August 20, 2023



Dear Barrington 220 Community,

I hope you had a wonderful summer! I can’t wait to begin the 2023-24 school year in Barrington 220. As a reminder, all students in grades 1-12 begin on Monday, August 21 and all kindergarten and early childhood students begin on Wednesday, August 23.

The first day of school is always a special day for students and staff, as it is filled with excitement and hope for the year ahead. I fondly remember my first day of school in Barrington in 1997, when I became a special education teacher at Barrington High School. Through the years, I have watched Barrington 220 become a nationally-recognized school district that empowers personal excellence in every learner. I can't wait for all of the wonderful learning opportunities in store for our students throughout the upcoming months. 

This will be an exciting year in the district as we celebrate our 50th anniversary. In 1973 the community voted to combine three area school districts, Districts 1, 4, and 224, officially forming a single unified school district. I hope you can join us at many of our district-wide events to mark this important milestone in our community. You can learn more by visiting our #Unifiedfor50 webpage.

I am also happy to report that our Build 220 construction projects are being completed on time and within budget. At this point, we have completed the majority of construction projects included in the $147 million referendum that the community supported in March 2020. Over the summer, construction got underway at our last four schools: Arnett C. Lines Elementary, Barbara B. Rose Elementary, North Barrington Elementary and the Barrington Early Learning Center. Major construction also occurred at Barrington High School. We can’t wait to welcome back students and staff into the new spaces, which will improve the educational experience for all. Click here to learn more about our Build 220 initiative and check out the progress at each school. 

Lastly, this school year we are taking a deeper dive into our strategic plan, Framework 220. Over the past two school years, a significant community engagement process helped identify six strategic priorities for the district. Each of these priorities has several objectives. While not all of the objectives can be accomplished at one time, we have identified nine that we will be focusing on this school year. These include: Flexible Learning, Early Childhood & Kindergarten Opportunities, Hiring Practices, External Communication, Internal Communication, Authentic Learning, Career Pathways, Social Emotional Learning, and Fine Arts Center. Please stay tuned throughout the year, as we share more information about the work being done in each of these areas.

I look forward to working together to make this a great school year for all!