Log Issue 4 Spring 2018

TNL The Northmen’s Log Oak Park High School Kansas City, MO Volume 53, Issue 4 May 2018

Students take a stand

Pleasing the aesthetic

After years of inaction on the issue of gun violence, students around the country have begun to take charge. (Page 4/5)

From blue to pink to yellow hair, from tattoos to gauges, students express themselves through body modifications.

(Page 8-9)

Working after the bell

ELA teacher Anne Elder isn’t just a teacher - from Key Club to homebound teaching, her work day lasts long after the lights turn off. (Page 11)

Letter from the editor Hello Oak Park! I’m Dakota Ake, editor-in-chief of “The Northmen’s Log,” and this is the fourth and final issue. I hope you have found something interesting or enjoyable in our publication this school year.

This issue is about the people and groups at Oak Park. All of our stories touch on some subjects that aren’t often spoken up about.

Our feature stories are about beauty. “Pleasing the Aesthetic” is about tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair. We looked into the perception that exists for people who have them and the reality of having them. In the sister story “Outside looking in” we talk about what students find beautiful and how beauty standards can affect the mental health and self-esteem of people our age.

Another story is about students’ uncom-

mon talents and hobbies. We talked to students who do things that other students probably don’t or can’t. This also goes with our story “The strangest thing (that’s happened this year),” which covers the oddest occurrences students had during the school year.

We also chose to cover teen activism. We reached out to students who participated in the two school walkouts, the March for our Lives, and other forms of activism and those who didn’t to find out why. We covered the opinions of these students, what they hope to achieve, and what activism means to them.

We hope that you have enjoyed the Log this year as much as we have enjoyed making them. Have a good summer Oak Park!

Publication information “The Northmen’s Log” will publish four times during the school year. “Log” staff strongly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. Freedom of expressio n and press are fundamental values in a democratic society.

Therefore, “Log” encourages readers to participate in the discussion by submitting Letters to the Editor in room E134, by email to christina.geabhart@nkcschools.org.

Letters cannot exceed 350 words and must be signed. “Log” will not run letters that are lubelous, obscene or that may cause a verifiable disruption to the education process at Oak Park.

Advertisers may contact the adviser at christina.geabhart@ nkcschools.org for information.

Subscriptions are availiable, $20 for a mailed copy, $10 for an emailed PDF version, or $25 for both.

Opinions expressed in “Log” do not relect student, staff, or school district endorsements of that opinion, product, or service.

“Log is a member of NSPA, MIPA, and Quill and Scroll. “Log” is affiliated with JEA, MJEA, and JEMKC.

Staff

Gisselle Ferman- writer Mackenzie Powell- opinion editor Lindsey Dunaway- writer Dakota Ake- editor-in-chief,

recreation editor Mina Buchholz- writer Malea Biswell- writer Jessica Begley- people editor,

feature editor Emily Leibold- writer Akout Malual- feature editor Luci Conkling- sports editor,

news editor Faith Guinnip- photographer Sequoya Ake- freelance artist Christina Geabhart- adviser

TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS 4-5

RECREATION 6-7FEATURE 8-10 PEOPLE 11

OPINION 12-13 SPORTS 14-15

Students take a stand

The strangest thing (that’s happened this year)

Thriving for the best

Pleasing the aesthetic

Working after the bell

Outside looking in

It’s a sign of the times

Seniors making an impact

Keeping it unique

ON THE COVER Senior Jacob Sokol gives a speech about respect for one’s fellow peers during the Friday, March 14, walkout. (photo by Luci Conkling, photographer)

Follow us on our social media

@NorthmenNews Or visit our website for more content

www.NorthmenNews.com

MCC-Maple Woods Your Smart Choice

#BeMoreAtMCC

• Large Variety of Programs • Small classes • Best Tuition Value in the Northland • Easy to Transfer Credits • Enrollment begins April 9 • Financial Aid priority by May 30 • Summer Classes begin June 4 • Fall Classes begin August 22

MORE THAN A GREAT START.

816.604.3587 | mcckc.edu/visitmw

MAPLE WOODS

4

News / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Students Take A Stand

By Luci Conkling and Emily Leibold sports editors

With recent events it’s almost impossible to turn on the TV without hearing something about young people getting involved in politics and current events. This global generation Z take over is impacting thousands of people all across the globe. Here’s how locals are getting involved and how students feel about it.

