September 20, 2023

At the September 19 Barrington 220 Board of Education meeting, Arnett C. Lines Elementary student Eliana Collins had the opportunity to share that Arnett C. Lines Elementary School has been named among the very best schools in the nation, through the U.S. Department of Education’s 2023 National Blue Ribbon Award recognition! Lines is one of only 20 (16 public) schools across Illinois and 353 (313 public) schools nationwide to be honored with this prestigious recognition. Lines also earned the Blue Ribbon Award in 1994 and 2008. The school will be honored by the U.S. Department of Education in November at a ceremony in Washington, DC. Barrington 220 schools have now earned a total of 12 National Blue Ribbon awards.

• Barrington High School: 1993
• Arnett C. Lines Elementary: 1994, 2008, 2023
• Barbara B. Rose Elementary: 2014 
• Countryside Elementary: 2016
• Grove Avenue Elementary: 1992, 2007, 2016 
• Hough Street Elementary: 2015
• Roslyn Road Elementary: 2013, 2019

This school year one student from each Barrington 220 school will make a special appearance at a Board of Education meeting to share an update about all of the great things happening at their school. Eliana was selected to represent Lines at the Sept. 19 meeting. Click here to listen to Eliana share the exciting news!

Board approves balanced budget for 27th consecutive year

At the Sept. 19 Board meeting, the Board approved the FY24 budget. Approximately 88% of the district's revenue comes from local property taxes. The balance comes from state and federal funding and other local revenue such as registration fees and donations. This marks the 27th year Barrington 220 has passed a balanced budget. In addition, Barrington 220 continues to maintain fiscal responsibility and earn a AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor's, making it one of only 88 school districts nationwide to earn the recognition. Click here to view the final budget packet.

At the Sept. 19 Board meeting, Austin Johnson, Barrington 220 Director of Safety and Security, shared his annual safety update with the Board. Johnson reported that the district's 5th Annual Safety Week, which was held last week, was a success. Throughout the week students and staff participated in drills that are mandated by the state of Illinois.

In addition, Johnson shared that several safety updates have been made at Barrington 220 schools thanks to the $147 million Build 220 initiative the community voted to support in 2020. Some of the improvements at each school include new camera surveillance systems, more secure entrances, and safety bollards in each parking lot.

As a reminder, Barrington 220 uses an Illinois school safety helpline called Safe2Help, which is aimed at providing students with a place to report information that might prevent bullying, suicide, and campus violence. Click here to listen to the presentation.

At the Sept. 19 Board meeting, the Board received an update on the district's Build 220 initiative. Over the past three years, construction projects have been completed on time and within budget across the district, with projects remaining at only three schools. Those schools include Barrington High School, Barbara B. Rose Elementary, and North Barrington Elementary. In addition, the district has been working with DLA Architects to develop design options for a potential new fine arts center at BHS. Although the cost to build a new fine arts center was not included in the $147 million referendum, creating the design work will provide the Board and the community with the necessary information to determine the appropriate next steps. The Board will review design options at its next meeting on Oct. 3. Click here to listen to the presentation.

At the Sept. 19 Board meeting, the Board heard a presentation about implementing full-day kindergarten in Barrington 220. Full-day kindergarten would extend core instruction (math, science, literacy, etc.) throughout the school day, and allow teachers time to encompass the whole child in exploration and personalized learning, as well as social-emotional development.

Currently, Barrington 220 offers a half-day option, however, the majority of students are enrolled in a fee-based Kindergarten Enrichment Program that runs a full day. One might assume that since the district currently accommodates the full-day Kindergarten Enrichment Program, it could easily accommodate full-day kindergarten. However, there are many factors to consider prior to implementing full-day kindergarten. For instance, over the past decade, there has been an enrollment increase each year of 40 to 60 students between kindergarten and first grade. Anecdotal evidence is that many of these students are attending private full-day programs, which leads to the assumption that a full-day program in the district will result in an increase in kindergarten enrollment. This would require an increase in staffing, as well as classroom space.

The district is currently reviewing options to renovate two or three classrooms at BHS to house a kindergarten lab program, or build classroom additions at elementary schools. 

A final recommendation will be presented to the Board in October. Click here to listen to the Board presentation.

In his Superintendent's Report at the Sept. 19 Board meeting, Dr. Winkelman shared that the BHS students who are currently enrolled in the high school's new flexible learning program have created a name and a logo for the program. The students collaborated with the district's graphic designer, Annie Loizzi, to create the logo.  The program will be called GEMS, which stands for Grow, Excel, and Magnify. The optional program, which is being offered to seniors only this year, allows students to expand their learning through flexible, project-based learning options and field experiences during the school day.

In his Superintendent's Report at the Sept. 19 Board meeting, Dr. Winkelman shared that this week Barrington 220 launched a pilot program called the Creativity Project at Grove Avenue Elementary and Arnett C. Lines Elementary. The program is an after-school opportunity for students in grades 3-5 to explore and develop their interests in areas such as fine arts, STEM, writing, communication, philanthropy, business, and fashion. It is being funded by the Barrington 220 Educational Foundation. This spring it will be offered to students in grades K-2.