Lisa West is the new principal at North Barrington Elementary School, as of the 2021-2022 academic year, arriving from Gurnee public schools to Barrington School District 220 over the summer.
West said her focus will be on building strong relationships with students, staff and families, and supporting the social and emotional aspects of learning now that students are back in school full time and in person.
“Here at NBS, we aim for strong relationships built on honesty, respect and kindness toward others,” West told Pioneer Press in a phone interview.
That statement, she said, was the result of a joint effort by all the school’s teachers.
Those strong relationships, she said, will underpin any needed rebound in academics coming from the last school year’s mix of remote and in-person instruction.
West comes to Barrington from Woodland School District 50 in Gurnee. According to information on the SD220 website, she was principal of Woodland Intermediate School last school year and previously spent five years as principal of Woodland Elementary School.
West said her interest in moving to SD220 came from the district’s reputation and the opportunity to be “lead learner” in a school where she could follow youngsters from their kindergarten start in school through fifth grade.
The SD220 school board approved her hire at its June 1 meeting.
“We are excited to welcome Lisa West as the new principal of North Barrington Elementary. Lisa has amazing energy, knowledge, and professionalism,” board President Sandra Ficke-Bradford told Pioneer Press in an Aug. 27 email.
The new school year began Aug. 20 for the 436 students at North Barrington, one of eight K-5 schools in the district.
“We’ve had a really great start to our school year,” West said, assessing the first days of the academic year.
She said some first graders had to adjust to this year’s longer school day – especially after taking part in half-day kindergarten instruction.
“The first couple of days, they were tired,” she said. “Now, they’ve turned the corner…and they’re really excited to be at school.”
West said the school is known for its nature program and nature center. This year that center will become home to a community rock garden, including rocks painted by students and their families. The school also has a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program, with a dedicated teacher partnered with a library resource specialist, so every student spends time in the program.
In addition to West being new to North Barrington Elementary School, the district also has a new superintendent, Robert Hunt, who started July 1.
Before her time in Woodland, West was a fifth and sixth grade teacher at Glencoe School District 35. She holds both a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership from Concordia University in River Forest, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Iowa State University.
The Marshalltown, Iowa native currently lives in Wauconda with her husband and describes herself as a “dog mom” of two.
Former North Barrington principal, Austin Johnson, is now the SD220 director of safety and security.
Graydon Megan is a freelancer.
