Nearly a third of all Oak Park and River Forest High School students don’t participate in any extracurricular sports or activities sponsored by the school, according to a report presented April 16 to the District 200 Board of Education.
The report was compiled by Nicole Ebsen, director of athletics, and Angela Hawkins, director of student activities.
Among its key findings: out of the 3,346 students attending Oak Park and River Forest High School during the 2025-2026 school year, only 2,318 are participating in school or activities, which leaves 31% of the student body not participating in any of the 200-plus clubs and activities offered.
The report also showed significant disparities among the races of students who participate.
“The demographic most out of balance was identified as the black student population,” the report found, noting that in the current school year, “Of the 679 black students at OPRFHS, 333 black students were not involved in a club or sport.”
Hawkins said these trends have been evident over the last few years. “This is something that Ms. Ebsen and I a few years ago started noticing in our participation data,” she told the board. “So, you know, we started questioning. How can we find out more? What can we learn about the students who are choosing not to participate? What are the reasons, and what can we do to fix that?”
Two years ago, they ran a survey through the 5Star app, but found it difficult to get enough responses. Last year, they began a program called “Connectors,” in which staff members talk to students and try to identify any of the barriers they might be facing.
This year, not satisfied with the information those efforts yielded, they analyzed data on non-participants and made a plan to reach out to them through trusted adults they already know.
In addition to those efforts, next year they will run surveys three times a year, working with the Coordinator of Learning Analytics Support, Kristen McKee, to collect additional data.
Hawkins said they are also in contact with organizations such as the Oak Park Public Library and Young Life, a faith-based organization outside of OPRF that many of these students are involved in, to get insight from them as to why student involvement might be so low at OPRF.
Ebsen said participation in athletics is often a “systemic” issue because kids not exposed to certain sports by age 14 or 15 are often unwilling or unable to start in high school. She suggested outreach to elementary schools and park districts to encourage kids to start participating early.
After praising Hawkins and Ebsen for their hard work and expertise, board member Tim Brandhorst said, “That discrepancy in participation is completely unacceptable.” Brandhorst added, “I appreciate the two of you not resting and really trying to dig into this.” He urged them to keep working with “urgency.”
Also at the meeting, Hawkins and Ebsen made recommendations about next year’s clubs and activities.
Club sponsors who apply and meet certain criteria are paid stipends, which start at $2,531.31 per year. The Stipend Committee proposed a total budget increase of $8,793.28 for the next school year. The board will vote on that proposal at its April 30, 2026 meeting.
Those funds would cover three new stipends for a staff member who would oversee the weight room before school (the three stipends would cover three seasons: fall, winter and spring). This before-school arrangement would mirror the current setup after school.
Hawkins proposed stipends for two clubs: the Middle Eastern and North African Alliance (MENA) and the Jewish Student Connection (JSC). These clubs have been operating on a pilot basis until this year.
Hawkins also asked for an additional stipend to cover “the time needed to produce the bowls” for the “Empty Bowls” charity, which takes place each year in March. Students make hundreds of handmade bowls, and local restaurants donate soup. Proceeds from the event go towards fighting hunger in the community.
She asked for a “raise in level” of the stipend for Business Club and Science Olympiad due to increased participation and noted that Besa Saka, Snowball and Photo Club will be discontinued due to low participation. The activities of Besa Saka, a community of young men committed to responsibility, achievement, leadership, and service, will be continued by the Department of Equity and Student Success, Hawkins said.
