In 1988, an inspired group of Black Longfellow Elementary School parents, too numerous to name here, joined with Clay to establish African American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education (APPLE). The organization sought to address District 97 and District 200 education issues — most prominently, the metastasizing effects of the African-American achievement gap. 

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In 1994 APPLE joined Building and Renewing Institutions Dedicated to Good Education (BRIDGE) in the first community coalition to work for racial equity at OPRF High School.

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In 1995 Ed Weekly published, “Have you heard of Pierre de Vise?’' Donald Offermann, principal of Oak Park and River Forest High School--long considered one of the nation’s most successfully integrated schools in one of the most successfully integrated communities--cheerfully asked me shortly after I had met him at an early morning school assembly. “He said Oak Park would eventually become all black, but he didn’t understand our resolve to make diversity work. We refused to become ‘ghettoized.’ While African Americans make up 28.6 percent of the 2,500 Oak Park and River Forest High School population (up from 12.1 percent in 1981 and 22 percent in 1991), they accounted for more than 60 percent of all disciplinary actions. On the California Achievement Tests given in 1990, African-American sophomores scored nearly 20 percentage points below the general student population. And, while African-American students represent only 8.6 percent of students in accelerated and AP classes, they make up 51 percent of all students in the basic track (Ruenzel, 1995). Today the gap is 50-100 points per the Nations Report Card.

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December 19, 2006, Oak Park parent group APPLE formed an independent council of 40 parents and community residents to monitor discipline at Oak Park and River Forest High School, the organization’s president said Monday. Wyanetta Johnson, president of APPLE, African-American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education, said the council is being formed because the relationship between parents and the school has deteriorated while black students continue to be over-represented in OPRF’s discipline cases. The council was developed to help parents whose children are struggling both academically and behaviorally at OPRF. Students were being expelled and suspended without due process while many parents did not know their rights.

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On September 27, 2011 at a District 200 Board of Education meeting, Burcy Hines, a member of APPLE (African American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education), read a letter on behalf of longtime Oak Park and River Forest High School history teacher Mark Vance. Vance, who had overseen the student club BOSS (Black Organization for Student Success) for 18 years, expressed feeling unfairly removed from his role by school administrators. Though Vance did not attend the meeting, his concerns were voiced through the letter, which was addressed to APPLE President Wyanetta Johnson, who was present at the meeting, along with board members, administrators, and community members. Vance began teaching at OPRF in 1985. Created the first African History curriculum. Retired in 2014. Died on November 25, 2016.

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On April 2, 2013, after campaigning for a board member seat in a record-breaking candidate year, Wyanetta Johnson to a consulting role and Melanie McQueen took the reigns of APPLE to rebuild what had been lost. The 501c3 status was restored, and a new board was installed. In August 2015, APPLE introduced the APPLE SEED Scholarship awarding $500.

 

The first initiative tackled by the new leadership was the campaign for more teachers of color. APPLE along with then principal Nathanial Rouse, Greg Johnson, and Mark Christensen flew to Washington DC to promote a relationship with Howard University to create a teacher exchange program to increase minority hires in D200. APPLE led brainstorming and focus groups countless dialogues around the issue. We along with other community organizations and parents called for a clear and intentional plan.  At the time, “Non-white students make up 45% of the District 97 student body while non-white teachers account for only 19% of the teaching staff while in D200, non-white students make up 47% of the OPRFHS student body, but non-white teachers account for only 21% of the teaching staff (Pintado-Vertner, 2018). With Racial Equity Initiatives in place, we now have the Department of Equity and Inclusion for Student Success.  According to the strategic plan set in 2017 (revised in February 2021), OPRF intends to “increase representation of minority teachers to 35 percent of the overall faculty” by July 2025. Currently, 27 percent of the overall faculty is made up of people of color, according to data presented at the Aug. 25 board meeting (Friedman, 2022).

 

In 2016, Aim High Night was developed in and 2017 the programming brought 6 Ivy League Schools, and the Divine 9 to campus to expose African American students to more opportunities for schools, scholarships, and mentorship. Also in 2016, the Culture Climate and Behavior Committee was created for oversight of the combined Blueprint Report and Strategic plans of 1994 and 2017. APPLE still sits on the committee to this day.

 

In April 2019, the Board approved policy 7:12 Racial Equity, which was developed by a committee of administrators, faculty, staff, students, and community members including APPLE. The policy holds the district accountable for eliminating racially predictable disparities in achievement.

 

In October of 2023, APPLE introduced Global Leadership Programming taking the inaugural group of OPRFHS students to Japan in April of 2024.

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Today APPLE continues to be the parent voice, the student advocate, and fight for equity, and inclusion, by removing barriers and bringing awareness to both the high school community, and parents on the growing achievement gap, ongoing concerns of school safety, excessive suspensions of African American male students, food insecurity, and academic growth opportunity.

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The lasting impact of Dr. Clay's ideal for the African American student in the Oak Park community is a spirit that resonates with respect and nostalgia of the students who are now parents, and parents who are now grandparents who were the army of D97 and D200. - We humbly thank you.

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This is a living document and just a snipet of the organizations history. To add to the history please email your story to oprfhsapple@gmail.com