Tuscola alumni Dr. Harris named superintendent of the year in Lake County

Barrington 220 is proud to announce Dr. Brian Harris, Superintendent of Schools, has been named the 2021 Lake County Superintendent of the Year by the Lake County Superintendents’ Association.  

Dr. Harris was selected for the recognition by his peers, which includes the 55 Superintendents from all Lake County school districts. He currently serves on the IASA (Illinois Association of School Administrators) Government Relations Committee as the Lake County representative and also on the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) Executive Committee at the federal level. Both of these groups provide significant advocacy work for public schools.   

“I am honored to be selected as the Lake County Superintendent of the Year among extremely talented educational leaders,” Dr. Harris said. “This school year has been extremely challenging for all Superintendents and the collaboration with my Lake County colleagues has been wonderful.” 

Dr. Harris has served as Barrington 220 Superintendent of Schools since May 2014. During his time in the district he has helped launch several key initiatives including: extended day kindergarten, the One to World program, blended learning, new start times at all 12 Barrington 220 schools and the Blueprint 220 master facilities plan. In addition, Dr. Harris led the school district’s information campaign for a $147 million bond measure, which was approved by more than 60 percent of Barrington area voters in March 2020. 

“Congratulations to Dr. Harris on this well-deserved recognition. As a member of the Board that hired Dr. Harris seven years ago, I can attest to the impact of his educational leadership on our district,” said Barrington 220 Board President Penny Kazmier. “His vision of having a social emotional dashboard for every student will leave a lasting legacy for years to come. Barrington 220 has been lucky to have him lead our district.”

Below are just a few comments from Dr. Harris’ fellow Lake County superintendents. 

“Not only has Brian done a great job as superintendent in Barrington, but his involvement at the state and national level in support of educational issues has been remarkable. He consistently represents the best interests of superintendents and students through his work with AASA and IASA.”

“Body of leadership works at the national, state and local levels. A role model for us all and an incredible leader. Brian has been a phenomenal friend, legislative partner and deep thinker. He is so deserving of this honor for his selfless work and creativity as a leader. From the Chinese immersion programming to entrepreneurial work and so much more, Brian has shown us all how to improve PK-12 education.”

“Brian is an incredible leader who goes above and beyond to make sure all of us are up to speed with legislative issues. I respect his leadership and believe he deserves the LCS Superintendent of the Year because of his dedication to children and to our group!”

Dr. Harris will retire on June 30, 2021 after working 34 years in public education

Dr. Brian Harris joined Barrington 220 as the superintendent of schools on May 30, 2014, but he is no stranger to the Barrington area community. From 1993 to 1998, Dr. Harris worked as the assistant principal at Barrington 220’s BMS-Station Campus. 

Throughout his more than 30 years in public education, he has also worked as an administrator in several large and respected schools districts across the Chicago area. He was superintendent of School District 200 in Wheaton-Warrenville and was an area superintendent of secondary education and middle school Principal for School District 303 in St. Charles. Dr. Harris began his career as a classroom teacher, coach and administrator for schools in Mt. Prospect, Yorkville and Waterman.

Dr. Harris earned his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana and his master’s and doctoral degrees in educational leadership from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. He is often a featured speaker and guest columnist for various conferences and publications.

Dr. Harris grew up in Tuscola, a small town in central Illinois. He and his wife Carol have been married for more than 30 years. They enjoy attending sporting events, watching musical theater and being active with their church. The Harris’ have two adult children, Matthew who is married to Grace, and Brooke who is married to Chad. Matthew and Brooke also attended the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana and both currently reside in the Chicago area.