The District 25 Dish

This edition of the District Dish features the following

• Superintendent Message
• Inclement Weather Letter
• The Journey | Strategic Plan 21-25
• Need 2 Know
• UPDATED RESOURCES: D25's Commitment to Every Child's Right to Education
• Calendar Updates 🔔 (UPDATE TO THE 25-26 CALENDAR) 🔔
• 25-26 Calendar - UPDATED
• Calendario 25-26 - ACTUALIZADO
• Safety & Supports
• Community Supports Page - Food Supports
• Celebrate with Us!
  
• Community Events
  

• Feel Good Story

• Windsor's Veterans Day Parade! 🫡
• Help Needed | We are hiring!
  Click here for positions!
• Instagram | @ahsd25social
  
• Board of Education
  
• Illinois School Board Members Day! | November 15, 2025
• Strategic Plan 21-25, Dashboard
• #d25ItsPersonal

Thank you! Click around and enjoy!

Dear District 25 Families,

What a celebratory week here in District 25!

Across our schools, we honored our veterans with meaningful events that brought students, staff, and families together. Then, at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting, we continued the celebrations, recognizing our veterans once again, our crossing guards for their daily dedication, our Board of Education members in honor of Illinois School Board Members Day (November 15), and several of our student-athletes for their accomplishments.

We were proud to celebrate our South Golf Club for sectional and state participation, and our South and Thomas Cross Country teams for advancing to and competing in the sectional and state competitions.

So much is happening here, and I couldn’t be prouder of the energy and excellence that fill our schools each day.

A couple of things I’d like to draw your attention to:
1️⃣ Inclement Weather Procedures — The letter went out yesterday. Click here to review the procedures and thresholds for weather-related decisions.
2️⃣ The Journey — As our 2021–2025 Strategic Plan wraps up, we’ve created a document that celebrates and highlights the progress we’ve made together over the past four years, and also reflects on areas of continued focus as we look ahead. Click here to explore The Journey.

Thank you for all you do, and… can you believe the next Dish will come out on Thanksgiving?!The year is flying by!

Together Today to Transform Tomorrow!

Dr. Brian Kaye
Superintendent

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

Earlier this year, we resent that guidance to our front office staff and building administrators on how to manage situations should Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other immigration representatives come to our schools. Our priority remains ensuring that every child and family feels safe, valued, and supported in District 25.

👉 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

In an immigration emergency, call the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Right's Family Support Network Hotline to get support in English, Spanish, Korean, and Polish (1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY/1-855-435-7693).

First Trimester Ends | Elementary School

• November 14, 2025

Progress Reports Issued | Elementary School

• November 21, 2025

Non-Attendance Day | All Schools Closed

• November 24, 2025

Non-Attendance Day | All Schools Closed

• November 25, 2025

Non-Attendance Day | All Schools Closed

• November 26, 2025

Thanksgiving Day | All Schools Closed

• November 27, 2025

Non-Attendance Day | All Schools Closed

• November 28, 2025

At the Tuesday, July 15, 2025 Board of Education meeting, a change to the 2025-2026 school year calendar was approved. The School Improvement Day originally scheduled for Monday, April 6 was moved to Tuesday, March 17. This means:

• March 17, 2026 → No school for students

• April 6, 2026 → Students will attend school

For more details on the change, click here for a letter sent to our community on July 17, 2025.

📅 View the updated calendar here:

• 25-26 School Calendar | English
• Calendario escolar 25-26 | Español

Did you know you can feed the District and school calendars into your personal calendar? There are easy steps located on our website, and for a video tutorial watch the video above!

Email Adam Harris (aharris@sd25.org) if you have any questions!

Have you ever visited our SAFE25 page? We invite you to check it out!

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

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

The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is our district’s approach to managing all types of hazards or emergencies that may occur on school property. It provides a clear, consistent framework for how we communicate and respond to keep everyone safe.

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, families, and communities by decreasing teen alcohol and drug use through education, advocacy, and access to community resources, and policy awareness, implementation, and change.

Working with D25: South and Thomas Middle Schools are provided with prevention initiatives that are targeted at youth to empower them to be drug and alcohol free.

Lets Talk More: In the past year, 52% of Wheeling Township high school students answered YES that their parent/guardians have talked to them about not using alcohol. See attached PDF below to learn more.

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

District 25 is a partner in the Link Together Coalition, which gives our community access to the Glenbard Parent Series. Please check out the various Glenbard Parent Series presentations that work to engage top experts, parents, and school staff to become proactive and informed in pursuit of the mutual goal of strengthening our communities. Programs are free and open to the public. No registration required.

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.

Care Solace is a free, confidential 24/7/365 Mental Health Care Coordination Service.

Call (888) 515 - 0595, or go to caresolace.com/site/northcook to complete a brief screening to be matched with a provider. Available for students, families and staff.

For more resources, visit our parent academy page: www.sd25.org/ParentAcademy.