March For Our Lives

The ‘March For Our Lives’ is a student-lead movement started by kids in Parkland, Fla., after the mass shooting that occurred at their school on Valentine’s Day. The movement drew media attention from all across the world and thousands of people participated in the marches throughout the globe.

“I think the march is important because violence has become a lot more prevalent in schools the past couple of years so going to these rallies and showing our government that we need stricter gun control laws is important,” said junior Sarah Ealey.

March For Our Lives - People from all over the country gathered in Washington D.C., to protest stricter gun laws and prevent school shootings. Signs and posters were raised high for everyone to see as speakers pumped up a crowd of thousands. (photos by Luci Conkling, photographer)

March

12

Forum

After the school shooting in Parkland, students across the country began to rethink school safety in regards to an active shooter, including Oak Park students. After a number of students stepped forward to administration about their concerns for safety, administration and student leadership came together to host a forum with experts and officials to explain what to do in such an unfortunate situation. Students were also chosen to sit in the forum to ask questions on behalf of students.

“I felt empowered by the fact that I could use my voice. That’s a very important thing to me. I felt empowered by

the fact that I was chosen to be in the forum. It made me feel important. I think that all of this is a really good thing and I want it to progress more,” said sophomore Malea Biswell.

Although students appreciated the effort from not only school administration but also from the North Kansas City School District as a whole, many believe there is more to be done.

“I thought the forum was a good start but I don’t think it did as much as it should have done. They told us about their safety measures but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be,” said Biswell.

News / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Walkout vs. Walkout Students participated in a nationwide school walkout Friday, March 14 with the goal to promote change within the government to create stricter gun laws to prevent more school shootings. Many students took part in this protest with good intentions, however, some used this as an excuse to get out of class.

“I have not done too much research on the ‘March for our Lives’, but from what we did at our walkout it’s more of a thing for me of respect for our fellow classmates that have died because of all of these issues that could have been prevented in some way,” said senior Jacob Sokol. “To be honest it really pissed me off [when people were there for the wrong reasons] those of us who were out there for the actual walkout we all were looking for a more respectful and silent situation but that didn’t happen because some people heard the announcement of the walkout and thought they can ditch class - that wasn’t okay.”

The most recent walkout on Friday, April 20, did not receive as much attention or participation from students

April

16-20

here. The number of students who actually walked out of class was easily cut in half and the students who did participate did not follow the guidelines created by administration and school leadership. There were several theories from students and staff to why that might be.

“I think they [the students] just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that was watching, or aware of the walkouts, knew that they were still just concerned about student safety Oak Park High School and school across the country,” Principal Chris Sartain, Ed.D., said.

“With having the whole week last week, I don’t know if it made the walkout as special as it may have been in other buildings because we tried to do different things throughout the week to raise awareness. We registered voters, we had our puppy play day, we had some different themes, we had all of those different scenarios in AR, so I don’t think Friday was necessarily just like ‘this is what its all about’ I think throughout the week Oak Park students were able to show just how concerned they were.”

School Safety Awareness Week In memorial of the infamous Columbine school shooting in Colorado, the recent shooting in Florida, and to surround the Friday, April 20, walkout, student leadership organized a week of “school safety awareness” to allow students and staff to participate in organized protest that did not disrupt academics.

“I wouldn’t really say its a spirit week but we are focusing on the 17. Like 17 compliments, 17 thank yous to people who make you feel safe here. We also have a puppy play day, we have done that every year but it falls really well this

week. We are also doing voter registration which is very important as well,” said senior Jasmine Werninger.

Administration and student leadership also listened to feedback from the forum and added more safety scenarios for students to practice and discuss.

“During AR classes we will be doing different scenarios about what to do if you are in the lunch room or in class; what would you do, where would you go, things like that for those students who are worried about that,” said Werninger.

5

6

Recreation / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

THE STRANGEST THING (that’s happened this year)

By Dakota Ake editor-in-chief You’re telling another one of your crazy stories to your friends when you start to realize you lead a very unusual and exciting life. Things happen to you all the time that seem to never happen to anyone else. You think about just this school year. So many things have happened to you.

You aren’t the only one though.

Students shared some of the strangest occurrences from this school year.

