Education & Classes in Oak Park

Within the brick-lined walls of their 1927 building on Dearborn St., the dancers at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts shepherd their rhythm-filled shows from rehearsal to performance. Welcoming more than 30,000 visitors per year to their Gold Coast headquarters, the center keeps feet busy with fitness and dance classes and raises the next generation of dancers with educational programs.

Chicago Real Estate School's instructors are all working real-estate agents with long track records of success. Founder Kim Bates designed the curriculum of the school to help agents pick up business savvy along with their license and incorporate hands-on sales and leasing training. From self study to online courses, the school accommodates all types of learners. Even after they've completed their prelicensing requirements, students aren't thrown onto the job market alone: staff keep up the support with career guidance, job placement, and an all-day review that prepares students for the Illinois state exam or just lets them soak up more juicy tidbits on seller disclosures.

In the high-tech classroom and professional-grade bartending training area, A List Startenders’ experienced cocktail slingers teach their students the fine art of drinksmanship and watering-hole etiquette. They pilot 40-hour Comprehensive Certification courses and shorter Essential Mixology tutorials, instilling pupils with the necessary knowledge and skills, such as quickly completing drink orders, bolstering cocktails with fresh fruit, and taking sage advice from the teleprompter beneath the bar, to operate in a bar environment. They often begin lessons in the well-equipped classroom—where an interactive Smart board aids in imparting trade lingo and drink recipes—before venturing to the full-bar training ground, replete with glassware, dozens of liquor bottles, and bar equipment, including soda guns, shakers, and garnishes. Upon completion of a course, certified students receive aggressive job-placement assistance to embark on their new career path.