Barrington 220’s Blended Learning Program Turns 5!

The 2020–21 school year marks the five-year program anniversary of the Barrington 220 Blended Learning program. Ty Gorman, Director of Instructional Technology, has produced a short video featuring a few teachers and students to commemorate this milestone.

Using our district’s adopted blended learning definition, blended courses include both online and face-to-face learning opportunities with teachers that include student choice of time, pace, path, and/or place for learning experiences. Barrington 220 teachers use blended learning strategies to personalize the learning experiences for students based upon individual needs. 

The Blended Learning program in Barrington 220 continues to grow. Barrington High School currently offers 135 sections of blended learning courses taught by 82 teachers who have completed blended learning cohort training. Seventeen new blended teachers completed the cohort in 2020. During the past five years of the Blended Learning program, over 5,000 students have participated in blended learning courses and activities. During the 2020–21 school year, approximately 1,800 BHS students are currently enrolled in a blended course. 

Previous blended learning experience among Barrington 220 teachers at elementary, middle, and high school levels had a positive impact on both distance and hybrid learning since blended strategies are well suited for distance and hybrid learning modes. New formal blended learning teacher cohorts have paused since most Barrington 220 teachers are learning to use blended learning strategies as part of our distance learning professional development. Barrington High School currently offers over 80 blended learning courses. 

Moving forward, Barrington 220 will continue to offer formal blended learning teacher cohorts after the pandemic—enhanced by what we learned using blended learning strategies in distance and hybrid learning modes. We will continue to add high school blended courses (and sections) and expand blended modes at middle and elementary levels.