As the school year winds down, so does the yearslong tenure of the Arlington Heights School District 25 chief – a run that includes shepherding through a global pandemic, helping to bring full-day kindergarten to the district and, most recently, dealing with allegations of a school nurse misusing student medication.
Superintendent Lori Bein said she has spent her 33-year career in education being genuine and authentic and after a decade of leading the district, she’s ready to retire.
“This job has definitely become the best job I’ve ever had,” Bein, 56, told Pioneer Press.
She’s excited about retirement, she said. Her official last day is June 30.
“It’s time for District 25 to have a new leader,” said Bein, who took the helm of the district starting with the 2014-2015 school year. “It’s like spring: It’s a time of renewal and growth.”
The exiting administrator called the current SD25 school board an “energetic and future-focused” body.
Brian Kaye will take over as the new superintendent as of July 1. Kaye has been with the district for 18 years, most recently as assistant superintendent of personnel and planning. He was selected after a national superintendent search.
Arlington Heights School District 25 Superintendent Lori Bein was at the helm of the district during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some calling for her resignation over their disproval of leadership at the time of the global emergency. Bein is retiring as of June 30, 2024. (H. Rick Bamman / Pioneer Press)
Bein, who had previous stints as superintendent of Roselle School District 12, assistant superintendent for instructional services at Skokie-Morton Grove School District 69, principal at Edison Elementary School in Morton Grove and assistant principal at Winston Campus Junior High School in Palatine, has been recognized by District 25 leaders, staff and parents for her leadership, commitment to the students and teachers while inspiring her staff to be “authentic.”
Additionally, she was among a group of 21 school leaders honored by the Illinois Association of School Administrators as a 2024 “Superintendent of Distinction.”
“Each honoree is selected by peers in their region based on their commitment, dedication and leadership,” an association spokesman stated in an announcement of the honorees.
But Bein’s administration in District 25 also faced intense criticism from a contingent of parents over her handling of remote learning starting in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic – with many calling for her resignation.
“It was one of the toughest situations I’ve experienced,” Bein said. “I understand that people were unhappy and upset. They might have been loud, but they were small. Behind the scenes was a community of families and teachers who were going out of their way to tell me, ‘We appreciate you.’”
She said she made photo albums of the hundreds of letters of support she received from families and staff who, at one point, lined the block outside the district office holding signs that read, “We love you, Lori,” “Thank you” and “Hang in there.”
“I almost cried more over the amount of kindness,” Bein said.
Parents and other stakeholders took part in a demonstration Sept. 17, 2020 at Arlington Heights School District 25 headquarters in Arlington Heights calling for the district to offer in-person instruction at school buildings. Superintendent Lori Bein, who is retiring June 30, 2024, recalls that more people voiced their support for her leadership during the pandemic than those who opposed. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
The veteran school administrator said she often questioned whether she was the right person to lead the district through the pandemic. But she didn’t want to give up on the students or staff.
But now, looking back, she said she has no regrets about that time or throughout her tenure.
“There were times I wished I had done things differently,” Bein said. “But I did what I thought was right with the best of intentions.”
Starting last month, the district was rocked by allegations that a nurse at Westgate Elementary School had “misused” students’ medication. A police investigation is currently underway, authorities confirmed.
At a special meeting of the school board on May 8, board members voted to fire the nurse. She has not been charged with a crime.
District 25 Board of Education President Anisha Jogee told Pioneer Press that Bein was the right leader during COVID-19 and the right leader for the district. She praised Bein as a leader who showed empathy, compassion and dedication during a challenging chapter in public education.
“She was there for the students, interacting with students remotely consistently and ensuring there was good morale during that difficult time,” said Jogee who has been on the school board for seven years and previously worked in the district under Bein’s leadership.
“To have this leader who was compassionate, who led with such grace, she held the space for folks to express themselves. It was really important at that time to listen and she did just that,” the board president said.
Jogee also commended Bein for impact on staff and the culture within the district.
“Her legacy is being that connected, authentic leader,” Jogee said. “The reason why the district has such high morale and such a deep connection with the students is that Lori has a very personal connection with staff, students and the community because she puts people first and really connects authentically with empathy and compassion and she always is accessible.”
Bein said she hopes her lasting effect on the district is her empowerment of teachers. With a staff of 800 and student enrollment of 5,600 across nine schools in grades pre-K to 8, her hope has been to allow teachers to be the educators they came to the district to be, share their knowledge and know she was there to support them, she explained.
“We impact kids and we have to be genuine and open,” Bein said. “We have to be authentic and share it all together and use it to do great things for kids.”
Bein recalls specific metrics of her time in District 25, noting that she visited 176 classrooms in 173 school days during an academic year, and even co-taught a few classes at one of the elementary schools to demonstrate her commitment to teachers.
After the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement years before, in 2020 she read a book online that told the story of someone of a different race, ability or cultural background every day for 50 days for students at home during the pandemic, she said.
Collectively, the readings had 21,419 views, according to district records.
Bein also launched a “Random Thoughts” newsletter, seeking to connect with teachers throughout the district, including Dryden Elementary School kindergarten teacher Kathy Riesing.
“She’s always open to new ideas and whenever there are big decisions that need to be made, I feel like she’s always trying to get input from all of the stakeholders while keeping the kids at the forefront,” Riesing, who has been a SD25 teacher for 25 years, told Pioneer Press about Bein.
One of Bein’s largest efforts as District 25 affects Riesing directlya, s a kindergarten teacher: The introduction of full-day kindergarten in the district, which rolls out at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
A $75 million referendum that passed in 2022 is covering the cost of building 25 new kindergarten classrooms, new gymnasiums, and is paying for capital projects expected to be completed over the next five years, including plumbing, roofing, flooring and parking lots at all of the district school buildings.
“She’ll be greatly missed,” Riesing said of Bein’s departure. “She really respects the teachers and really values what we do. She always sends emails with random thoughts just reaffirming what we’re doing is important and reassuring us that our time is well spent. Her emails always come just at the right time when we need that support.”
Bein said she has witnessed the growth of her staff and the blossoming of their home-school connections.
“It’s been a joy, from my perspective, to watch teachers who are already amazing become more confident in themselves, feel more free and confident to show who they are with kids, colleagues and parents,” she said.
Outside of the classroom, SD25 spokesman Adam Harris said he also appreciates Bein’s mentorship.
“She has created a foundation here that starts with supporting one another. I’m not going to miss it because it’s still going to be here,” said Harris.
In retirement, Bein said, she hopes to continue to mentor other educators while enjoying time to garden, read, run, golf and bike. Her husband, David Bein, assistant superintendent of business services at Barrington School District 220, is set to retire next year, and the couple plans to spend three to six months each year living in Tuscany, Italy.
They currently live in west suburban Wheaton and have three adult children.
“I chose to come here 10 years ago and this was the only place I considered and I felt very lucky every day,” Bein said. “It’s time to leave when things are good and leave when I love it.”
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer. Pioneer Press staff contributed.
