The Berthoud High School Accountability Advisory Committee (SAAC) met on Sept. 9. The construction of the six new tennis courts at BHS was brought up under public input. The approval of this item on the capital budget request was addressed. Beth Conrey called the district offices last year asking why an item in the middle of the priority list was approved, and was told that all the preceding budget requests (minus air conditioning) would be accommodated. Air conditioning will not be granted at BHS due to the infeasibility of cost and recent installation of swamp coolers. The subject of tennis courts was put to rest.

Sue Radway gave a report on the September DAAC (district accountability) meeting. She stated that a new accreditation process at both the state and district level is underway. No grades will be given to schools this year, but a pass/fail system will be stricter in the future.

Chris Garcia gave the principal’s report. There was a brief update on the BHS staff as well as the instructional and non-instructional budgets. Garcia then explained some of the evaluative process changes to be implemented at BHS focusing on clear objectives and feedback in areas of weaknesses and mistakes so that improvement can be achieved.

Mary Mathews reported on the BHS Back to School Night. By and large it was thought to be a success. A discussion ensued regarding what worked and what could be improved upon for shorter lines, fewer checks written, and better dissemination of information for future back to school nights. Mary Mathews was thanked for all her work as chairperson.

The School Effectiveness Plan and focus areas were discussed. SAAC members asked for meeting dates of the PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) so they may attend for a deeper understanding of how the plans and goals are set for the focus areas.

Principal Garcia addressed Berthoud High’s CSAP results. The Colorado Growth Plan shows BHS as a high achieving school with low student growth. With the obvious goal of sustaining high achievement and improving student growth, it was suggested that using the immediate results of the new acuity testing and implementing RTI (Response to Intervention/Instruction) where needed may help achieve higher growth. The pros and cons of putting CSAP scores on student transcripts was again discussed as a possible motivator to take CSAP testing seriously.

Beth Conrey gave an update on the Berthoud Bash. Garcia stated that BHS intends to get more in sync with Berthoud Bash guidelines in regards to future requests. He said he was impressed with the Berthoud community’s desire and ability to raise such a large sum of money for its schools.

Kelli Funk was asked to e-mail a draft of the memorial policy to SAAC members so that it may be reviewed prior to the next meeting. The next BHS SAAC meeting will be held on Oct. 14 at 3 p.m.