April 28, 2025

Dear Barrington 220 Community, 

Spring has finally sprung here in Barrington, and I hope you have been able to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather! It’s hard to believe, but we only have a few weeks left in the 2024-25 school year, and as we wind down, I’m sharing this year’s final three episodes of my video series All in 220.  

In the fall, I shared with you that before our students returned to school in August, the district held an opening day for staff members. During this event, I talked to staff about what makes Barrington 220 #ThePlaceToB and how I believe one of the secret ingredients to our success, or “secret sauce” is the dedication of our staff. You can click this link to watch the short clip. 

For my All in 220 series this year, I’ve been teaming up with our students to surprise staff members who make Barrington 220 #ThePlaceToB. For the fourth episode, I sat down with Josh, a student at the Barrington Transition Program, who says that Student Services Assistant Michelle Solverson is the “secret sauce” that makes BTP such a special place. 

Ms. Solverson has worked at BTP since 2014, and says her favorite part about the job is that the BTP staff and students are like a family. She tells me that they are always there to support each other, and they have so much fun going out every week for community-based activities like bowling, the zoo, college tours, and restaurants.

I want to thank Ms. Solverson for making BTP #ThePlaceToB for our students. In addition, I want to thank a few BHS students who helped with this project. BHS culinary student Esbeiry Lopez made the “secret sauce” I presented to Ms. Solverson in the video. BHS graphic design students Grace Barger and Sabrina Collette helped design the label on the sauce jar.

You can view Episode #4 by clicking the video link below.