There’s something special about having sisters, and that feeling is at the heart of Spartan Sisterhood, a club for girls at Oak Lawn Community High School.
“The Spartan Sisterhood’s mission is to empathize, embrace and empower each other, and that really captures what we’re all about,” said club cosponsor Sophie Black, a teacher at the school.
“We’re succeeding in our mission because we have witnessed the sense of support and confidence that’s grown among the members. The girls are more comfortable sharing their voices, lifting each other up and celebrating one another’s wins,” she explained.
Club member Gisnaya Balderas, a senior, joined the club this year because she “wanted to be part of something positive that brings girls together and I liked the idea of having a space where we can support each other, grow in confidence and build real connections beyond the classroom.”
What Balderas didn’t expect was how quickly she felt at home there. “What surprised me most was how open and welcoming everyone was from the start. I didn’t expect to bond with so many people so quickly,” she said. “It really showed me how strong sisterhood can be when everyone feels seen and supported.”
Her favorite thing about Spartan Sisterhood is the environment. “It feels like a safe space where we can talk, laugh and learn from one another. Ms. (Shatha) Odeh also makes it fun and empowering. She pushes us to be our best selves while still keeping things real.”
Junior Remington Hussein, also in her first year as a member, felt welcomed as well. “I loved how all the girls were very respectful and nice,” she said. “Everyone is very supportive, and it’s easy to open up and feel comfortable.”
Hussein joined because she “wanted a place where girls could support each other, feel included and build real relationships. I liked the idea of making new friends and growing with others.”
She hopes more girls participate. “It’s a great opportunity for a new club to meet new people, learn more about others and be surrounded by positive, supportive girls who want each other to succeed,” Hussein said.
Thus far, her favorite club activity has been the female-only dance she helped to plan. “We worked so hard on it, and seeing everyone come together and participate in an all-girls dance made it so special,” she shared. “We had fun and it turned into a memory that I’ll never forget.”
Members of the Spartan Sisterhood Club at Oak Lawn Community High School strike a pose at the club’s alternative homecoming dance, the event that spurred the creation of the club. (Oak Lawn Community High School)
The dance, held as an alternative to the traditional homecoming dance at the high school, is central to the group and the reason it began. The Student Council advisor came to Sophie Black and Odeh, another teacher at the school, in 2019 and asked if they’d be willing to host the dance because some students had been asking for something like it for years.
The dance takes place during Homecoming Week but on a different day from the traditional dance. “We have people who attend both because they are so into school spirit,” Odeh said, adding that the students create a playlist that she and Black then have to approve.
A big difference from the traditional dance is that it’s not coed. “There’s so much pressure in high school with the jump from middle school to high school (being) so drastic when it comes to social norms. We have some of our freshman students who aren’t ready to dive into that world but still enjoy the fun aspects of school,” Odeh explained.
In addition, it’s much smaller, with a crowd of 75 at its biggest, compared to the more than 500 students who attend the traditional dance – but that smaller size brings some benefits.
“Because it’s a smaller group of people, we’re able to order pizza and drinks and feed the kids, which is always a plus,” Odeh said, giving a shout-out to Grassano’s Pizza, which works with teachers to make things affordable.
The school supports the club by allocating gym space for the dance. Odeh said the maintenance staff goes “above and beyond. They are the unsung heroes of the building.”
Not only do maintenance staff set up the gym but they also recognize that club members might have special requirements. “There have been times when they partition the hallway so if there’s a (Muslim) student who has walked out of the gym without her scarf on, she’s safe,” she said. “I’ve been in this building 23 years – half my life – and our staff are such wonderfully helpful people.”
A hallway decked out in pink, including balloons and dancing silhouettes, welcomes girls in the Spartan Sisterhood Club to their alternative homecoming dance. (Oak Lawn Community High School)
Odeh can relate to the club’s members. “I call myself a social introvert. I’m much better in a small environment,” she shared. “Big crowds can overwhelm me and overstimulate me, but I still want to have fun.”
She described the club’s mission as being a “safe space for young emerging women to meet, talk about things that are bothering them, things that they are having a conflict with, get advice.
“It brings together students who would typically not find one another in the building,” Odeh said. “We have some students who are special ed students who are in classes that are different from our star athletes who are on the volleyball team.”
The club typically has anywhere from 25 to 35 members, including a lot of freshmen at the beginning of the school year. “Once the school year starts and the students get to know Mrs. Black and I, the juniors and seniors want to join,” she said. “They’ll show up by the third meeting of the year and are fully involved in preparing for events, selling tickets.”
Meetings take place once a month, although more are held as events get closer. For Women’s History Month in March, the Spartan Sisterhood decorates a wall in the main hallway. One year they bought carnations for all the female staff members.
Members also have collected items for feminine hygiene care packages for low-income students that are distributed during registration and available from teachers in every classroom. In the future, club members would like to cook a meal for the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn.
Club members also help each other.
“One week we had a student who said she couldn’t understand a calculus assignment. Another student said, ‘I know how to do this’ and gave a lesson at the board,” Odeh said. “The student came back and said she aced her calculus exam.”
Parents seem to appreciate the club and its mission, she said.
“I have a student, not Middle Eastern, a freshman who is so painfully shy and quiet. I try to get her to engage and put her in groups of classwork that would be OK with her shyness, just to get her to see how worthy she is to get into a group,” Odeh said. “Her mother and I convinced her to come to one of our meetings. Next thing you know, on our parade float and our banner, she was right there and feeling good about herself. I’ve seen it build her confidence. That is a lot of the same messages we’ve gotten from parents.”
Black has gotten “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from parents and staff as well. “Our administration and teachers have been very supportive, commenting on how meaningful it is to see students creating such a positive and empowering space for one another,” she shared.
“Parents have also expressed appreciation for the club’s mission, wishing something like this had existed when they were in high school. Looking ahead, we always hope to expand the club’s impact through opportunities and events celebrating women’s voices and achievements.”
Odeh is pleased at how the club’s doing thus far. “I’m just so grateful that the school allows all these sorts of clubs. It wasn’t something I was looking to do. It was something that we saw a need for.”
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/25/spartan-sisterhood-oak-lawn-community-high/
