AP students help out at Shepard; $50K grant for Tinley school expansion
AP students on the rise in District 218
With national Advanced Placement exams on the horizon at Shepard High School in Palos Heights, counselor Aminah Garcia recently gathered student mentors for a final volunteer effort.
Mentors worked all year with first-year AP students to help them navigate the challenges and time demands of courses that offer university-level rigor, according to a news release. The exams, which offer the opportunity to earn college credit, can create new anxieties, school officials said.
So Garcia and the mentors, usually paired with a first-year student enrolled in a course they already took, worked during lunch periods to assemble and deliver kits with pencils, pens, erasers, snacks and more.
Shepard and the rest of
District 218 has experience enormous growth in AP classes. Last year District 218 students set a record for AP exams taken. The number rose from 1,698 in 2019-2020 to 2,137 in 20202021.
Growth happened despite the pandemic and its well-documented effects on learning environments and mental health.
After a decade of growth in AP enrollment, the upward trend surged in 2019-2020 when District 218 partnered with Equal Opportunity Schools to recruit more students of color. This decision proved pivotal.
Between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years, the number of Black students enrolled in AP courses increased from 129 to 305. Likewise, the number of Latino students enrolled in AP courses grew from 327 to 622.
Overall in District 218, the number of students enrolled in AP courses increased from 909 to 1,675 between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
$50K grant awarded to Tinley Park alternative school
Rivers Casino awarded iCan Dream Center a $50,000 Rivers Gives grant to fund the expansion of the Little Dreamers Therapeutic Early Childhood school, a subsidiary of the iCan Dream Center, an alternative school in Tinley Park.
The Little Dreamers program serves children ages 3-7 who have neurodiverse learning differences such as autism or generalized anxiety. There is currently a waiting list which resulted in the school’s expansion.
The state covers student tuition at Little Dreamers, but a capital improvement such as expanding the space to open four additional classrooms must be funded privately.
The new Little Dreamers Therapeutic Center will be complete in August, according to a release from the school, and iCan Dream Center will hold a ribbon cutting before school
resumes in the fall.
Bremen principal retiring after 24 years
Bremen High School principal Dave Kibelkis was honored by the School Board April 19 for his years of service in Bremen High School District 228. Kibelkis is retiring from his position at the end of the school year.
A graduate of Bremen High School, in Midlothian, Kibelkis began his career at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills. He also served as principal of Tinley Park High School for one year, before starting a 15-year stint at Bremen.
“It’s kind of remarkable — 24 years goes by very
quickly,” Kibelkis said. “This is something that I’ve really enjoyed, and something that has made my educational life complete.”
Former Blackhawk Sopel speaks in Oak Forest
Brent Sopel, a former Chicago Blackhawks player who helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2010, spoke with students and staff during a recent assembly at Oak Forest High School as part of Mental Health Awareness week.
Sopel, who retired from the team in 2015, started the Brent Sopel Foundation, providing financial and
educational assistance to help students with dyslexia.
Sopel discussed how he was affected by his learning disabilities, how hockey became his strength, the danger of using drugs and alcohol to cope with life’s challenges, bullying, and how to have good mental health.
“It’s my purpose, and the purpose of my foundation is to help anyone I possibly can by sharing my story,” Sopel said. “Being a public figure, it is my obligation to have these conversations. I was in this position before, and knowing what I know now, I want to spread that information on to these kids.”