Dist. 220 task force to examine changing start times
The Barrington Area Unit School District 220 Board of Education Tuesday finalized a plan for a task force that would consider changing the start time at Barrington High School and discussed the high marks from the community on its recent decision to move final exams to before winter break.
First-period classes at the high school begin at 7:20 a.m. The i220 advisory committee would be tasked with finding out whether changing that would benefit students. If the committee composed of 35 community members determine the time should be changed, it would provide the board with creative solutions.
"I'm hoping that we have many different ideas of many shapes and sizes come back to us," board Vice President Penny Kazmier said.
There are some issues that make changing the school's schedule difficult. Among other issues, the committee must confront the impact a change might make on traffic patterns, fiscal and enrollment trends, and the viewpoints of other District 220 stakeholders and residents.
Board President Brian Battle said it would be important to stress that applicants must come to the committee free from opinions and biases on the subject.
The board is expected to give final approval to the i220 committee at its Feb. 17 meeting.
This is not the first time the board has established an i220 task force to gauge community feedback on a district issue.
The last i220 task force studied whether it would be beneficial to change the academic calendar so the first semester ended before the start of winter break. Based on that community feedback, the board did just that for the 2014-15 school year.
The board spent time Tuesday poring over results of a districtwide survey gauging feedback on the final exam change.
The 2,357 parents, students and staff members who responded to the survey were generally positive about the change.
The most popular aspect of the shift was that it meant BHS students finished their final exams before winter break. Around 78 percent of participants said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with that.
The least popular aspect had to do with Dec. 22 being the last day of first semester. Just 48 percent were satisfied with that, 22 percent were neutral and 30 percent were dissatisfied.
Some board members speculated the dissatisfaction over the day may be because it's a popular one for older students to skip because there are no finals scheduled.
"We need to find value in that day," Battle said.
Some early suggestions were having a day focused on learning about what careers relate to the subject of a class.
In all, the district received more than 280 pages of written comments from survey respondents. Jeff Arnett, the district's assistant superintendent of innovation and outreach, noted one comment from a student that was more amusing than helpful.
When asked to offer suggestions to the district, the student made a list of more than 100 favorite bands and wrote "ALL ARE GREAT ARTISTS LISTEN TO THEM NOW."
Those interested in the new i220 committee must submit application materials between Feb. 18 and March 18. Feedback wouldn't be voted on by the board until the 2016-17 school year.