BEACON (Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation) is a centralized resource for Illinois youth and families seeking services for behavioral health needs. It’s common for young people to struggle with behavioral and/or mental health challenges. Please know you are not alone, and neither is your child. Click HERE for support.

November is the month to remember the contributions of Native Americans and Alaska Natives and to honor the unique heritage of our continent’s first inhabitants.

A day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Celebrated the fourth Thursday in November, a federal holiday in all states.

Below you'll find a snapshot of upcoming events in the area that may be of interest to our students and families. This is just a sampling so be sure to visit each organization’s website for a full list of activities and details.

The Arlington Heights Park District is excited to host an Indoor Triathlon at the Arlington Ridge Center on November 22! This fun, inclusive event gives participants of all fitness levels the chance to try swimming, biking, and running — all indoors and in a supportive, community-focused environment.

Students, families, and staff are welcome to join as it is an event for preteen to seniors! Please see the flyer linked below for all event details, and help us spread the word throughout our community!

When: November 22, 2025 | 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.

Where: Arlington Ridge Center (ARC)

Learn more here.

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Kick off the holiday season with the Arlington Heights Park District and the Village of Arlington Heights Special Events Commission at their annual tree lighting ceremony! Enjoy holiday-inspired music and dance performances, buy a hot cocoa or tasty treat, and join the countdown at North School Park as the switch will be flipped on over 80,000 tiny lights. There will also be countdown at Harmony Park with live reindeer, ice carving, and more. Trolleys with Dickensian characters loop between the two parks, so catch a ride and see it all!

When: November 28, 2025 | 4:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

Where: North School Park

Learn more here.

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Fellow Ozians! The AHML invites us to be glad and grateful that Wicked: For Good is almost here! Get ready by joining fellow witches and wizards for a magical Wicked screening.

This screening is intended for all ages. Please note the movie is rated PG, and is 160 minutes (2.6 Hours long).

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

When: November 15, 2025 | 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Where:Full Hendrickson Room

Who: All Ages

Learn more here.

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Trained volunteers and certified therapy dogs will visit from Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy. Bring familiar books to read aloud to a therapy dog for 15 minutes.
Grades K–2.

When: November 23 | 3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Where: Lindsey Room

Learn more here.

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Learn more about adult education offered by District 214!

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

This morning, Windsor students welcomed the veterans in their lives for a warm breakfast… and a show! 🍳🎶

Fourth graders honored our community’s veterans with music, and during announcements each veteran shared their name, who they were there with, and where they served. 🇺🇸

And of course — the grand finale — the Veterans Day Parade through hallways lined with the entire student body. 👏🎉 A powerful “thank you” on a meaningful day in District 25.

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!

Storytime, surprises, and smiles in Kindergarten & EC! 📚✨

Shab Poloz read a story celebrating all students — then left new dolls for Purposeful Play, helping kids see themselves in their classrooms. 💛🤗

#AHSD25 #RepresentationMatters #KindergartenMagic #d25ItsPersonal

🦛💬 A talking hippo?! Whatt?! First graders at Westgate got to chat with Mars (@mars.the.hippo), the baby hippo at @tanganyikawildlifepark!

They asked questions… and Mars answered! 😲 Who knew hippos could be such great pen pals?

All this fun helps students learn about wildlife and protecting our planet 🌍💚. Big learning, big smiles, and even bigger splashes!

#TalkingHippo #HippoFriends #WestgateFirstGrade #MarsTheHippo #WildlifeWonder #d25ItsPersonal

Our Board Agendas are made public 48 hours before each Board meeting and can be accessed via our BoardDocs online program. To access BoardDocs, visit our website: www.sd25.org/BoardAgenda or click here.

What: School Board Meeting

When: Tuesday, December 16, 2025*

Where: Dunton Administration Building, 1200 S. Dunton Avenue, Arlington Heights

*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.*

Description

This meeting will be live streamed via YouTube. The link for this can be found on the Board Agenda page (www.sd25.org/BoardAgenda#Livestream) the week of the meeting.

This meeting will allow audience members in the room. Notice: We’ve switched from BoardDocs to Diligent Community for board meeting management. All future agendas, packets, and board materials will now be available through Diligent Community.

Public Comments:

Anyone who wishes to make a public comment can do so, in person, at our Board of Education meetings. The Board hosts two public comment opportunities on their agenda: 1) at the beginning of the meeting, prior to any agenda items; 2) at the end of the meeting after the agenda items have been discussed/presented.

The Board can be reached outside of Board meeting hours by emailing boardfeedback@sd25.org.

Follow along with our progress on the following goals within our Strategic Plan, 21-25:

• Student Achievement
• Family & Community
• Learning Environment
• High-Quality Staff
• Stewardship of Resources

You can stay up to date on the progress of our goals and strategies that guide us in our everyday work: www.sd25.org/StrategicPlan.

Our teachers teach from a personal place. #d25ItsPersonal has become a way for our teachers and staff to share daily occurrences, and reasons why they do what they do for a living, and why it's fulfilling, right here in District 25.

Together Today 2 Transform Tomorrow

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

Instagram: @ahsd25social