July 17, 2025

*NOTE: This is the exact same recap that was sent out a short time ago, but has just been revised to correct some YouTube links. We apologize for the multiple emails!

Important Back to School Communication Dates

As part of his Superintendent's Report, Dr. Winkelman highlighted some important upcoming dates as we prepare for the back to school season:

Wednesday, August 6th	District news & welcome back email
Thursday, August 7th	Elementary class assignments & welcome back from principals
Friday, August 8th	Middle school & high school class assignments & welcome back from principals
Wednesday, August 13th @ 10 a.m.	Emergency mass notification test from the district

*As far as the emergency test goes on August 13th, expect an email, text, and robocall around 10 a.m. that day. We want to ensure that we can reach you prior to school starting. There will be more information sent out around that time about how to update your contact information if it is incorrect.

Emergency Messaging Test & Launch of ParentSquare

Starting on August 6th, you will start to see a new name attached to Barrington 220 district communications: ParentSquare.

This is the new tool that you will receive emergency, Board of Education, superintendent, and district-level communication through starting in 2025-2026. We plan to roll it out to schools for the 2026-2027 school year.

Expect to receive an invite to join ParentSquare or download the app in the first week of August. NOTE: You are not required to download the app to receive district and board-level information.

Instructional Minutes/Calendar Update

Chelsea Hedges, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, presented an update on research into instructional minutes and the district’s calendar structures. She went over the different types of days (Institute Days, Early Release Days, etc.) that Barrington 220 and other districts utilize when compiling their calendars and how it matches up with ISBE state requirements. We've skipped ahead in the meeting to this presentation if you want to click and watch it here.

Policy & Enrollment Updates

The Board of Education approved the second reading (adoption) of over two dozen policies as part of their standard policy update/refresh cycle. If interested, you can read more about each of the policies here.

Dr. Winkelman noted in his report that we continue to carefully monitor our enrollment throughout the school district during the summer months. At this time, our enrollment remains stable across all levels.

Of note, there are some sections of second grade where we are over class size guidelines, with additional families in the pre-registration stage. We are recommending adding a classroom assistant to each of these schools.

We will continue to review sections on a weekly basis over the next 5-6 weeks as we approach the start of the new school year.

Chinese Immersion Program Update

Dr. Winkelman discussed that Barrington 220 has been monitoring the enrollment numbers within our Chinese Immersion program over the past few months. We presently have lower enrollment than in past years at kindergarten and first grade.

As we considered possible adjustments and reviewed the feedback from our families, we ultimately decided upon a recommendation to run one section but to retain the instructional delivery model that has been in place since the start of the program with instruction being provided by native-speaking language role models.

We recently communicated these adjustments with the teachers, parents, and the CI council. We have also posted answers to some frequently asked questions on the Chinese Immersion website.

Board Approves Sunny Hill School Improvement Plan

Sunny Hill received a "Targeted" designation on the 2023 Illinois State Report Card. After one year of planning, the school will now be entering the first year of a 4-year School Improvement Plan mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education. Assistant Superintendent Josh Carpenter and Director of School Improvement Zach Ernst described what the next steps are and what the team's approach will be.

Celebrating Our Special Olympians!

Finally, Dr. Winkelman gave a shoutout to the Barrington 220 students who participated in the Special Olympics Summer Games. These were held at Illinois State University in late June. Our athletes competed in events such as 100 M Run, Tennis Ball Throw, Softball Throw, and Mini Javelin earning various medal categories.

Congratulations, athletes!