Some students had supernatural and scary things happen to the, such as junior Mara Weddle. “[The strangest thing that happened to me was] a haunting in my house,” Weddle said, “It all started cause my little sister, who’s 7, asked me why I would stand in her room and watch her sleep at night obviously I wasn’t, so we thought that was really strange but my family and I didn’t really think anything of it. Then PAIN-TING, The picture that senior the rest of my family started to Renee McClanahan and junior Madison Hawley-Hughes walked through have weird things happen.” the halls looking indecent for (photo Weddle’s dad would make credit Renee McClanahan) dinner every night and from that point on he started to notice his silverware and food would be rearranged around the room whenever he’d leave the kitchen while preparing the meal. The family TV would also turn on and off and the

volume would go up and down on its own, usually when everyone was asleep.

“My dad and I did some research and we learned that sage was supposed to help banish bad energy and bring good energy back. So, we bought some sage, saged the house, and now nothing happens anymore,” Weddle said.

Other students had experiences caused by themselves or their school work.

“I painted someone’s stomach this morning and took pictures of it while they put on a lily pad skirt and a seaweed shirt,” senior Renee McClanahan said. “It was for 3D art. It was very interesting because I had to paint them with acrylic and it started flaking off and we had to walk through the hallways a bit. And people thought she was topless because she had to wear a bandeau shirt.

It was very disconcerting. We almost got in trouble a few times because she honestly looked topless.”

McClanahan and junior Madison Hawley-Hughes won third best in photography at the art show for this piece, so at least the awkwardness wasn’t all in vain.

Sophomore Gage Wymer experienced a much more awkward moment.

“Like 45 minutes ago, I thought I saw my best friend walking over there to the computers at the library and then I walked up behind...I put my hands on their shoulders and I shook them and I blew in their ear...I was trying to [mess] with them, but they turned around and it was not them and it was so awkward,” Wymer said.

Recreation/ Spring 2018/ Issue 4

Keeping it unique

By Lindsey Dunaway writer

FLY WITH US, junior Clara Hommon is part of the Civil Air Patrol. (photo credit: Lindsey Dunaway)

PARKOUR TOUR, senior Michael Jerrell does free-running in his spare time. (photo credit: Lindsey Dunaway)

Many students have some unusual talents they like to express outside of the normal school day. They range from being double jointed, to free running and jumping from high heights. “[I got into jujitsu because] I was like, if I’m going to do anything since I’m partially Japanese it’s going to be martial arts related to my culture,” senior XoeAnne Zuber said. “I went to the Parkland Athletics Center originally to see a taekwondo class, but the taekwondo class was mislabeled and it was a jujitsu class and I was like okay this is something I could be good at. I’m short and stocky and I know how to hurt people, so this is perfect. Eventually, it evolved into us getting away from the PAC; and it turned more competitive; and we started a jujitsu club together with me and my coaches. And we started at

Liberty North and now we practice here.”

Other students have more dangerous hobbies.

“When I was really young I jumped from like one box to another over a gap and my mother was like, ‘you’re going to be my little free runner’ and I was like, ‘what is that’. I studied up and started parkouring, free running and climbing buildings and it’s just escalated from there. The highest I’ve ever gotten is over 40 feet,” senior Michael Jerrell said.

Some students like to do things that are out of their comfort zones.

“I’m in the Civil Air Patrol,” junior Clara Hommon said. “It’s a civilian auxiliary with the Air Force. We do drill, we do emergency services like missions and stuff like if there’s a hurricane. We do air space stuff with planes and also leadership stuff.”

7

8

Feature / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Pleasing the AESTHETIC

By Mackenzie Powell and Faith Guinnip opinion editor and photographer

Junior Lily Law

Sophomore Ali Iles

Colored hair and piercings are staples of the teenage aesthetic. These enhancements and modifications help students express themselves.

Junior Gavin McPhil

“

“I got mine because of migraines; there’s actually a pressure point in your ear,” said junior Gavin McPhil

Feature / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Junior Mickey Seely

“

Junior Caitlin Anderson

“There was no reason for it. I told my hairdresser to pick a hair color that she thought would be best for me,” said junior Caitlin Anderson

9

10

Feature / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Outside looking in

By Akout Mulaul feature editor To teens in this day and age, appearance is everything.

Or is it? To high school students this may not always be the case.

Concerning beauty, junior Gisselle Gonzalez said, “I don’t think physical appearances matter as much, well to me. I think it’s more of a personality thing. Being physically attractive, okay, that could be a bonus, but usually for me, it’s just a personality and the way a person thinks.”

Senior David Nyugen held a similar sentiment, “What I think is beautiful is just what’s on the inside. I mean outside features are like a good thing, but I think the most important thing about beauty is what’s on the inside.”

