Barrington 220: Seeks Pros, Cons of Calendar Change

Barrington Community Unit School District 220’s Board of Education is holding a November 5 public hearing to continue discussing the pros and cons of a calendar change.

In March 2013, the Input 220 Advisory Council was charged by the Board of Education to study and recommend if the first semester should end at the traditional winter vacation and if the second semester should begin immediately after the break.

The advisory council submitted its final report to the Board on Oct. 15. While the recommendation contains many details, the essence of the findings is:

• The annual calendar can and should be realigned to end the first semester prior to winter vacation.
• To do so, the school year should begin no earlier and conclude no later than the approximate window of traditional dates in Barrington 220, which are Aug. 20-27.
• The school year would typically end by May 31 (assuming an average of one snow day)

The next step in the Board’s decision process is the public hearing scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 5. A public hearing will be convened to receive and listen to feedback about the calendar proposal before reaching a final decision.

Barrington 220 staff and residents can submit questions, ideas, concerns or their support on the district’s website or sent emails to board members.

Registering an online comment

A comment made at the website will become part of the public record. Only remarks that include your first and last names with all required information can be included in the official documentation regarding this topic. Anonymous comments or those attributed to false names will not be considered. PLEASE NOTE: Although online comments are intended for review by the Board of Education and the superintendent of schools, any submissions that become part of the public record are not confidential, as they may be shared publicly or may be subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Submitted by Barrington 220