Board of Education
An update from Barrington 220: April 8, 2020
Board approves three school administrator hires
- Starting July 1, Jim Aalfs will become the new Principal of BMS-Station. Aalfs is no stranger to Barrington 220. He has served as the Principal of Hough Street School for the past seven years. He also previously worked at BMS-Station as an Assistant Principal. Aalfs earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Judson University and a master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Illinois University.
- Starting July 1, Jennifer Ellett will become the new Assistant Principal of BMS-Prairie. Ellett comes to Barrington 220 from District 300, where she most recently served as the district's Education Services Specialist for Early Childhood. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from Western Illinois University, a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from National Louis University and an administrative certificate in educational leadership from Aurora University.
Starting July 1, Sarah Lager will become the district's new Director of Fiscal Services and Asset Management. Lager joins Barrington 220 from the Cooperative Association of Special Education (CASE) , where she served as the Director of Fiscal Services/Chief School Business Official (CSBO). She earned her bachelor's degree in political science from Illinois State University and a master's degree in school business administration/CSBO from Northern Illinois University.
Dr. Harris shares coronavirus update with Board
At the April 7 Board meeting, Dr. Brian Harris updated Board members about what the district is doing to support learning during the coronavirus pandemic. His presentation focused on Learning and Teaching, Human Resources, Operations, Communications, and Community Relations.
On remote learning days, teachers are now using the Zoom video technology and google hangouts to hold face to face virtual instruction with students. In addition they are continuing to use Schoology and Seesaw to provide daily lessons. Dr. Harris will be sending out more details on grading guidelines during remote learning days later this week.
Dr. Harris also shared that as the demand for personal protection equipment (PPE) grows at hospitals, Barrington 220 has stepped in to help. So far the district has donated several boxes of medical gloves, 45 disposable gowns and about 400 surgical masks from schools across the district to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital.
As of right now, it is not clear if Governor Pritzker will be extending the stay at home order beyond April 30 and whether or not students will return to school in May. While major district events such as BHS graduation have NOT been canceled or postponed, staff is looking into various alternatives, in the event that the stay at home order is extended through May.
Board approves 2020 summer capital projects
At its April 7 meeting, the Board of Education approved $2,601,847 worth of capital projects for summer 2020. Nearly $1,864,000 of the total is dedicated to fixing roofs, paving and renovations districtwide.
Every summer the district allocates about $3 million in the operating budget for school building improvement and maintenance projects. However, this is not enough to cover all of the facility needs across the district. This is why the Board of Education placed a $147 million referendum question on the March 17 ballot, which was approved by more than 60% of voters. Construction on those projects will likely begin in Spring 2021 and will happen in phases over several years.
To view the complete list of 2020 summer projects slated for each school, click here.
10 BHS students named National Merit Finalists
In his superintendent report at the April 7 meeting, Dr. Brian Harris congratulated 10 Barrington High School students who have been named 2020 National Merit Finalists. The prestigious recognition gives high school seniors from across the country the opportunity to compete for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million. Winners will be selected based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments, later this spring. Congrats to the following students:
Margaret Berquist, Ava Dahnke, Victoria Huang, Ariana O'Connell, Aashna Patel, Emma Peplinski, Niyanthi Puliyala, Rhea Sharma, Shayna Talpallikar, Christopher Vu
Barrington 220 focusing on social emotional learning
At its April 7 meeting, the Board heard an update from John Bruesch, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, on behalf of the district's Social Emotional Learning (SEL)Task Force. The SEL Task Force was formed during the 2017-2018 school year, after the Board set a priority to increase social awareness, cultural diversity and digital citizenship. Over the past three years, the SEL Task Force has surveyed students to help staff focus on personalized supports that grow and develop all students in Barrington 220. Click here to see the latest presentation.
Board thanks Hough Street and Lines PTOs for generous donations
The Board is also thankful to the Lines PTO, which made a generous donation of $142,987 to the new Lines playground, which will be built this summer as part of the district's summer capital projects. The total cost of the playground is $443,592.
REMINDER: To comply with social distancing requirements, all Barrington 220 Board of Education meetings are being held virtually until further notice. If you wish to view the meeting live online, visit: bit.ly/220schoolboardlive
District Administrative Center
Website: www.barrington220.org
Location: 515 West Main Street, Barrington, IL 60010
Phone: 847.381.6300
Facebook: facebook.com/barrington220/
Twitter: @barrington220