Teens today are subjected to constant advertisements about their appearance and ways to improve it.

According to the Center for a New American Dream, teens see about 25,000 ads per year. Along with the pressures of social media, it can be burdensome since they are still developing.

In in eye tracking study conducted by Flinders University, disclaimer labels on beauty products attract women to Photoshopped areas, and in two other studies conducted by the same university, the disclaimer labels make women more self-conscious.

“I often feel pressure, it’s kind of a win or lose situation,” freshmen Maya Hubbard said, “if you don’t do something the media says you aren’t popular or you aren’t liked by a lot of kids or you just don’t get along well with the girls who are up-to-date on whatever makeup or whatever clothes or whatever style.”

This pressure affects teen’s perceptions of themselves, leading to low confidence.

Gonzalez, a female student, said “I consider myself a very funny person. Not beautiful, maybe attractive.”

However, this may not be the norm amongst all genders.

“I’d say I think I’m pretty handsome,” Nyugen, a male student, said, “I mean, I don’t know I’d say I’m a good guy, I’m pretty nice, I mean. I’d like to think I dress up nicely.”

It could be true that guys are generally more confident than girls. According to the American Psychological Association, men generally have more confidence than women, especially in industrialized, Western societies.

“I feel like guys are more confident than girls because like nobody wants to put them down,” said senior Avery Donoho, another male student. “Like male role models are athletes and none of them are like attractive or whatever. Or really like amazing or whatever. But women’s role models are like models, that’s what I see a lot.

So, they’re always like Photoshopped.”

But when it comes to the beauty of others, teens seem to be much more kind than when inspecting themselves.

“I would say I have pretty low confidence because of the media,” Hubbard said, “but I get told that I’m beautiful and I tell other girls that they’re beautiful because we all need to boost each other’s confidence.”

And this is a value shared regardless of gender.

“Confidence is key,” Donoho said. “Everyone should consider themselves to be good looking and if they don’t it’s like putting yourself down for no reason.”

People / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Working after the bell

11

By Jessica Begley people and feature editor A teacher’s work is never done. ELA teacher Ann Elder teaches college-level classes during the school day, and does even more after school. She helps with the debate team, Key Club, Partners of Education, and many more activities. Elder’s positive and hard-working attitude helps her complete her tasks.

“I just find a way to balance it all. I’m just kind of an eat and kill person,” Elder said. “There are some times I feel overwhelmed, but I manage to say ‘Okay, I’m gonna stop and just relax a little here,’ and then I get back to it.”

Elder does all of this from the bottom of her heart. She is rewarded for her work with “thank-you’s” from administration, and knowing that what she does is important.

“It’s a lot of stuff, but it’s also something I can do for the school and it’s something I can do for the students,” Elder said. “I mean, I’m not a football coach, so I try to work myself into whatever I can do to help our school.”

Debate Elder has been involved with debate for 15 years. She goes with the team to tournaments as a judge, and she used to be a travel coach.

“The reason why I love judging is because it gives me so much hope for the future,” Elder said. “These are kids who usually come in and they’re sitting there, and they’re usually very quiet and don’t look very expressive and they go up there and it’s like ‘boom.’”

Teaching When Elder began having children, she taught college classes to keep her foot in the door of teaching. As her kids aged and grew more independent, Elder returned to her high school classroom in 2003. Since then, she has found her forever teaching home here.

“I’m so grateful to teach College English here, because that means I don’t have to go and teach college at a college, I can teach it right here,” Elder said. “I have the best of both worlds. I have the college kids, the regular high schoolers, I have a good mixture of them.”

Key Club In 2004, Lori Dameron, gifted resource specialist, approached Elder about founding a Kiwani’s Club at school.

Dameron and Elder became co-sponsors of Key Club. The group meets once a week and does acts of community service.

“Helping people, that’s my thing, I love helping people, I have a huge heart,” Elder said.

Homebound Teaching When Elder first heard about a need for homebound teachers, she knew immediately she wanted to help. She, along with the other homebound teachers, help students who are not able to come to school.

“Just because you make a bad decision or if something happens to you and you don’t feel comfortable coming to school or if you have a physical issue and can’t come for a while, that doesn’t mean that you should fail,” Elder said.

Facilitator for Partners of Education “We get our businesses in connection with our kids and tat is really super really important, get-

ting our community and students blended together,” Elder said. “It’s good connections for the kids and its good for the businesses.”

