Dec. 13, 2011 - Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
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Board fills final three spots on Enrollment Monitoring team
The Enrollment Monitoring Committee, an official task force that studies enrollment at Barrington 220 schools and recommends redistricting if necessary to minimize overcrowding, has received its final three members appointed by the Board of Education to terms through 2014. The new Board appointees are David Holtermann, Christopher Grigson and member-at-large Sarah Sander of the Barrington Transportation Company. The EMC consists of 33 members, including those above and three representatives from each elementary school attendance area.
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SAVE THE DATES...Jan. 12 and Feb. 2 events feature strategic plan progress report and a best-selling author
To better understand its stakeholders, the Board of Ed will use the spring of 2012 to update residents on progress within the strategic plan while cultivating deeper community conversations. The first community event is Thursday evening, Jan. 12, at Barrington High School, featuring a free light dinner and a status report on the 2020 Vision strategic plan. On Feb. 2, best-selling author and popular speaker Dr. Yong Zhao will discuss whether Barrington 220 and U.S. schools are catching up or leading the way in the global education race. Please RSVP for events on both dates by visiting www.barrington220.org/rsvp.
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Award-winning Grove Avenue Elementary presents its plan
Grove Avenue Elementary School, a two-time recipient of the rigorous Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education, detailed its School Improvement Plan to the Board of Education on Dec. 13. Principal Cindy Kalogeropoulos discussed the demographics of the Grove community and the academic profile of the school, which includes reading, math and science scores at or near the 100th percentile in many grade levels. The Grove School Improvement Goals focus on fostering academic growth for all students with an emphasis on math and writing, elevating opportunities for the health and fitness of children, and continuing to care for the social-emotional well being of all students.
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Dual and Chinese language programs are complementary
Since 2002 when Barrington 220 launched its first Spanish Dual Language program, through this fall when the school district introduced the federally-funded Chinese Immersion model for the elementary grades, the school district has become nationally known for its innovative approaches to teaching world languages. Now, the two programs are viewed side-by-side as complementary opportunities for native English-speaking students to become bilingual.

Research shows students who participate in early language instruction have a greater opportunity to become proficient or fluent in their second language. Dual Language in Barrington 220 is a two-way Spanish-to-English model that progresses from a 90/10 to a 50/50 instructional mix over the course of six years. The Chinese version is a one-way immersion experience that maintains a half-Chinese, half-English or 50/50 instructional approach from its beginning to its conclusion.