Oak School donates over 3,000 books to Drexel Elementary in annual drive
Oak School volunteers, teachers, and fifth graders donated more than 3,000 books to Drexel Elementary during their fourth annual book drive partnership on March 24. The event was organized by Oak's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and included a visit to Drexel Elementary in Cicero.
The book drive aims to encourage reading among students at both schools. Preparation began at the Oak Book Fair earlier in the spring, where families chose books to donate. PTO volunteers loaded and set up the donated books in the Drexel gymnasium the night before the event. Emily Maissami, Chair for the Oak book fair and book drive, along with teachers Jennifer Moore, Anne Rigazio, and Kailee Itzenhuiser helped organize the effort.
During the visit, Oak fifth graders acted as "reading buddies" for Drexel kindergarteners and first graders. After shared reading sessions, each Drexel student selected up to 15 books to take home. D181 Board of Education member Grace Shin attended as well.
Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181 includes several schools such as Clarendon Hills Middle School and Oak Elementary School across DuPage and Cook counties according to Illinois Report Card. The district serves grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade with an enrollment of 3,743 students in the 2019-2020 school year according to Illinois Report Card.
The district has a teaching staff of 282 earning an average salary of $94,227 before pension contributions; ninety percent are women while ten percent are men according to Illinois Report Card. No teacher recorded more than ten absences during a school year according to Illinois Report Card.
Demographically, Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181 is composed of approximately seventy percent White students with smaller percentages identifying as Black (1.1%), Hispanic (6.8%), or Asian (15.4%) according to Illinois Report Card. In terms of spending per student in 2020, it amounted to $31,308 for a total expenditure of $117 million according to Illinois Report Card.
The district reported four chronically truant students out of its population during the same period—a rate much lower than statewide averages—where chronic truancy is defined as missing five percent or more school days without valid excuse according to Illinois Report Card.