Many Oak Park parents experienced a stressful morning this past weekend as registration for the Park District of Oak Park’s fall program began. However, limited space and IT crashes highlighted the high demand for quality programs.
Registration for fall programs began on Saturday, August 3, but was immediately met with frustration among Oak Park parents as the park district’s website crashed.
“Due to the unprecedented volume of visitors to our website, pdop.org, we have experienced issues with some registration attempts,” Park District Executive Director Jan R. Arnold said in an announcement on the Park District’s website and social media page on August 5.
“Oh my God, it’s crashing,” said Constance Upton, a mother of a 2-1/2-year-old from Oak Park. “It’s crashing because we’re all trying to do this right now. The whole village of Oak Park is on this website right now.”
Upton set several alarms and was at her laptop before 8:30 a.m. when registration began, but the crash sent her into a panic.
She wasn’t the only one. Many parents took to social media to express their frustration and find more information about registration.
Upton said she saw a post from someone who left home and registered in person at the district office and from others who used the online registration system Amilia.
Thanks to Amilia, Upton was able to enroll her daughter in gymnastics, one of the most popular courses besides swimming.
But the whole situation only increased her already existing anxiety about registering, as she had missed classes in the past. Upton said she hadn’t heard from Amilia until that morning.
“While registration through Amilia was still possible, we understand the frustration caused by the error message on our main site,” said Arnold. “Our IT team quickly fixed the issue and the site was back online at 8:42 a.m.”
According to Ann Marie Buczek, manager of communications and community engagement, the website was only down for 12 minutes.
Oak Park parents have joked that registration feels like the “Hunger Games,” with everyone fighting for limited spots, said one local mother.
“I think I’m exaggerating a little, but I feel like the Park District has a stranglehold on me to get the classes I want for my daughter because they’re great and everyone wants them,” said Delphine Risto, mother of a 3-year-old.
Risto was able to sign up for a swimming course.
The Park District recognizes that programming is very popular and considers many factors when developing programs and schedules.
“Our programming is driven by participant feedback, program evaluations and local trends to ensure our offerings are truly community-driven,” Buczek said.
Each year, the Park District offers more than 8,000 programs and events, she added.
According to Buczek, 300 more participants signed up for the fall/winter programs in the first 20 minutes of registration this season compared to last year.
“While we have expanded course offerings and class size to accommodate more participants, safety, capacity and staffing must always be our top priority,” Buczek said.
The availability of the course instructors, their expertise and the size of the premises are also taken into account.
Certain classes, such as toddler gymnastics, require more individual attention and supervision, Buczek said, resulting in fewer spaces available to ensure each child receives the level of instruction needed.
Risto said she understands that demand is high and attributes the amazing programming in part to so many parents choosing the Park District. Still, she would like to see some change, even if it’s just a small increase in the number of spaces enrolled in a class.
“It depends on resources, of course. You only have a limited number of lifeguards and swimming instructors, you can’t take care of all the children in the city, it’s just not possible,” said Risto. “But maybe you could get it to 20 places instead of 10.”
This fall semester was also impacted by external factors as the Park District lost access to the OPRF High School indoor pool due to Project 2 construction, reducing the number of swim lessons offered. The Park District now only has access to the Fenwick High School indoor pool.
Buczek said they try to expand the offering wherever and whenever possible.
Buczek says they have introduced a four-week mini-gymnastics course to meet high demand and increased Santa Trolley sessions from “a few sessions” on a Saturday to 24 sessions over two days.
In addition, the opening of the Community Recreation Center made it possible to offer basketball and volleyball courses and leagues for youth and adults.
The park district is also trying to combine under-enrolled classes to free up space in facilities and give teachers the opportunity to offer additional high-demand classes, Buczek said.
According to Buczek, the Park District served more residents last year than it will in 2023, with a 16% increase in youth and 14% in adults.
As the Park District deals with the increasing popularity, residents are trying to plan future courses.
Buczek said some competency-based courses give priority to first-session participants and allow pre-registration so they can move up in line to the next level.
Risto said she was “not keen” to sign her child up for the first swim session in the fall, as they both want to spend as much time outside in warm weather as possible before the winter months set in. However, she felt this was the easier way to secure a spot for the second session.
Winter classes are in high demand as families look for indoor activities for their children, Risto said. Enrolling in Class 2 also entitles Risto to pre-register for winter classes.
“This system ensures that participants can build on the skills they have learned without interruption,” Buczek said. “It also helps us identify the need for additional or customized courses to better meet demand before open enrollment begins.”
Buczek said the practice does not limit who can register.
For parents like Risto and Upton, the effort of registering is worth it because they see the quality of the programs. But there is still a desire to increase availability.
“We pay a lot of taxes and you hope that what you put into the system comes back out in the form of community programs,” Upton said.
“I’m very grateful that we have this, it’s a wonderful opportunity for the kids in the city,” Risto said. “I just wish we had more of it.”
According to the Park District’s Fall/Winter Program Guide, registration for Fall/Winter 2024-25 begins on Saturday, August 10 at 8:30 a.m.
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