The District 25 Dish

The District Dish is organized in the following way:

• New to the Dish – What's new
• Back for Seconds – Worth another look
• Ongoing Classics – Ongoing information and reminders

Click here or the button below to join the ABC/25 Foundation!

In addition to funding teacher grants, every year, the ABC/25 Foundation awards $2,500 to all District 25 schools when 25% of the school's families become members.

Your membership counts toward the membership goal at every D25 school your children attend, so when registering, select all District 25 schools your children attend.

Click here or the button below to join your school’s PTA! It is a simple way to support students, teachers, and your school community.

Learn more by clicking here or the button below.

Labor Day | All Schools Closed

• September 7th

Superintendent Office Hours

• September 10th | 2p.m. - 4p.m.

Connection with the Board: Heritage Fest

• September 19th

Parents and guardians, please keep an eye out for your child’s Spring 2026 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) results. Reports will be sent home via backpack mail on Friday, September 18.

Be sure to check your child’s backpack for their IAR report.

• Saturday, September 19 | 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
• Arlington Heights Historical Museum
• 110 W. Fremont St., Arlington Heights

Heritage Fest is looking for families to host booths celebrating their culture, traditions, and heritage. If your family has participated in a D25 Multicultural Fair, this could be a great opportunity to share your culture with the broader Arlington Heights community.

Sign up to host a booth

Heritage Fest is presented by the Arlington Heights Park District, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Arlington Heights Historical Museum, and Village of Arlington Heights.

We are excited to offer another year of Special Olympics for our Arlington All-Stars team.

Our All-Stars team offers both Fall Basketball skills and Spring Track & Field.

We meet for practices on Wednesdays after school and then participate in the end of season Competitions.

As part of our commitment to student health, wellness, and safety, District 25 is notifying families that some science lessons this school year may involve the use of food or food-related products as instructional tools. Please click on the letter below that corresponds with your child’s grade level for more information about the specific items that may be used.

Kindergarten | 1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade

6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade

As part of our ongoing work to explore the intentional use of technology and digital wellness, District 25 is introducing overnight internet access limits on district-issued Chromebooks.

10 p.m. – 6 a.m.

District-wide internet access on school-issued Chromebooks will be unavailable during these overnight hours.

This is one of the ways we’re encouraging healthy technology habits while ensuring our students have the tools they need for learning when they need them.

We are excited to share that Fun Fluency Spanish enrichment classes will once again be offered at all District 25 elementary schools during the 2026–2027 school year!

Classes will be offered before and after school right at your child’s school. Fun Fluency classes are designed to make language learning engaging, confidence-building, and interactive for students of all experience levels.

Registration for the 2026–2027 school year opens on June 15 at 8:00 AM. Space is limited, and classes fill up very quickly. Tuition for a full year is $365. For more information or to register, visit https://funfluency.com/registration or click the flyers below:

Dryden | Greenbrier | Ivy Hill | Olive-Mary Stitt | Patton | Westgate | Windsor

Below is a snapshot of upcoming local events that may be of interest to students and families. For a complete list of activities and details, please visit each organization’s website.

District 25 is proud to partner with the GPS Parent Series: Navigating Healthy Families — bringing families and professionals free access to nationally recognized experts who provide practical, research-based guidance on today’s most important topics. With over 50 programs annually, offered at noon and 7 p.m. CT in four languages, GPS supports families at every stage — from childhood through college and career.

Explore upcoming programs and resources at GPSParentSeries.org and join us in building stronger, healthier communities.

This Dish's Feel Good Story: What is your hope?

Everyone has a personal hope…and no one hope is better than another. Yet, when put together, these hopes collectively make South and Thomas, South and Thomas…and make District 25, District 25.

#d25ItsPersonal

As we begin the new school year, we want to remind families of our expectations regarding cell phones and other electronic devices at school, including wearables. These expectations are designed to help students stay focused on learning, minimize distractions, and support a positive school environment.

• Middle school students are expected to turn off electronics and store devices in their middle school locker during the school day.

• Elementary students are expected to leave electronics in the “off” position and in their backpacks throughout the school day.

• A supervising teacher may grant permission for them to be used or if needed during an emergency.

• They may not be used in any manner that will cause disruption to the educational environment or will otherwise violate student conduct rules.

