Arlington Heights SD 25 holds vision retreat; staff and families flagged AI, class size and communication for strategic review

Arlington Heights School District 25 held a special board vision retreat on Jan. 27, 2026, to draft a "preferred future" statement and update the district's mission, vision and core values. Facilitators led small-group work informed by surveys of staff, families and students and will synthesize table outputs for the board’s next meeting in February.

The retreat opened with a roll call and a reminder that the session was recorded as an open meeting. Dr. Kaye introduced facilitator Perry Soldwedell, who described the day as a forward-looking session to answer "where do we want to be?" rather than the prior data day, which asked "where are we now?" Soldwedell told participants the goal was a draft preferred-future statement that would guide the district through 2030 and beyond.

Survey findings framed morning work. Soldwedell said 173 staff members and 214 families completed district surveys used to summarize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. He described the process benchmark: "if you get 80% who say they support what you've done, then pretty much what you've done, you've done a perfect job," and noted that weaknesses and threats met or exceeded that benchmark in staff and community responses. Soldwedell read the district's current mission aloud as part of the exercise: "Empower an inclusive diverse community of learners to innovate and thrive as global citizens." He asked table teams to suggest brief mission tweaks or new wording as a first draft for later refinement.

Participants spent the morning revisiting the SWOT list and then moved into jigsawed work using three survey summaries (student, parent, staff) to identify the three to five priorities that should shape mission and vision wording. On opportunities, Soldwedell said "artificial intelligence is just one of those issues that are out there" and cautioned that AI adoption should be accompanied by clear "how" plans, rules and procedures; participants asked whether the district should use AI as an instructional tool or teach students how to use AI, and facilitators said both strands need study.

Facilitators also introduced a draft learner/graduate portrait — a K–8 articulation of expected skills the district hopes students will demonstrate — and said it will be integrated into the preferred-future statement and aligned to curriculum across grade levels. The retreat emphasized iterative drafting: table posters will be collected, synthesized and returned to the board at the next meeting.

President Scapolato closed the public portion of the retreat and the board moved to adjourn. Kevin moved to adjourn and Anisha seconded; the board voted "aye," and the motion carried 6–0.

Next steps: facilitators will synthesize table outputs and survey feedback, provide middle-school and teacher responses to the board, and reconvene the strategic planning team next month to continue drafting the preferred-future statement.