An update from Barrington 220: October 21, 2020 |
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D220 will pause Hybrid mode for at least 10 calendar days beginning Oct. 28
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At the Oct. 20 Board of Education meeting, Dr. Harris announced the district will do an adaptive pause of its Hybrid mode from Wednesday, Oct. 28 until at least Monday, Nov. 9, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in our community and the region.
The announcement comes after the Lake County Health Department recommended on Tuesday that all Lake County public and private K-12 schools transition to virtual learning. Though Barrington 220 serves students in Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry Counties, the district is considered a Lake County school district and works directly with them for guidance.
In Barrington 220 the rise in cases is reflected when looking at the district's health metrics on the Northwestern Medicine dashboard. Since earlier this week, for each of the four zip codes, the number of new cases per 100,000 persons within the last 14 days has either exceeded or has been nearly at our Step 3 (Hybrid) threshold of 200. Below is the most up to date data as of 10-21-2020:
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60010: 227.0
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60021: 223.0
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60110: 464.3
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60192: 211.8
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Total Average: 312.4
As data changes daily, in order to prevent schools from switching back and forth between learning modes, the Lake County Health Department has also advised that school district's should remain in their current learning mode for at least 7 days before transitioning to another mode. Since Barrington 220 is currently in its Hybrid mode, it will remain in Hybrid until Wednesday, Oct. 28. This means the following for students, staff and families:
Between now and Oct. 27
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Oct. 22 and Oct. 23: All students will continue with their Hybrid mode or regular Distance Learning schedules as planned.
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Friday, Oct. 23: The district will provide exact details of each grade level's schedule during the pause in the Hybrid mode
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Monday, Oct. 26: "A" day for all students
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Tuesday, Oct. 27: "B" day for all students
Starting Wednesday, Oct. 28 (Adaptive Pause of Hybrid begins)
- All students will temporarily return to Distance Learning mode
- Special education students who were previously in-person will remain in person
- Extracurriculars and IHSA approved sports will continue as they did during the 1st Quarter
- Students will continue to have opportunities to come into school buildings for various reasons such as a science lab at the high school, as they did during the 1st Quarter
- All Barrington 220 staff will continue to work from their school buildings
- The adaptive pause will remain in effect until at least Monday, Nov. 9. Resuming Hybrid mode will be based on public health metrics.
Families who are currently in the Hybrid plan who wish to do Distance Learning prior to October 28 should contact their school principals. Families who choose to do this can return to the Hybrid plan once the adaptive pause is over. Click here to view Dr. Harris' full presentation.
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Board of Education to hold meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4 for 20-21 school year update |
The Board of Education will hold a regular meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to discuss the next steps for Barrington 220 schools. At this point in time, all families will know whether or not the district will be continuing with the “Adaptive Pause” in Distance Learning or if students can return to the Hybrid mode on Monday, Nov. 9. The meeting will be held at 7pm at BMS-Station Campus. |
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D220 students still outperforming pre-pandemic norms in all grades
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At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Board heard an update from the district's Department of Teaching and Learning about the impact of the pandemic on learning in Barrington 220. Typically, Barrington 220 does not test students in the fall. However, this year in order to assess the pandemic's impact, Barrington 220 tested all K-8 students in the fall and compared it to their test scores from winter 2020 (pre-pandemic), as well as national norms. Even with some potential learning loss identified, at the elementary and middle school levels, the data shows there have been continued gains relative to national norms in Reading and in Math, as well as compared to how D220 students performed in winter 2020. At the high school level, results from Advanced Placement exams indicate that students did at least as well as expected in previous years, and perhaps better. In addition, last year the average SAT score at BHS was 1150. Seniors just took the SAT test in September and the average score was 1169. All of this data provides building and district support teams invaluable information on how to target instruction and supports for students in all grades.
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Pandemic impacts D220 enrollment for 2020-21 school year |
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At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Board of Education heard a 30-day enrollment report for the district. On Day 30 of the 2020-21 school year, total student enrollment was at 8,308. On day 30 of the 2019-20 school year, total student enrollment was 8,611. The largest drop by proportion is at the Pre-K level (from 240 to 189 students). The next largest drop is at the elementary level (from 3,435 to 3,277). The 30-day enrollment figures are a snapshot in time. Enrollment will fluctuate during the school year as it has in the past and the district will continue to monitor it accordingly.
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Board recognizes 19 National Merit Semifinalists |
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At the Oct. 20 Board meeting, Board members recognized 19 Barrington High School seniors who have been named National Merit Semifinalists. They represent one of the largest groups of semifinalists BHS has ever had. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. The students now have the opportunity to compete for about 7,500 scholarships, worth more than $31 million. Watch the video below to learn more about the 19 BHS seniors!
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Board seeks community input for superintendent search |
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At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Board shared two upcoming opportunities for community members to provide input on the district's superintendent search. The Board is working with search firm School Exec Connect to select the district's next leader. Dr. Brian Harris will be retiring at the end of June after serving more than 30 years in public education.
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Online Questionnaire: First, the Board is asking community members to fill out an online questionnaire. It should only take about five minutes to complete and it will be available until Oct. 30, 2020. Click here to complete the online questionnaire
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Virtual Community Forum: In addition to the questionnaire, if you would like to provide input on the district’s strengths, the district’s challenges, and the characteristics the next superintendent should possess, the Board of Education and School Exec Connect consultants invite you to attend a virtual forum on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7pm. Please click here to register for the forum.
Findings from the questionnaire, the virtual forum, and several focus group conversations will be used to develop a New Superintendent Profile that will be reported to the Board at its November 17 regularly scheduled meeting.
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Board approves which IASB resolutions it plans to support |
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At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Board approved which resolutions it plans to support from the Illinois Association of School Board's (IASB) 2020 resolution proposals. The Board supports all resolutions except for 2 and 8.
Every November school boards from across the state send a delegate to the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) conference in Chicago. At this conference, the delegates vote on proposed resolutions IASB will pursue in the upcoming legislative sessions. Due to the pandemic, this year’s conference will take place virtually on Nov. 14.
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4 Board of Education seats up for election on April 2021 ballot |
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At its Oct. 20 meeting, Board President Penny Kazmier announced there will be four school board seats up for election on the April 6, 2021 consolidated election ballot. School Board members serve a four year term. Community members who are interested in running can feel free to reach out to current Board members to ask questions and receive candidate information at the Cook County website. You can also visit the Illinois Association of School Boards website.
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Board President recognized for service in public education
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In his superintendent report at the Oct. 20 meeting, Dr. Harris recognized Board President Penny Kazmier for being named a Master Board Member by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB). Master Board status is earned by attending IASB division meetings, Governing meetings, legislative leadership programs as well as holding positions of leadership within the Association. Kazmier was sworn in as Barrington 220 Board President in April 2019. Her seat is one of the four up for election and she announced she will not seek re-election, after serving on the Board since 2005. |
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Barrington 220 Board of Education |
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District Administrative Center |
515 W. Main Street, Barrington, IL 60010
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