Our Challenges

Meeting the Needs of Our Students and Community

Cook County Schools plays a unique role in our region—not just as a place to learn, but as a center for arts, athletics, and community. However, our facilities haven’t kept pace with how students grow, perform, and compete today. Because our district is the only place in the county that can host these events, the limitations of our current spaces impact students and the entire community.

Specific challenges include:

The Arrowhead Center for the Arts is the only performing arts venue of its kind in Cook County. Since it opened in 1998, it hasn’t received any major updates. As a result:

  • The lighting, rigging, and control systems are nearly 30 years old and increasingly unreliable.

  • The lack of a catwalk makes it harder and less safe to access and maintain rigging, lighting, and other equipment.

  • The fixed seating layout limits the types of performances the venue can host, like theater-in-the-round or immersive productions. The seats are also uncomfortable and worn from decades of use.

  • There is no space to accommodate a sound board on the theater floor (something most modern theaters have), which impacts the overall sound quality and experience of live shows.

These issues prevent the space from fully supporting the needs of students, staff, community arts groups, and residents who attend these performances.

Outdated Performing Arts Center

No Track Facility

More than 80 students participate in track and field at Cook County Schools, but the district has no track facility. That means:

  • Students must train on grass, residential streets, or travel over two hours to use other facilities.

  • Students who run hurdles must travel 85 miles to Two Harbors to learn proper technique on a track. For some students, the first time they run on a track is during their first race of the season at a different school.

  • Long jump, triple jump, and high jump athletes also need to travel hours to find safe practice pits—often missing a full day of school in the process.

  • Younger students have fewer chances to try the sport, limiting the program’s long-term growth.

  • Families, staff, and other students struggle to support track and field athletes due to the cost and inconvenience of the team’s rigorous travel schedule.

  • Cook County Schools’ main athletic field is grass. To keep it in playable condition, the field is often off-limits for 5-6 days per week. 

  • To protect the grass, teams usually can’t use the field for practice Monday through Thursday, resulting in roughly four lost practice days each week, or 80 lost days each year.

  • The district also has no softball field. The baseball field lacks lighting and adequate seating, making after-school practices and entire games difficult or impossible.

  • The baseball field drains poorly and needs new infield dirt and leveling to prevent pooling and unsafe conditions.

Extremely Limited Field Availability

Inequitable Facilities for Girls’ Softball

  • The district does not have a dedicated field for the Girls’ softball team.

  • Having a dedicated field for baseball creates a Title IX liability and puts the girls’ team at a significant disadvantage compared to other teams that are able to practice on a field surface.

Shortened Seasons and Missed Opportunities

Without proper lighting and weather-resistant fields, sports seasons are at the mercy of the elements and field conditions:

  • In 2025, the girls’ softball team couldn’t hold a single outdoor practice before their first game because the field was too wet to use safely.

  • Schools with turf fields practiced for a full month before their first games, putting our students at a clear disadvantage.

  • The lack of lighting at the baseball field means junior varsity teams often have to stop games early due to darkness and safety concerns, sometimes after just three innings.