Students who see James Briscoe strolling the halls of Oak Lawn Community High School early in the next school year may not know his name or recognize his face.
Briscoe, School District 229’s new superintendent, hopes the lack of recognition won’t last long.
“I like to be highly visible in the community,” he said. “It’s a strength of mine. I enjoy getting to know people.”
Although the summer is still in full swing, Briscoe has been front and center, working with the school board to set goals, find ways to spur students to greater academic success and improve the district’s curriculum and facilities.
Briscoe, 42, started his new job in July. Before being hired to the $140,000-a-year post, he was principal at Brookfield Central High School in Brookfield, Wis., for six years.
“I felt like Oak Lawn would be a good match for me,” he said. “It’s a one-school district with 1,600 students,” similar to Brookfield Central.
Not far away, at Richards High School, which is part of Community High School District 218, Ross Cucio has just completed his first year as principal, and Supt. Kevin Burns just completed his second year.
Cucio also counts getting to know students and the community as pluses of his post. He said his administrative style means he is more likely to be getting acquainted with students in the halls than holed up in his office.
“Building relationships is a big part of my job,” he said. “I don’t like being in the office. I like being out in the halls, hanging with the kids.”
Changes at the top
Leadership changes have been common in the last few years at both high schools that serve students from Oak Lawn.
Oak Lawn High School, for instance, went for a year without a permanent superintendent until Briscoe arrived.
“They haven’t had solid leadership for a year,” Briscoe said. “They want somebody who can pull the community together.”
And Principal Catherine Fronczak took over at Oak Lawn three years ago.
Enrollment is level at both schools. Neither is expanding nor considering significant changes to the physical plant.
“Our enrollment is at 1,600 and it’s steady,” said Fronczak.
“We gained about 50 kids this year, and we’ll get 50 more” in 2002-03, said Cucio. “It’s not a huge number. It’s a natural progression.”
Richards, with 1,500 students, is part of District 218, which serves all or parts of Alsip, Blue Island, Calumet Park, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, Merrionette Park, Robbins, Worth, Oak Lawn and Palos Heights. The district’s other district schools are Aspen High School in Crestwood, Eisenhower High School in Blue Island and Shepard High School in Palos Heights.
Improved athletic field
At Oak Lawn, the district is planning to spend more than $1 million to improve a 26-acre athletic field at 93rd Street and Kostner Avenue.
Mary Cerceo, president of the district’s seven-member school board, said the field “is not in real good condition. We need soccer fields and parking lots.”
The renovation, which will begin in the fall, also will include new softball and baseball fields and concession stands.
Because these schools aren’t pursuing aggressive building programs, they are able to focus on improving academic and social programs.
At Oak Lawn, the graduation rate in 2001-02 was 85 percent, according to Cerceo. That rate is up from 79 percent the previous year, but that improvement is not good enough for the board, she said.
“There’s no reason it shouldn’t be 98 or 99 percent,” Cerceo said.
Briscoe said he is looking forward to working with the board to identify ways to improve graduation rates and student test scores. The school’s average ACT score is 21.8.
“[The school board] has been looking for someone to come in, look at their data–their student achievement test scores, their graduation rates–and improve those,” he said.
According to Michael Riordan, assistant principal at Oak Lawn Community, last year’s higher graduation rate can be attributed to several factors, including tutorial programs for students who need extra help in some subjects. For students “on the bubble,” Riordan said, teachers provide tutoring, as do juniors and seniors in the National Honor Society, who help their peers during study halls.
Summer school a help
Four years ago the district began offering a one-time waiver of summer school fees so students who had failed a class could retake it during their time off.
“It was a real nice incentive to get some kids to come to summer school and get them on track,” he said.
Briscoe said he also wants to work with the junior high schools that feed into the high school to make sure that incoming freshman are prepared and on track academically.
“No child will be left behind,” he said “We need to take a deeper look at what’s happening with the elementary schools so that there’s sequencing [of curriculum] and continuity to what we do.”
Cucio has a similar goal at Richards, where the average ACT score is 20.1.
“We’re not a unit school district, where the curriculum follows in the same progression from kindergarten through high school,” he said.
In addition to working with the junior high schools, Cucio said the district also is establishing a program specifically for freshmen.
“We want to see them transition successfully from junior high school to high school,” he said. “Our day-to-day experience and studies tell us that freshman year is a critical year for students.”
Helping freshmen adjust
According to Burns, the program, called Fast Start, will begin in the summer and carry through the school year to help new students adjust to the rigors and challenges of high school.
“The program is really designed to focus on freshmen,” he said. “Studies show that 9th grade is really a pivotal year for kids coming into high school.”
The summer school program is for students who need remedial help in skills such as reading, study and organization.
“We can target some of their deficiencies and try to get them up to speed before school starts,” he said.
But all freshmen will be impacted by the program, particularly in its focus on reading.
“Even students in honors classes will see an emphasis on reading,” he said.
New classes also have been introduced in recent years at Oak Lawn Community. Fronczak said the school offers a new class in computer repair and networking to prepare students for future careers.
Worldwide emphasis
In addition, she said, a class called Eastern-Western Global Studies seemed to generate student interest this year, particularly in light of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Middle East conflict.
The class “stimulated a lot of discussion,” she said. It also is in keeping with the school’s mission “to help our students become responsible members of a rapidly changing world.”
According to Cucio, Richards is emphasizing helping students develop academically as well as socially. Cucio said the school has a mentoring program that links seniors and freshman who share experiences and help each other meet the challenges of growing up.
Seniors in the mentoring program are trained in listening skills and learning to express themselves, he said. The program has proven a good experience, for both the mentors and the freshman.
“They feel good about listening and imparting their knowledge, and the freshmen get the straight scoop from a peer,” he said.
How to contact schools
Oak Lawn Community High School
9400 Southwest Highway
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
708-424-5200
Richards High School
10601 S. Central Ave.
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
708-499-2550