Although, students may have not heard about Partners of Education, they may recognize Sophie the distress dog, who visits school every Tuesday as one of the many Partners of Education.

12

Opinion / Spring 2017 / Issue 4

Striving for the best

By Giselle Ferman and Mina Buchholz writers

It’s one thing to want to do your best and get solid grades in all your classes. It’s another thing to vie for a 4.0 GPA, all AP classes, and in general going above and beyond when you don’t have to.

But for overachievers, a life of hard work is just the norm. “[Being an overachiever] is one of the pathways to success and the surest way to determine the future that is in your control,” said senior Chad Humphrey. He considers himself an overachiever and perfectionist.

While many students who achieve more than necessary do consider themselves overachievers, everyone’s definitions are different, and so there are also students whose friends see I also love a them as overachievers challenge, there’s but who do not consider themselves to be just something such. about rising from “An overachiever is somebody who goes the ashes that out of their way to help makes me feel somebody else after they’re done with what alive. they have to do,” said -Senior Chad junior Bilal Jabr. “I don’t Humphrey think I’m an overachiever, I just do what I have to for my grades.”

Most students who are overachievers or whose friends consider them overachievers, are that way because they have big dreams.

“My future inspires me to work hard because I want everything to eventually pay off at the end.

My plans for the future are to be an orthopedic surgeon,” said junior Mariana Rodriguez. She was raised to be an overachiever but says that it slowed down as she got older.

Other students were also raised that way or enjoy the challenge.

“My parents never let my brothers and I have a break when there was so many other opportunities,” said Humphrey. “I also love a challenge,

“

there’s just something about rising from the ashes that makes me feel alive.”

Often, overachievers get more done or feel more satisfied than other students. However, there can also be negative consequences of being an overachiever. “[Overachievers] give it their all and have a great work ethic, but they sometimes have an ego to them, thinking that they are better than everyone else because they go above and beyond,” said junior Ti Tran. “[My brothers and I] never complained, because from the drop, we knew that bumps and bruises are temporary, but the learning experience tied to it lasts for a lifetime,” said Humphrey. “[But] people will always persecute you for wanting something greater in your life. Especially when they see themselves falling further and further behind.”

Let’s get down to business. Junior Mariana Rodriguez finishes Algebra II homework. On top of all her classes, Mariana strives to achieve her goals.

(Photo credit: Gisselle Ferman)

Opinon / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

Seniors make an impact

By Mina Buchholz writer

Being in high school for just four years, many students leave the school the same as it was on their very first day. But some students have found a way to make a change. From winning prestigious awards and setting up new events, to just changing the way individual people think, this year’s seniors have some memorable stories.

“I don’t know if I’ve made an impact on Oak Park as a whole but I think I have on some of my teachers,” said senior Kalani Earls. “Like [physics teacher Chris] Goll, for example. He’s had me for three years and he’s been right by my side through everything that’s happened these past four years. I’d like to be able to say I’ve left an impact on him because even though I went through all

this stuff he still saw that I’ve been able to come out on top, while also dealing with family problems and having to take care of my parents and stuff like that.”

Other students have made more far-reaching impacts that will touch their fellow students for years to come.

“This year I tried to jumpstart a charity event [Surviving for a Cause] that will probably start next year,” said senior Jasmine Werninger. “[I also worked on] the school safety panel.”

A big part of making an impact can just be setting an example for others.

“I’ve set a lot of examples of being a good student and a good leader. I hope for students that are coming in and that are younger than me, I’ve set a good example and they can follow in my footsteps,” said senior Kenya Foster.

Underclassmen who want to recreate this success would only need to learn a few key lessons from successful seniors.

“Don’t be afraid to take risks and become your own individual,” said Werninger.

She hopes her work on passion projects like Surviving for a Cause will leave a lasting impact on Oak Park.

Part of being able to make an impact and become successful is also about working hard.

“Grind don’t stop,” said Foster. “If you want something go get it.”

And often, success can just be about making sure you are happy and that you have good friends.

“It’s not about the quantity of friends but the quality,” said Earls. “And it’s important not to let people bother you.”

13

14

Sports / Spring 2018 / Issue 4

It’s a Sign of the Times

By Luci Conkling and Emily Leibold sports editors

Athletes work their whole high school careers, and sometimes lives, in order to get signed to their perfect school. These student athletes were lucky enough to continue on to college athletics.

