Lisle schools preparing to launch Vision 202
Longtime Lisle residents Susan Stears and Bill Buchelt will serve as co-chairmen of Vision 202, a community engagement process Lisle Unit District 202 is launching in January.
The initiative is designed to involve both the community and the schools in planning District 202's future.
Stears and her husband, Scott, have lived in Lisle for 16 years. They have three children who attend Lisle schools.
Stears is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has worked in marketing research with national and international companies. She has taken an active role in District 202, from room mom to president of the elementary Home School Organization. She currently serves as president of the HSO Council and the Lisle Band Parents Association.
As an involved parent, Stears understands the value of having community and schools work together.
"It's truly a gift to be a member of the team that's shaping the future of this outstanding school district," she said.
Buchelt was born and raised in Lisle and graduated from District 202 schools. He continued his education at what is now Benedictine University and briefly worked in the banking industry before starting his own business, Élan Photography, and eventually returning "home" to Lisle in 2005.
Buchelt and his wife, Nicole, who is also a Lisle graduate, have two children who graduated from Lisle High School and two children who are attending Lisle schools.
Also active in the community, Buchelt is a board member of the Carlin Nalley Foundation and Lisle Partners for Parks Foundation. He is involved with the chamber of commerce, Scarecrow Scramble and other community activities.
"Our roots have grown deep in Lisle and I feel it is my obligation as much as it is my pleasure to give back to this wonderful community," he said. "There is a uniqueness here in Lisle; that of being a small town with many opportunities."
Stears and Buchelt will head a citizen-led facilitating team that will coordinate and oversee the entire Vision 202 community engagement process. The facilitating team for Vision 202 is in place and will be working in the next few weeks to finalize details for workshop sessions.
In addition to Stears and Buchelt, facilitating teams members are Steve Bauer, Terry Brennan, Kitty Murphy, Steve Pawlowicz, Meg Sima, Monica Wagoner, Pam Ahlmann, Amy Narot, Emmett Bronson, Keith Filipiak, Pat Kerback and Linda Kotalik.
Community members will have an opportunity to learn about key aspects of the district, including student achievement, programs and services, finances and facilities through a series of workshops. Vision 202 also gives residents the opportunity to share ideas and discuss topics in small groups to provide input for the school board.
Information gathered from the workshops will serve as the basis for a communitywide collaborative vision that will be presented to the board in early summer.
The success of Vision 202 relies on participation from a broad-based representation of community members so an extensive recruiting effort is planned to involve parents, non-parents, business owners, employees, senior citizens, alumni and other community members in the process.
The first of five Community Engagement Sessions is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at Lisle Junior High School, 5207 Center Ave. For details, visit vision202.org.