Parent volunteers invited to Oak Park school forum

Friends of Oak Park Schools has announced that it will host the second annual Parent Teacher Organization Forum on Fri., Nov. 16 at the Oak Park Library.

The forum will begin at 9 a.m. in room G-9 at the Oak Park High School and will be followed by breakout sessions in the library conference rooms. A questionand-answer session will conclude the day at around 11:15 a.m.

The forum is open to the public and is designed to bring all of the Oak Park school's parent volunteers together in one location to share ideas that will hopefully enhance each of the Oak Park school's parentteacher organizations.

"With parent volunteers attending from each of our schools, we hope to create a brain-trust of knowledge that we hope will inspire new ideas for all of us, which we can bring back to our individual school's volunteer groups," said Barry Myerson, Friends chair.

The forum will begin with short addresses by Tony Knight, Oak Park Unified School District superintendent, and Marie Panec, president of the OPUSD School Board. They will share their vision of where the district currently stands as well as issues that the district will be facing in the future.

Friends of Oak Park Schools is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the Oak Park Unified School District with additional private funding to supplement increasingly limited public funding. By working with parents and business partners in Southern California, the group raises money to support educational programs that would not otherwise be funded.

Through fundraising events like the Slam 'N Jam in 2006 and Casino Royale in 2007, as well as generous contributions from letter and e-mail campaigns, the Friends group has made more than $210,000 in donations for the school district in its four years of existence.

This year's fundraiser, "Viva, Las Vegas," will take place at the North Ranch Country Club on Jan. 19, 2008.

For more information, on the organization, visit www .friendsofoakparkschools.org.

The Oak Park Unified School District in Oak Park is made up of approximately 3,800 students from six schools in the district.

Brookside, Oak Hills and Red Oak elementary schools, Medea Creek Middle School and Oak Park High School have all been named California Distinguished Schools. Oak Hills, Medea Creek and Oak Park High have received national recognition as Blue Ribbon Schools. Oak View High has been recognized as a Model Continuation School.