Many teachers at Oak Park High School have been both students and teachers on campus, including OPHS teacher Chris Henderson. Henderson is a math and computer science teacher who typically wears a New York Jets sweatshirt while sipping on a Starbucks drink every morning. He has been an Oak Park Eagle for quite some time and his roots are placed in the community.
“I’ve taught 5 years at the middle school, 5 at the high school, took a year break and I’ve been back teaching 10 years at the high school,” Henderson said.
Not only has Henderson taught in the area of Oak Park, but he has also formerly resided in the community as well.
“I moved to Oak Park when I was five,” Henderson said. “I lived there until my parents sold their house when I was 21 so I lived in Oak Park for 16 years and I’ve been local ever since.”
However, the community has seen some changes since Henderson grew up in the area.
“Oak Park used to be much smaller, less rules and restrictions, a lot easier to navigate through but academics were always hard,” Henderson said.
The Oak Park community now has a population of over 13.6 thousand people, according to World Population Review.
“It had more of a family feeling where everyone knew everybody, you definitely knew where everyone was,” Henderson said. “It started changing around the early 2000s as the school opened up to outside districts for everybody to be eligible to come in. The local feeling went away and there were less people hanging out and spending time and doing stuff together because everybody would come and go as a school.”
Oak Park now holds large numbers of out-of-district students. From areas like the San Fernando Valley to Simi Valley, bringing greater regional diversity to the school.
“Oak Park was only Oak Park residents way back, [Oak Park] transferred to what’s called district of choice because the community of Oak Park only has enough houses to provide for enough people, the only way the district could keep going was to open up for people outside of the district,” Henderson said.
Although Oak Park is where Henderson grew up and works, it’s not the only place where he spends his quality time.
“My absolute favorite thing to do is travel, I love going places,” Henderson said. “I go to Vegas and Palm Springs often. I at least take a couple vacations a year. I also have flexibility and freedom.”
Henderson enjoys supporting his favorite football team, the New York Jets. He is even planning on seeing the Jets take on the Cardinals in Arizona in November.
“I’ve been optimistic at times and nervous because I don’t know why they are struggling as much as they are,” Henderson said. “They need to figure it out.”
Henderson not only likes the Jets, but he also likes the environment he is in while working.
“I’m here at Oak Park because I like Oak Park, that’s the reason I’m still teaching,” Henderson said. “Anywhere you work has ups and downs, I still enjoy teaching. There’s issues everywhere you go, concerns everywhere you go, but overall I’m still here because I like being here.”
