About Oak Terrace

Oak Terrace School has been a landmark in Highwood since 1916. It was built due to overcrowding at the Highwood School, which was located at 205 High Street. Nine acres of land were purchased from Lewis A. Pease at a cost of $3,500. The school was completed in 1916 and consisted of the main auditorium (formerly our Media Center/Library) and six classrooms. When the school opened, there were 187 students and six teachers.
old Oak Terrace



Today we serve approximately 500 (give or take a few) and have over 60 staff members. Mr. John Ourth served as Principal for over 20 years and on his retirement in 1994, Dr. Ray Rodriguez, came to Oak Terrace School. At the end of the 2001, Dr, Rodriguez retired and we welcomed Mr. Arturo Abrego, our former Vice Principal as Principal. We also welcomed Mr. Robert Chleboun as our new Assistant Principal.

The two-story building exhibits a 'prairie-style' look influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. The 85,000 square foot brick building includes 28 classrooms, a 6,000 square foot gym, a 3,400 square foot multi - purpose room, a cafeteria, two art rooms and a music room. Construction on the state-of-the-art building began in June 2000, with the building completed fall 2001. The transformation of Oak Terrace to a school with a world-wide class facility was a priority of the 1997 referendum approved by the voters.