Jack Blane was a founding member of the Highland Park Community Foundation. Since its inception in 1992, Jack was an active and contributing member of the Board. He was our de facto Foundation historian and our moral compass. We drew a collective sigh of sadness upon hearing of his death on February 19th. As everyone knew him would agree, Jack was a kind, caring, and dedicated man. It was an honor to know him.

Jack, 94, passed away at home on February 19, 2018. Jack was the loving father of Barbara (Rand) Toney, the late Nancy (Tony) Guerra, and John Blane, and the proud grandfather of Sarah (Patrick Pauley) Toney, David Toney, and Nathan Blane. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Joan, nee Fleischman. Jack leaves a legacy of immeasurable dedication and commitment to Rotary International (in particular, his focus for the last 30 years on PolioPlus, the global eradication of polio), the Highland Park Community Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, and the City of Highland Park, and numerous other beneficiaries of his tireless energies.

Please click here if you would like to remember Jack with a donation to the Highland Park Community Foundation.

Thank you.

The Highland Park Community Foundation is pleased to announce the following organizations have received grants for 2017.

The Highland Park Community Foundation is proud to announce the Highland Park Golden Apple Award recipient for 2017. This year’s deserving honoree is Scott Shallenbarger, Director of Theater Arts at Highland Park High School.

Mr. Shallenbarger, a 27 year veteran at Highland Park High School, is a beloved teacher who is revered by his current and former students, teachers, parents, and administrators. He embodies the true meaning of an educator as well as human being. As Director of Theater Arts, Scott fosters creativity, radiates positivity, nurtures and inspires courage within his students, builds bonds, and teaches lessons that go far beyond his drama classroom. He is the epitome what it means to be aHighland Park Golden Apple teacher.

“The Highland Park and Highwood community is lucky to have outstanding teachers in our schools. By celebrating and recognizing teachers, we can demonstrate the strength and impact that their excellent teaching has on our children. This year’s Highland Park Community Foundation’s Highland Park Golden Apple recipient, Scott Shallenbarger, not only teaches the craft of theater, he also teaches the craft of being a human being,” said Sara Sher, HPCF Golden Apple Selection committee.

As Scott said in his application, “I believe in the alchemy of theatre which can transform lives. This too is sacred to me. And since sacred is defined as ‘dedicated to a (belief) and so deserving veneration,’ I passionately approach my students and the community with the respect they deserve. Doing so, we all benefit from an upward spiral of acceptance, humanitarianism, and recognition f life’s beauty.”

The HPCFHighland Park Golden Apple Selection Committee met this May to determine the 2017 recipient. Mr. Shallenbarger was honored with a $2000 honorarium, a $500 gift card to Apple store, and a “Golden Apple Award.”

In 2010, the Highland Park Community Foundation and a local family foundation initiated an annualHighland Park Golden Apple Award to recognize outstanding teachers in the Highland Park School systems. Nominations are made in a rotating cycle: K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. A selection committee comprised of exemplary current and retired educators and administrators and former Golden Apple award recipients, evaluate the extensive application and complete a full day of observation. The final recipient of the award is chosen based on instruction, content knowledge, student and staff interaction, and contribution to school and community.

This year, nominations were accepted for full-time teachers at Highland Park High School who have completed at least four full years of teaching. The committee received many excellent nominations, and after a rigorous and intensive review process, nominations were narrowed to three semi-finalists:

• Bridget Fahrner (Spanish)
• Elizabeth Perlman (English)
• Scott Shallenbarger (drama)

All three of the semi-finalists will be honored publicly at the May 22 District 113 Board meeting. By honoring exceptional educators, the Foundation hopes to demonstrate the strength and importance of excellent teaching in helping young people reach their potential.

The Highland Park Community Foundation welcomes gifts of any size. Through the generous support of our community, the Foundation is able to fund programs for a wide variety of local service and cultural groups.

Help those very nearby by supporting programs related to Social Services, Child Care, Educational Services, Senior Services, Arts Programs and Environmental & Civic Programs.

PayPall

The Highland Park Community Foundation is pleased to announce the following organizations have received grants for 2016.

The Highland Park Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the 2016 recipient of the Golden Apple Award is Cindy Rossman.

Mrs. Cindy Rossman (K-1 Braeside) is this year’s final recipient of the Highland Park Community Foundation’s prestigious Golden Apple Award. Mrs. Rossman was surprised with a special all school assembly when she was presented with balloons, golden delicious apples, a golden apple statue, a $2000 check, and a $500 gift card to the Apple store. Children, colleagues , administrators, parents, and retired educators attended the exciting assembly.

As Cindy’s observers noted, “Cindy Rossman is truly worthy of this Golden Apple award because she does not need an award to validate what she is doing every day with every child. She is a loving parent to each of her students and is a caring teacher to each child as she lights up when they enter her room every day. In turn, each child lights up inside as their self-esteem grows; each child develops a love of learning and thinking in her classroom. There is a magical feeling in Cindy Rossman’s room.”

Please also read more on this:

article from the Chicago Tribune

FROM THE DAILY NORTHSHORE

In February 2015 The Highland Park Community Foundation offered a proactive grant challenge to Family Service to work together to raise $27,000 to increase professional staff capacity in Family Service’s Latino Youth Initiative (LYI) at Highland Park High School. The Foundation agreed to provide half the required funding if Family Service could raise the balance. On June 25, representatives of both groups and contributing donors will meet to celebrate successful completion of the challenge—in just three months!

