JOURNAL W E D N E S D A Y
October 2, 2019 Vol. 39, No. 9 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
of Oak Park and River Forest
Friars vs Ignatius Page 37
District 90 strives for inclusion Gender Inclusion Committee works to realize equity By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter
Sixty percent of LGBTQ+ students report feeling unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation. That’s a statistic from a GLSEN 2017 National School Climate Survey, which sampled 23,000 students between the ages of 13 and 21 from around the country. River Forest District 90 Superintendent Edward Condon knows well that students don’t always feel accepted or valued. “There are so many ways in which students can feel excluded,” said Condon. “The work to prevent it will never be done, but we are always moving closer.” This work began in earnest in 2014 with the formation of District 90’s Inclusiveness Advisory Board, but prior to that, some LGBTQ+ students in D90 felt left out or undervalued. A group of D90 graduates from 2015 and 2016 reached out to Wednesday Journal with feelings that seem representative of those found in the GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) study. Ana Shack, who graduated in 2015 from D90, felt at that time there was little to no support or education for LGBTQ+ students. “I am a bisexual alumnus who loved my time at Lincoln but would have benefited from more support,” she said in an email. “I struggled most with feeling like my identity did not really See INCLUSION on page 13
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
TORCH PASSED: Jay Readey, interim director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, introduces the new permanent director, Athena Williams, during the center’s Annual Benefit Gala at the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park on Sept. 26.
Housing Center appoints new director Athena Williams, West Side activist, takes helm, looks to modernize
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
During its annual benefit gala held Sept. 26 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave., the Oak Park Regional Housing Center took a major step forward into the future while honoring its rich past. Jay Readey, the Housing Center’s interim executive director, announced that
Athena Williams, a program director with the nonprofit, would become the 47-yearold organization’s new permanent executive director. Williams and Readey also presented a strategic plan for the center that involves an effort to be more financially independent and more tech savvy. Williams, who lives on Chicago’s West Side, was previously an assistant to the late Rev. Lewis Flowers, of the Westside
Ministers Coalition. She also has experience as a Local School Council member in Chicago; as associate director of the Monroe Foundation, which provides homeownership services to people in Chicago and the suburbs; and as an administrative assistant to 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts. Williams has a bachelor’s degree from See HOUSING CENTER on page 13
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