On Thursday evening Tony Valente, the second-year principal of Proviso East High School, will visit in Forest Park. While this shouldn’t be news, we don’t recall the last time it happened.
So we welcome Mr. Valente for his one-hour meet-and-greet at the Community Center. He’s there to meet local parents who have put their faith in his troubled school, as well as to meet other Forest Parkers who pay heavy taxes to support a school they do not perceive to be their community high school.
Changing that perception will take a lot of bold work at the school and at the district level certainly over many years. But we never underestimate the impact of just showing up and we give Valente credit for crossing the Des Plaines, showing his face and extending his hand in Forest Park.
The event will run from 6 – 7 p.m. at the Community Center, 7640 Jackson Blvd.
