Established 1930

The Queen of Peace High School building in Burbank has begun to be torn down this past Monday, October 14. Demolition of the building that for 55 years educated young women in the southwest suburbs will make way for a state-of-the-art special education facility. The Catholic high school for girls closed at the end of 2017.

AERO Special Education Cooperative purchased the 13-acre property, including the Queen of Peace building, from the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters for $13.2 million in 2018. The cooperative has provided special education services since 1963 to students from 11 member public school districts in the southwest suburbs, encompassing Argo, Evergreen Park, Reavis and Oak Lawn.

Full story available in the Oak Lawn Independent

Since 2017, Oak Lawn Community High School has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School. This designation recognizes schools that are innovative in using technology to increase student engagement and achievement. There are less than 500 schools worldwide that have this designation from grades PreK-College. In Illinois, there are only five high schools that have earned this recognition. 

Principal Dr. Jeana Lietz is a member of the Apple Distinguished Schools Advisory Board. This Advisory Board is made up of nine principals of Apple Distinguished schools from around the United States. The board helps guide the future of the ADS program. The board meets weekly via a phone conference call and meets twice a year in Cupertino, California, where members give feedback to Apple Education executives and update each other about the innovation happening in their schools.

Full story available in the Oak Lawn Independent

Communication is key to success, and when students have capabilities to communicate in more than one language, it is an even bigger asset to hold. For the first time Oak Lawn Community High School awarded the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy in Arabic, Spanish, and Polish.