Name: Ochai Agbaji Sport: Basketball College of Acceptance: University of Kansas Why: “It’s kind of special, just being a really good school and a really good basketball program too. For the longest time I didn’t know I’d go to KU. Once they came along and offered me a scholarship, I was like, ‘yeah, I’ll take it.’”

Name: Kalee Fontenot Sport: Rugby College of Acceptance: Lindenwood University Why: “[I chose to go here] because they are divison two I believe.”

What I’m looking forward to: “Their coaches are really nice and I have been working with them for the past four years.”

Name: Gabrielle Sanchez Sport: Softball College of Acceptance: Labette Community College Why: “I just picked it becaus,e I don’t know, I wanted to, I guess.”

Name: Jhaidyn Richardson Sport: Football College of Acceptance: Missouri State Western University Why: “When I went on the visit it felt like a home environment. Every player that goes there now that I talked to seemed like they really liked it there. It seemed like they would welcome new people with open arms.”

What I’m looking forward to: “The college feel and seeing how different it is from high school.”

Sports / Spring 2018 / Issue 4 Name: Avery Donoho Sport: Baseball College of Acceptance: University of Northwestern Saint Paul Why: “I liked the school. If I got hurt or couldn’t play baseball anymore I would still want to go to that school.”

What I’m looking forward to: “Playing baseball.”

Name: Axxel Chazaro-Lara Sport: Soccer College of Acceptance: Johnson County Community College for two years, then Missouri State University Why: “I chose JCCC because my club coach is a coach there and he has helped me out. I feel like if I stay with him he will help me out some more.”

What I’m looking forward to: “I am excited to play soccer at another level I have dreamt of since I was little.”

Name: Richie Sander Sport: Baseball College of Acceptance: Northwest Missouri State Why: “It is the closest and the most fun I think.”

What I’m looking forward to: “I can come home whenever I want but it is also far enough away to where I’m not at home.”

Name: Miriam Solorio Sport: Soccer College of Acceptance: Rockhurst University Why: “The reason why I chose Rockhurst over anywhere else is because it is close. I had recently been talking to the coach a lot and I know people that used to play there so that is why I ended up choosing Rockhurst.”

What I’m looking forward to: “I am looking most forward to starting the season and getting ready to play.”

Name: Andrew Harris Sport: Football College of Acceptance: Baker University Why: “They were a good fit for me and I knew I could play straight out of high school. They are ranked No. 1 in their conference and I had the opportunity to play the position I wanted to play.”

What I’m looking forward to: “College life, dorm life, meeting new friends, getting my degree and getting out [of college].”

Name: Brandon Hasenohr Sport: Soccer College of Acceptance: Johnson County Community College Why: “I am going there for free; and my club team coach is the coach there so it was an easy choice for me. Also, I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet so that’s why I chose JCCC.” What I’m looking forward to: “Mainly the soccer season.”

15

POSE Strike a

By Dakota Ake Editor-in-Chief

Oak Park High School was selected as one of eight model schools in the nation by the International Center for Leadership in Education.

“They identify schools that are dynamic and forward-thinking as it relates to giving students a challenging education,” said Principal Chris Sartain, Ed.D. OP did not have to apply to be selected, rather the International Center for Leadership and Education picked it out of all the schools in the nation.

“Model Schools must hold students to a very high standard and also have compelling data that shows student success,” said Sartain.

Our school was selected specifi-

A MODEL FOR OTHERS. Oak Park’s honors sit in the office in full display of all visitors and students. (photo credit Akout Malal)

cally for “high expectations.”

“We are proud to honor and showcase this future-focused school for implementing a rigorous and relevant curriculum that engages and challenges students to think beyond the classroom to solve real-world problems,” said Dr. Willard R. Daggett, Founder and Chairman of the International Center for Leadership in Education in a press release.

Gladstone mayor R.D. Mallams even recognized Oak Park for the status as a National Model High School, giving administration a certificate to commemorate their accomplishments.

Administration has been invited to the 26th Annual Model Schools Conference, June 24 to 27 in Orlando to speak about their teaching and administrative practices.

“We will travel to Orlando in June

to present our school’s story to other educators at the ICLE Model Schools Conference,” said Sartain.

“Thousands of educators attend this conference each summer. We have already presented at the State Principal’s Conference as well and we are being considered to present at the National Association of Secondary School Principal’s Conference in 2019.”

CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS. A poster that commemorates Oak Park’s new title hangs in the hallways. (photo credit Akout Malal)