District 214 is moving into the second year of its Future 214 Strategic Plan with new instructional systems in place, expanded student supports, greater alignment of district resources and a growing structure for evaluating whether programs and innovations are delivering results for students.
District leaders presented the Board of Education with a comprehensive Year One Stocktake on Aug. 20, reviewing progress across all four goals of the five-year strategic plan and outlining the work ahead for the 2026-2027 school year.
Much of the first year focused intentionally on building the systems behind the plan: creating a common instructional vision, strengthening student support structures, aligning operations and resources, establishing new feedback and accountability processes, and creating a framework for responsible innovation.
Year two begins moving those systems more fully into practice.
“We are committed to demanding year-over-year progress and striving to take District 214 from a great district to an exceptional district,” Superintendent Dr. Scott Rowe told the Board. “It is hard to go from a really high bar to just a little higher, but we are committed to that work.”
Future 214 was approved by the Board in 2025 following an extensive planning process that included more than 2,000 stakeholder survey responses, direct participation from more than 240 students, focus groups, student shadowing, a representative steering committee and an independent review of district data and operations.
The plan is organized around four goals: Inspiring Learning, Creating Connections, Aligning Resources and Innovating Education. Together, the goals support the district’s long-term vision of inspiring lifelong learners who thrive in innovation and its Portrait of a District 214 Graduate.
Inspiring Learning: Building a Common Instructional Foundation
Goal 1 focuses on engaging all students in meaningful learning.
During year one, District 214 developed a shared instructional vision defining high-quality teaching and learning across the district. Leaders also established core alignment beliefs covering student and learning experiences, standards, curriculum documentation, instructional materials, assessment and grading while preserving teacher professional autonomy.
A new multiyear curriculum review cycle provides a consistent process for departments and course teams to examine standards, curriculum, assessment and instruction.
District 214 also developed a Portrait of an Educator that describes instruction as purposeful, student-centered and equity-driven, using engaging and responsive practices to prepare students to thrive in an interconnected world.
Professional learning during 2026-2027 will bring that work into classrooms through a common instructional focus each quarter. The four quarterly themes connect Portrait of a Graduate competencies with educator practices and high-impact instructional strategies: Demonstrate Kindness, Remain Curious, Communicate Effectively and Support My Community.
Another year-one milestone was the launch of College Now in partnership with Harper College. The inaugural cohort includes 11 students pursuing District 214's first pathway allowing students to work toward a high school diploma and associate degree concurrently.
During year two, building course teams will inventory current practices while district teams begin developing aligned learning experiences and assessments around priority standards. A new Portrait of a Graduate committee will further define the district's eight graduate competencies and explore how to measure and provide students feedback on their progress.
District 214 also plans to strengthen its relationship with sender districts through a joint working group focused on eighth-to-ninth-grade academic expectations, placement and student supports.
Creating Connections: Making Sure Students Are Known and Supported
Goal 2 focuses on fostering an environment where students, families and staff feel valued and supported.
One of the most significant year-one efforts was implementation of RULER, a social-emotional learning framework, in ninth-grade physical education classes. Administrators, Student Services staff and PE teachers received training, and the curriculum will expand to a full year for freshmen in 2026-2027 while lessons begin for sophomores.
Student support systems also became more consistent across schools.
Solution Finding Teams now operate in every building, bringing together counselors, social workers, deans, advocates and other staff to review student attendance, behavior, grades and other concerns and create individualized support plans.
Students also have opportunities to identify a trusted adult in their school, and principal advisory groups at every building and program give students a direct voice with school leaders.
District data showed several encouraging early indicators. In-school and out-of-school suspensions declined 18%, marking the first year-over-year reduction in exclusionary discipline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Families reporting that they feel involved in their child's school increased 11 percentage points on the Illinois 5Essentials Survey.
New programs also were developed for students with needs that may not be fully addressed in a traditional comprehensive high school setting, including READY at Forest View and The Grove, which begins serving students during the 2026-2027 school year.
Year-two priorities include earlier identification of attendance and academic concerns, continued personalized attendance outreach, expanded student advisory groups and districtwide RULER training.
The district also will continue working with community partners, including Ascension, Omni, the North Cook Intermediate Service Center/Regional Office of Education and other providers, to extend support available to students and families.