The District will provide access to students who do not own a mobile learning device in circumstances when its use is required for instructional purposes during the day. Electronic devices may be used during the school day if:

• Use of the device is provided in the student’s IEP, or

• Permission is received from the student’s teacher with administrator approval

Each year, District 25 administers several state and local assessments to our students to inform instructional planning, determine who may need additional instruction, and obtain a general snapshot of students’ academic strengths and needs. The 2026-2027 assessment calendar, including information about the assessments and testing windows, can be found below:

ASSESSMENT CALENDAR | 26-27

Please note that classrooms will participate in these assessments at different times throughout the testing window, so be attentive to the dates and times provided by your child’s school. If you have questions regarding these assessments, please contact your child’s teacher or school principal.

Last year, we shared a letter reaffirming District 25’s belief, aligned with the Illinois State Board of Education, that schools are safe havens where students can learn without fear.

Earlier this year, we re-shared guidance with staff and administrators on responding if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other immigration representatives come to our schools. Our priority remains ensuring every child and family feels safe, valued, and supported in District 25.

👉 UPDATED: Read Board President Greg Scapillato & Dr. Kaye's most recent update.

👉 Read Dr. Kaye’s full letter from last year, here.

Updated Resources:
Illinois Immigration Information Hub:

• Know Your Rights Toolkit
• Free and Low-Cost Legal Services
• A family emergency plan template, with step-by-step guidance
• Organizational preparedness resources for businesses and employers

Immigration emergency hotline (ICIRR Family Support Network): 1-855-435-7693 (English, Spanish, Korean, Polish)

At the December 16, 2025 Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the 2026-2027 calendar. Check out the links below for more information:

• 2026-2027 Calendar
• 2026-2027 Calendar (Español)
• Letter to D25 Community

-------------

Due to our recent website update, the process for syncing district and school calendars has changed. The previous calendar link will no longer provide updated information.

Please remove the old calendar feed and add the new one to ensure you continue receiving accurate events. This takes just a minute—see the short how-to video below:

• VIDEO: Calendar Feed Instructions

Have you visited our SAFE25 page? We invite you to take a look.

Ensuring the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority. We are committed to creating secure environments where learning can thrive.

School safety is an ongoing effort, and your input matters. Share your feedback at safe25@sd25.org. Together, we can build a safer future for our students.

Residents can opt to register their security cameras with the AHPD to assist in investigations. More details: Connect Arlington Heights Camera Registration.

Link Together Coalition Mission: Promote healthy youth and communities by reducing teen substance use through education, advocacy, resources, and policy action.

Working with D25: South and Thomas Middle Schools provide targeted prevention programs that empower students to stay substance-free.

For more information and resources, visit our Parent Academy page.

District 25 is committed to supporting the whole child and their family. We’ve created a new webpage to share community resources that offer assistance with food, housing, health services, and more. Visit the community supports page by clicking here to explore support options.

Learn more about adult education offered by District 214!

Click here to learn more: https://www.ce.d214.org/

District 25 is a great place to work — with opportunities to inspire, support, and impact students in a variety of roles. Whether you're in the classroom, behind the scenes, or on the front lines of support, there's a place for you here.

Explore opportunities at www.sd25.org/apply and see how you can make a difference in our schools and community!

For all Board of Education information, including how to attend meetings (in person or virtually), how to contact the Board, and how to view recent meetings, please visit the link above.

What: School Board Meeting

When: Tuesday, September 29, 2026*

Where: Dunton Administration Building, 1200 South Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights, IL 60005

*The meeting will begin at 6:15 p.m. at which time the Board will move into Closed Session until approximately 7:00 p.m. Following Closed session, the Regular Open meeting will begin.*

At the April 2026 Board Meeting, our Superintendent, Dr. Brian Kaye, along with Strategic Plan Refresh Team participants District 25 Director of Student Learning Andrea Luessow, student Graham McGann, constituents Suchi Joshi and Ilinca Wallace, and David Nienhueser, presented the team’s recommended Strategic Plan Refresh following a collaborative, yearlong process (detailed below).

The recommendation outlined five strategic goals focused on student learning and growth, well-being and belonging, staff excellence, community partnership, and organizational effectiveness. It also introduced a Portrait of a Learner framework to define the skills and dispositions District 25 aims to cultivate in every student.

The Board reviewed the proposed plan, and adopted it in May 2026. The district is now moving into implementation phases, including defining success metrics, aligning improvement efforts, and providing regular progress updates.

• For a PDF of the presentation, click here.
• To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

Visit our Strategic Plan page for more information: www.sd25.org/StrategicPlan.

Website: www.sd25.org
Location: 1200 South Dunton Avenue
Phone: (847) 758.4900
Facebook: facebook.com/ahsd25
Twitter: @ahsd25

Instagram: @ahsd25social