Senior citizen activities, universities course offerings and programs, park district and community educational and sport activities, community technology training, and elementary sport and community activities are held throughout the year.
We foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and support.
Students are taught positive social behaviors through a peer mediation model, a peer-mentoring model, peer tutoring, peer assessment opportunities, a large number of co-curricular opportunities and in-depth character education through the standard curriculum.