General Information

As described in the name, Barrington Community Unit School District 220 is a unit district. This means the district educates students from Pre-K through 12th grade, or for a student in the district’s Special Education Transition program, the age of 22. The Barrington Community Unit School District 220 was established in 1973.

Features of a unit district:

• Continuity of curriculum from one level to another - no student enters 6th or 9th grade with an unfair curricular advantage. All elementary schools, and both middle schools in the district, follow the same curriculum. 
• The district can address academic gaps within the 12+ years a student is in the district.
• There is only one taxing entity vs. multiple taxing entities that occur in a dual district.

Dual districts have separate districts for elementary and high school that exclusively educate K-8 and 9-12 students, respectively. Dual districts rarely collaborate on curriculum, resulting in students from one elementary district arriving at the high school with a different educational experience than another feeder district.

Districts 211 (Fremd, Conant, Hoffman Estates, etc.), 214 (Wheeling, Elk Grove, Buffalo Grove, etc,), Stevenson, and New Trier are examples of high school districts and only serve high school students and those enrolled in those district transition programs. 

Why does this matter?

As a unit district, D220 offers a consistent and equitable educational curriculum from kindergarten through high school graduation.  Additionally, the unit district model enables an efficient allocation of resources and provides a wide range of academic and extracurricular programs to meet the needs and interests of all students. It also reduces redundancy in administration. 

Sources:

https://www.barrington220.org/our-district/about-barrington-220

https://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=010500050K11E-10 

When budget cuts have been made in the past, District 220 has cut: teachers, coaches, middle school sports teams, and curricular programming such as music, library, school psychologists, and support staff.

While it is not possible to forecast exactly how future budget cuts will impact District 220, common consequences of budget cuts to public education can include:

• Class size increases, reducing individualized attention & instruction
• Teacher layoffs
• Fewer resources like textbooks, computers, and other educational materials
• Curriculum cuts, including extracurricular programs

Why does this matter?

Continued investment in our programming helps District 220 maintain a standard of excellence that has wide-reaching impact on both student success and economic growth and development for the community at large.