MESSAGE FROM DR. BRIAN HARRIS, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOL DISTRICT 220

Dear Barrington 220 Community,

I appreciate your patience and understanding as we have been navigating Barrington 220’s Roadmap to Reopening for the 2020-21 school year. Thank you to all of the stakeholder groups who have provided the district with feedback and asked questions over the past several weeks. As you can imagine, each family has its own unique situation and there are many factors to consider which not only impact our students and staff, but also the entire Barrington area community.

Over the past couple of months our administrators, teaching staff and support staff have worked together to figure out the best ways to educate our students, given this uncertain reality we all face. Board members have also provided input during Board meetings.

As guidelines from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), county health departments, and other health organizations continue to evolve, we have concluded the Roadmap to Reopening as presented at the July 14 Board of Education meeting is not attainable. Starting the 2020-21 school year in a primarily Distance Learning environment is necessary in order to meet current public health guidelines and keep all students and staff healthy. This is an extremely difficult decision and while I know many families and staff will welcome the change, I realize many others will not.

The Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting to review revisions to Barrington 220’s Roadmap to Reopening and provide further details about this change, as well as context about the district’s Distance Learning guidelines, which may be adjusted based on further guidance from the agencies listed above.

• Guidelines for Early Learning Center (ELC)
• Guidelines for Elementary School
• Guidelines for Middle School
• Guidelines for High School
  
  

The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, August 4 in the BMS-Station cafeteria. Due to public health guidelines, capacity will be limited to 50 people in the room at a time. Masks are required if you choose to attend the meeting in person. Click here if you would like to watch the meeting live on YouTube.

I am confident we will maintain excellent teaching and learning in Barrington 220, while we provide a safe and healthy environment for students and staff. We will continue updating the community as the situation changes.

Dr. Brian Harris
Superintendent of Schools