Orland Township board shows concern for District 230 students

By Ray Hanania

While High School District 230 has been dragging its feet on deciding whether to approve the addition of Arabic as a “World language” instruction for its students, the Orland Township Board approved a resolution supporting the idea, because they seem to care more for the education of regional students than the school’s administrators.

A resolution was introduced and overwhelmingly approved by Orland Township Trustees Lena Matariyeh, Kenneth Duffy, and Kenneth Soltis. Trustee Frank Williams supported the idea of adding Arabic as a World Language, but he explained he didn’t feel the Township should be involved in another government.

But Orland Township overlaps much of District 230, concentrating mostly on Andrew High School in Tinley Park, and represents the families that live in that part of the district, and the well-being of the families and their students are an essential part of the Township’s mission. About 95 percent of the students living in Orland Park, represented by Orland Township, attend Sandburg High School.

Trustee Duffy praised the resolution, saying, “It was my honor to co-sponsor the attached resolution in supporting the addition of Arabic as a “World language” class in District 230. The Township certainly has no say in district matters; however, our board supports the entire Orland Township community, and we believe this would be a nice addition to the curriculum. Students deserve to have a great education, and this would certainly enhance that.”

Trustee Matariyeh, who is the only Arab American at the Township, said, “I understand that the Township Board doesn’t have authority over the school district’s curriculum, and I fully respect that. My intent with this agenda item is not to direct the district, but rather to use my role as a trustee to advocate for and stand with our community.”

It is not unusual for village, municipal, and township boards to adopt resolutions that impact their residents, but that they do not have direct authority to change. It’s called showing concern for the people you represent. Just because you were elected to support the Township doesn’t mean you don’t support the best interests of the people in the Township. In fact, avoiding showing concern for the needs of your residents would be irresponsible, which is something that has plagued Orland Township before the new board was constituted after the April 1, 2025, election.

This board of trustees is fresher and smarter, and more concerned about Orland Township residents.

The Arabic language is taught in four Chicago high schools and in several high schools in the Chicago suburbs.

Students have a choice to study a language, which is often required for graduation. The most commonly taught “World languages” in schools are French, Latin, German, and Spanish.

But some have said that with the increased focus on the Middle East over the past four decades, including in business and foreign relations, many have argued that the ability to speak Arabic gives students an edge over those who study the classics like French or even Latin.

Many students also chose to study Spanish, although some do it because it is easier to learn and many words overlap English.

Latin is key to the arts and sciences, and German reflects the large German population that resides in the Southwest suburbs, including in Tinley Park.

District 230 has three high schools: Stagg in Palos Hills, Sandburg in Orland, and Andrew in Tinley Park.

But over the years there has been a growing racism against Arab Americans, and that has tainted the public debate about adding the Arabic language to high school instruction. Racism was a key voter motivator in the recent April 1, 2025, Orland Park village elections that ousted Keith Pekau in favor of Jim Dodge.

In the 1990s, as the Arab population was growing in size, School District 230 seemed to focus negatively on its Arab student population. In the 1990s, about 90 percent of the student expulsions from the three schools involved Arab students, even though they were less than 10 percent of the total student body of 6,000 students.

Several Arab Americans ran for office as a result of the perceived racism and racist policies from the District 230 school board, but in four different elections lost. One of the Arab community candidates was Miriam Zayed, a professional Chicago school teacher, who passed away in October 2018. She ran three times but never made the roster.

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Today, Arab students make up about 22 percent of the District 230 total student body.

There are very few Arab Americans in the District 230 administration. But after three decades of trying, the first Arab American was elected to the High School District 230 board, Mohammed Jaber, who holds a Master’s in Education from St. Xavier University.

In fact, it was Jaber who proposed adding Arabic as a “World language” to the High School District 230 curriculum, mainly to help students better compete in today’s world.

Jaber is thinking about the best interests of the students, not on the politics that the High School District 230 administration and president apparently seem to be more concerned about.

Jaber currently serves as a Special Education teacher with Chicago Public Schools and is an IHSA Referee.

But School District President Lynn Zeder has not been supportive of Jaber’s proposal, and the idea has been pushed down the line for “further discussion and study,” a strategy often used by boards to kill ideas.

Here’s a copy of the resolution that was approved by a 4-0-1 vote on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

ORLAND TOWNSHIP

COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

RESOLUTION NO. 01-02-24-25

A RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 230 TO CONSIDER ADDING ARABIC AS AN OPTIONAL WORLD LANGUAGE COURSE TO ITS CURRICULUM

WHEREAS, Orland Township, Cook County, Illinois (the “Township”), is a duly organized and existing township and unit of local government created under the laws of the State of Illinois, including the Illinois Township Code (the “Code”), and all laws amendatory thereto; and

WHEREAS, the Township is home to a diverse community of residents, including many families who speak Arabic as their heritage language; and

WHEREAS, Standard Modern Arabic is generally one of the top ten languages spoken world-wide;

WHEREAS, the Township Board recognizes the educational, cultural, and career benefits of offering multiple world language options to students; and

WHEREAS, the Township Board acknowledges that the authority to establish curriculum rests solely with School District 230 Board of Education (the “School Board”); and

WHEREAS, the Township Board believes that supporting efforts to expand world language offerings, including Arabic, promotes inclusivity, cross-cultural understanding, and opportunities for all students;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Board of Orland Township, Cook County, Illinois, as follows:

SECTION 1. The Township Board expresses its support for the addition of Arabic as a world language option within School District 230 and respectfully encourages the School Board to consider this addition as part of its commitment to educational excellence and community representation.

SECTION 2. The statements set forth in the preamble to this Resolution are found to be true and correct and are incorporated into this Resolution as if set forth in full in this Section.

SECTION 3. The Township Board hereby directs the Township Clerk to send a certified copy of this ordinance to each School Board member for School District 230. 2

SECTION 4. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect immediately after passage, approval, and publication as provided by law. A full, true and complete copy of this Resolution shall be published in pamphlet form in accordance with the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended.

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Ray Hanania

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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