Build 220 Is Celebrated After Its Four Year Completion

story by Samantha Scheinman

Photography By Linda M. Barrett and Courtesy of Barrington 220

From quiet farmland surrounding the building (top) to a bustling 537,000 square-foot campus, Barrington High School has gone through remarkable change since it first welcomed students in September 1949.

In March 2020, the Barrington 220 community came together to support a $147 million school district referendum that provided the opportunity to make significant improvements across all Barrington 220 schools. Four years later, all the major projects from the district’s “Build 220” initiative have been completed on time and within budget, and the new educational spaces are providing learning opportunities that will better prepare students for life beyond Barrington High School. Take a tour with us through the many new and improved school district spaces—from Barrington High School to the Middle, Elementary, and Early Childhood Learning Schools—as well as an update on school safety, all thanks to our community’s support for our students. — Samantha Scheinman is the director of communications for Barrington 220.

The interior lower level of the renovated front atrim

Barrington High School

From quiet farmland surrounding the building (left page) to a bustling 537,000 square-foot campus, Barrington High School has gone through remarkable change since it first welcomed students in September 1949. Back then, the school was capable of holding 363 students. Today, BHS serves nearly 3,000 students. Through the years, multiple additions have been added, and wings reconfigured. The purpose has not only been to accommodate a growing student population, but also to transform educational spaces.

Approximately $67 million of the $147 million referendum was allocated to projects at Barrington High School. Shown above is the new design of the front atrium of BHS. The new front atrium addition on the south side of the building (photo below) provides students with flexible learning spaces that mirror tech startups. Students use this commons area during the day to study, collaborate with their peers on group projects, and eat lunch. The space opened in December 2023, when it was used for student performances and activities during the community-wide Winter Wonderfest celebration at BHS.

The new Student Services Wing enables students to access services such as counseling, attendance, health services, dean’s office, and wellness in a dedicated area on the lower level of the building. This new space has improved the student experience by making it easier for students to access these services in a central location.

The outdoor Athletic/P.E. complex is primarily located on the north side of the building and rivals those seen at small colleges and universities. Projects made possible by the referendum include new tennis courts, a new varsity baseball field, a new multipurpose turf field, a new Fields of Dreams Complex, and a new practice field on the south side of the building.

Safety Across All Barrington Schools

Beyond creating innovative spaces for student learning, referendum dollars have helped Barrington 220 to significantly improve its safety and security measures across all schools. Each campus has a new camera system and access door control system that makes it easier for the security team to monitor who is entering and exiting each building at any given time throughout the day. In addition, each school now has a secure vestibule at the main entrance and doors and hardware to compartmentalize the interior spaces. In the past, once an individual entered a building the person could move freely through the building. The secure vestibules and new interior door systems give schools the ability to compartmentalize their building on demand during an emergency situation.

Barrington Middle Schools

Approximately $26 million of the $147 million was allocated to projects at Prairie and Station Campuses. At both, the mobile classrooms that were in place for many years have been replaced by state-of-the-art additions. The flexible classroom spaces inside these additions allow teachers to design lessons that are more student-focused and provide more opportunities for student choice. When middle schoolers utilize these spaces, whether they’re working collaboratively in groups, or individually, it often resembles a tech startup office, rather than a school.

Barrington Elementary Schools

Approximately $53 million of the $147 million was allocated to projects at the elementary schools. Above left: All eight Barrington 220 elementary schools now have a dedicated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Lab, a unique opportunity for students that not many school districts are able to provide. Here is the STEM Lab at Countryside Elementary School. Each elementary school has a dedicated sensory room, which provides students with a therapeutic space where they can focus themselves so that they can be better prepared to learn. This Sensory Room is at Hough Street Elementary.

Early Learning Center: Approximately $600,000 of the $147 million was allocated to projects at the Barrington Early Learning Center. Constructed in 2010, improvements at the ELC primarily included safety and security upgrades, which were completed for the start of the 2023-24 school year. Here, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Craig Winkelman joins Board of Education members and ELC students and staff at a ribbon cutting to celebrate the projects completed at the ELC.

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