Berlin School Dist.

submitted by Sherry Bowman-Kluck

The Berlin School Fall Festival will be Saturday, October 11, from 10 am to 2 pm. This family friendly, free event will feature fun games, food, a variety of vendors and crafters, health exhibits, entertainment for all ages, and more! This year will also include live music from the Tune Travelers in the morning and Tophenjamin in the afternoon.

Vendors wishing to reserve a space may contact Ariel Gilbert at 518-658-2515 x2108 or agilbert@berlincentral.org by September 12. Reserve your space soon; it will be an action packed event!

The Berlin Central School Code Of Conduct night will be held on Tuesday, September 2, at 6 pm in the auditorium. All student athletes from grades 7  to 12 for all school sports, fall, winter an spring, must attend this mandatory meeting, along with a parent or legal guardian, to stay eligible to play a sport this year at BCS.

Upcoming Sports Schedule

Friday, August 29 – Boys Varsity Soccer at Hoosic Valley – depart 8:30 am, play at 10 am

Saturday, August 30  – Girls JV and Varsity Soccer at Queensbury – depart 7 am, play at 9 am

Modified sports start practices on  Thursday, September 4.

There will be a registration day at the Berlin Middle/High School on Wednesday, August 20, from 8:30 am until 1:30 pm for all new students in grades six through twelve. To register a child you will need a copy of your child’s birth certificate, proof of residency and their latest report card. If you are divorced or separated, a copy of the Custodial Agreement is required.

Please be aware there are summer assignments that students will need to have completed for their first day of school. These assignments can be found on our webpage. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the Counseling Office at 658-2515, ext. 1070.

by Thaddeus Flint

Board member Frank Zwack has been re-elected President by the sitting Board of Education of the Berlin Central School District. According to minutes by Mary Grant of the July 1 re-organizational meeting, the vote was unanimous.

Gina Goodermote was made Vice President; Jim Willis was made Parliamentarian, and Katie Fiske was made Legislative Liaison.  Each of these elections was also unanimous.

On the same night, the District’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Stephen Young, updated residents on the search for a new Elementary School Principal. The previous Elementary School Principal, Tricia Carlton, will not be returning to BCS this fall as she has taken the position of Elementary School Principal in the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk School District.

Young said that around 70 applications for the position were received by the District.  As of the beginning of July that number had been whittled down to 10.  Once that number is further whittled down to five, a community team of parents, administrators, non-instructionals and teachers will meet with each of the candidates in order to best determine who will be taking the reins at the Elementary School this September.  It is hoped that that process will be completed and a hiring made by August.

submitted by Erin Clary, Communications Specialist, BCSD

The numbers are in and Berlin High School is seeing improvement in multiple areas including overall rank, SAT scores and graduation rates. According to the 2014 Schools Report published by the Albany Business Review, Berlin High School ranked number 49 out of 85 districts in the 11 county greater Capital Region. This is up from number 65 last year.

The high school scores were calculated using SAT test scores and performance on Regents exams. Other metrics included graduation performance: the percentages of students who graduate, who graduate with advanced Regents diplomas and who plan to attend a two year or four year college after high school.

The high school ranked number 17 in the Capital Region for its SAT scores and four out of 10 for Rensselaer County.

In addition, the high school is seeing improvements in graduation rates. Although the numbers are not yet in for 2014, in 2013 the Berlin High School graduation rate was at 81 percent, up from 78.9 percent in 2012 and 72.2 percent in 2011.

Most notably, the special education graduation rate was 81.8 percent, up from 52.6 percent in 2012 and 35 percent in 2011.

According to Berlin CSD Board of Education President Frank Zwack, the success in recent years is attributable to the collaborative efforts of the faculty, School Board, administrators, community and the students themselves. In addition, new programs like School within a School and Credit Recovery have been successful in helping to graduate more students on time.

“We’ve been moving forward at a fast pace, identifying areas where we can improve,” said Zwack. “I expect that we’ll maintain and improve this momentum to continue to be successful in the future.”