Glenbrook Evening High School (GBE) has been serving the community for 38 years as a high school option available to both students and District 225 residents who do not have a high school diploma.

“[In 1975] they started with about 12 students and four or five of them graduated that first year, and to date we probably have about 2,250 students who have graduated from the evening school,” GBE’s principal Frank Santa said. “So it’s been a great success for many years.”

According to Santa, students come from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and classes are in session Monday through Thursday, four days a week.

South’s Principal Dr. Brian Wegley explained how GBE benefits the community by providing help to those who need extra support.

“What I love about our district is that there are a lot of mechanisms in place to catch students, or to provide extra support, because, as you know, life happens, and when life happens we all need supports and options around us to help,” Wegley said. “[GBE] is one of those options that have been created, and I think an exceptional one.”

Along with providing students with extra support, South’s Dean Ronald Bean explained why GBE might be a better option for some students.

“The curriculum is similar, but there isn’t as much homework sometimes in night school because you only do one class a day, so it might be a lot easier to focus on one class a day rather than seven different classes a day,” Bean said.

Santa explained why a student might find it more comfortable in GBE.

“It’s more of a laid-back environment where everybody knows everybody, so it might be more relaxed for students who feel maybe a little anxious or uncomfortable in a building with about 2,800 students,” Santa said. “Another advantage is that since classes are usually between about eight and 12 students, they get more attention in the classroom, maybe a little bit more help from the teacher because there are fewer students.”

Even though being a smaller school has many benefits, Santa shares that drawbacks still exist.

“Since we are a school with significantly less teachers, our course offerings aren’t as extensive as the day school,” Santa said. “For example, we can’t offer radio or an advanced calculus because we don’t have enough students to offer courses like these.”

According to Wegley, missing out on some of the experiences South provides is another possible drawback for GBE students.

“I’m a big fan of Glenbrook South High School and I think that the experiences that you can get in our high school are wonderful and life changing experiences,” Wegley said. “So, unless there’s a reason not to engage in that, I think you’re going to miss out on some of those things.”

With schooling conflicting with their activities, Santa explains another limitation that many students have to face when choosing to switch to GBE.

“Sometimes students who come to the day school belong to clubs or teams, and if they decide to come to evening school usually practices or meetings conflict with class time, so they usually have to give up on these clubs or teams,” Santa said.

Although oftentimes students have to give up clubs or teams because it would conflict with night school, GBE makes it a requirement for students to be involved in  different activities during the day.

“We made it one of our requirements for students to work or volunteer during the day mainly because we want them to be doing something positive while they’re not at school,” Santa said.

Lauren Berk, GBE’s reading strategies teacher, shares that many students in public schools have an inaccurate perception of the students who attend GBE and the reasons that they transfer here.

“No one considers the typical evening schooler to be a high achiever with great test scores. It would be great if people could be more aware of and understand all the different reasons someone might take the road less traveled by going to GBE,” Berk said. “Stereotypes do damage not only those students who attend GBE currently but also those who might one day need those services and you never know, it could be you.”

Overall, Bean shares his positive outlook on GBE and the positive way it serves our community.

“It’s a great resource for us to have, and I think that Mr. Santa and [guidance counselor] Melissa DeFrenza do a great job with kids and with families in terms of getting them caught up and back on track in any situation,” Bean said.

Santa shares what he hopes GBE strives for, and the motto that keeps them motivated to do so.

“GBE stands for Glenbrook Evening, but we also abbreviate it as Going Beyond Expectations, so it also serves as a motto for our school and who we are,” Santa said.