Aligning Resources: Connecting Dollars, People and Systems to Results
Goal 3 challenges the district to maximize the impact of its people, systems, finances and other resources.
Year-one work included reorganizing administrative responsibilities and reporting structures, redesigning several roles and making additional safety investments, including expanded camera coverage, modernized radios, additional access controls and two new reunification sites.
District 214 also launched public sponsorship and advertising opportunities, implemented its new district website and continued reviewing areas such as master scheduling and summer programming to determine how staffing, transportation, facilities and course access can be better aligned.
A leadership survey offered an early look at how administrators perceive those changes. Among respondents, 84% agreed District 214 has effective structures for cross-school learning and alignment, 66% said new systems and processes have reduced duplication and improved consistency, and 60% reported a clear understanding of district financial priorities and the reasons behind them.
Leaders also acknowledged limitations in the results: only about one-third of administrators responded, and many first-year responses were neutral. The district plans to repeat the survey as the systems mature.
Financial transparency was another year-one focus. District 214 created consolidated reporting of funds available to schools and established monthly financial reports for the Board.
Energy-efficiency work also generated financial benefits. Since fiscal year 2024, the district has received more than $500,000 in rebates and incentives from projects including LED lighting and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure.
One of the largest year-two undertakings will be implementation of Skyward, which will replace the district's decades-old business system for finance, payroll, purchasing and human resources. The district is targeting a July 2027 launch.
District 214 also is beginning an Academic Return on Investment process. Leaders will first create a districtwide inventory of programs and initiatives and then establish a recurring review process that considers program objectives, student outcomes and full costs, including staff time.
The intent is broader than reducing programs. Reviews could lead to expanding effective programs, redesigning others or targeting resources more precisely toward the students who benefit most.
The guiding principle, leaders told the Board, is that resources should follow evidence of impact.
Innovating Education: Facilities, AI and Scaling New Ideas
Goal 4 focuses on unlocking new possibilities for District 214 through both facilities and innovation.
Facilities work moved through three phases of community engagement before the Board voted Aug. 6 to place a $295 million bond question on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The district's schools range from 53 to nearly 70 years old. A comprehensive facilities assessment beginning in 2022 identified more than $800 million in long-range needs. The scope was subsequently reduced to a maximum $450 million project list and then to the $295 million ballot question based on community feedback, priorities and affordability.
District 214 has funded capital improvements annually since 1985 and has invested nearly $200 million in its buildings during the past decade. The district last sought voter approval for school construction bonds in 1971.
Through Election Day, District 214's role is to provide factual and objective information about the question, the projects it would fund and the financial impact. The decision belongs to voters.
Innovation work under Goal 4 also accelerated during the first year of Future 214.
Use of approved artificial intelligence tools among staff increased 1,500% over the district's baseline as training and guardrails were introduced. A 60-member Innovation and Change Committee involving staff and Board members tested new approaches, supported 10 classroom mini-grants and helped establish the next phase of the work.
District 214's RISE framework — Responsibility, Integrity, Safety and Ethics — provides common expectations for the responsible use of AI by students and staff.
During year two, a new ignite214 committee will develop a more formal process for testing innovations, evaluating their results and determining when successful approaches should be expanded across schools.
The district also plans to continue refining its AI guidebook, approved tools and training while exploring additional blended and hybrid learning opportunities.
Measuring What Comes Next
District leaders emphasized that the Aug. 20 presentation represents an early stocktake rather than a final judgment on the plan's success.
Future 214 includes defined outcome measures across learning, belonging, operations and innovation. Year one established many of the baselines and systems needed to track those measures.
A major piece of the accountability picture — finalized student achievement and growth data — was not yet available for the August presentation. District 214 expects to return to the Board later this fall with a more comprehensive academic report after statewide report-card information becomes available.
Annual public stocktakes, along with regular updates throughout the year, are intended to make progress visible and identify areas where the district needs to adjust.
Rowe said the work ultimately must be felt beyond reports and presentations.
District leaders want principals, teachers and other staff to experience district systems as support for their work rather than an additional layer of work — and they want students to experience the results through stronger instruction, meaningful relationships, clearer support and greater opportunity.
Year one built much of that foundation.
Year two begins the work of testing how well it delivers.