As a result, Family Service will begin the 2015-2016 school year with the capacity to strengthen individual academic and post-graduate planning support for Latino students at Highland Park High School. Students in LYI are the first in their families to go to college. The program is the capstone in the Family Service Latino Educational Continuum, which begins at age 6 at Nuestro Center and extends through middle school at Northwood Junior High School to Highland Park High School.

Read Full Article Here

The Highland Park Community Foundation is pleased to announce the following organizations have received grants for 2015.

The Highland Park Community Foundation presented $20,000 to the Park District of Highland Park Board of Park Commissioners at the June monthly meeting. The funds will be used by the Park District for a feasibility and cost study for the renovation of the Jens Jensen pool and landscape area at Rosewood Park. The pool and surrounding area are remnants of the original Rosenwald Estate that dates back to 1913.

The Foundation’s contribution is a portion of the funds set aside by “Friends of Jens Jensen“ to be used for future park improvements and on-going maintenance of Jens Jensen Park. The “Friends of Jens Jensen” was a local citizen group which raised funds to off-set the costs of the Park District’s renovation of Jens Jensen Park in 2005.

The Rosewood Park pool and landscape feasibility study will include:

• A study the pool’s structural and water holding condition
• Determination of a source and supply of water and electricity to the site needed to fill and reestablish pool circulation
• An initial plan for its restoration of the stonework – pool walls, benches and walkway at and near the pool
• A landscape plan in keeping with the Jensen theme using currently available materials
• Review and recommendation for public access route(s) to the site in keeping with the site’s layout and needs as a public park
• A budget estimate for completion of the ultimate restoration plan

“The Park District of Highland Park appreciates the Foundation recognizing the significance of the remnants of the Jens Jensen landscape at Rosewood,” said Liza McElroy executive director for the Park District of Highland Park. “The funds will help the Park District come closer to achieving our long-term goals for Rosewood Park.”

PHOTO:

Scott Meyers, president of the Board of Commissioners for the Park District of Highland Park, is presented with a check from Laurie Levin, board member of the Highland Park Community Foundation, for a feasibility study for the renovation of the Jens Jensen pool at Rosewood Park.

Congratulations to Elm Place Special Education teacher Elizabeth Hodge, the 2015 winner of the Highland Park Golden Apple Award. Congratulations as well to Northwood teachers Suzanne Sosnowski and Bill Steinbach, who were finalists.

To the delight of her colleagues, students and parents, Elm Place special education teacher Elizabeth Hodge was surprised last Friday afternoon with the prestigious Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF) Highland Park Golden Apple Award. She was presented with a Highland Park Golden Apple on a pedestal, a $2000 cash stipend, and a $500 gift certificate to the Apple store.

“Mrs. Hodge is a truly selfless and giving person with a deep love of teaching, and passion for her students. Her contagious positive attitude allows colleagues to respect and admire her talents and abilities. She provides students the opportunities to take risks and let the process lead them to joyful success. She has had a profound impact on students, a lasting influence on colleagues, and a true partnership with parents,” said HPCF Highland Park Golden Apple Committee Chair Sara Sher.

The HPCF Highland Park Golden Apple award is modeled after and conducted in cooperation with the Chicago-area nonprofit Golden Apple. In 2010, HPCF and a local family foundation initiated the local Highland Park Golden Apple Award to recognize outstanding teachers in the Highland Park school systems. By honoring an exceptional educator, the Foundation strives to demonstrate the strength and impact of excellent teaching in helping young people reach their potential. Nominees go through the same rigorous process to be selected.

The Highland Park Golden Apple Committee, comprised of retired exemplary educators and former Golden Apple award winners, selected Hodge through a rigorous process. Calls for nominations for middle school teachers were circulated in North Shore School District 112 last fall, and many deserving teachers were nominated. Three semifinalists were chosen from the group of nominees, and all were observed in their classrooms by a Golden Apple team.

The other two semifinalists–also outstanding teachers–were Northwood STEM teacher Bill Steinbach, and Northwood English teacher Suzanne Sosnowski. All three are exemplary and demonstrate the high quality of teaching that District 112 values as its most important resource, Sher said. “All three are deserving of the highest praise.”

Mrs. Hodge, Ms. Sosnowski and Mr.Steinbach were all honored at the May 19 Board of Education meeting, along with John Campbell, who earlier in the week learned he won the Chicagoland Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“Bill Steinbach brings all the standards, resources, systems, practices, attitudes, and a diverse population of students together in a small space and have everyone learning and thinking to their potential,” Sher said. Bill goes way beyond and above and is awe-inspiring in his classroom and multiple extracurriculars like his robotics club. Bill answers the question “why?” with “why not?”.

“Suzanne Sosnowski builds warm and close relationships with many families but contends that her main goals for students are essential life skills: to develop their problem-solving ability, help them learn to communicate effectively, learn to collaborate with others, and become life-long learners,” Sher said. “Her impact on students is far-reaching across the entire school building and throughout the community.”

Ravinia teacher Sharon Steckel also told the board Tuesday night why she nominated John Campbell for the prestigious teaching award. “John has that rare, undeniable ability to spark curiosity and ignite the desire to learn. He connects with his students in such a way that enables them to achieve what they didn’t believe was possible. They’re composers and musicians and appreciate music for its diversity and complexity when they are with him,” she said.

Video links:

John Campbell Golden Apple Surprise Visit

Elizabeth Hodge Golden Apple Surprise Visit