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Berlin Area School Board reviews continuous improvement plan, flags attendance and testing issues
Summary
The Berlin Area School District board reviewed its continuous improvement plan, noting a slight drop in daily attendance, chronic absenteeism near 21%, strong extracurricular participation (86%), and an I‑Ready reading‑accommodation error that distorted assessment results; the consent agenda was approved by voice vote.
The Berlin Area School District Board of Education reviewed its annual continuous improvement plan and district indicators at the meeting, hearing that daily attendance slipped slightly from last year and that chronic absenteeism remains elevated at about 21 percent.
The presenter opened the discussion, calling the continuous-improvement process a steady cycle of goals and actions: "continuous improvement is not just a school‑type term; it's used in businesses and others," and said the board would get a high‑level overview now and deeper work in September. Administrators acknowledged departing staff and said three new administrators are scheduled to start the first day of July.
On attendance, the presenter said the district's daily attendance is near the state average, which "is 92.6," and noted the district fell about 0.2 percentage points from last year (from 93%), missing a 93.5% goal. The presenter told the board chronic absenteeism—students missing more than 10% of days—remains a problem at roughly 21 percent versus a state figure cited in the meeting of about 18 percent; the district had set a target of 19.4 percent and reported only modest improvement this cycle.
Trisha, who led the later portion of the presentation on achievement, said the district is tracking growth for students with disabilities and those without. "Our students with disabilities are 21% proficient, which is a growth of five," she said; students without disabilities were reported at 55%, a growth of two points. Trisha said the district did not meet its I‑Ready stretch‑growth goal (it had aimed to move from 25% to 46% meeting the stretch goal and reached about 27%).
Trisha also described a data irregularity that affected reading scores in earlier reporting: an accommodation that read directions and answer choices had been applied previously and not consistently this year. "Two years ago they made that accommodation for everybody," she said, adding that the district will re‑enable the same accommodation on I‑Ready so results better match the state assessment conditions.
The board also heard positive results: participation in extracurricular activities for grades 6–12 rose from roughly 56% four years ago to about 86% this year, which presenters framed as an encouraging indicator of engagement. Presenters discussed behavior metrics (the share of students with zero or one code‑of‑conduct incident) and said reporting improvements may affect year‑to‑year comparisons.
On business services, staff said final fund‑balance numbers depend on fiscal‑year close June 30 and the external audit; auditors will do field work in August with the audit due to the state education agency on Dec. 15. Presenter comments on staff compensation noted the district has aimed at CPI‑level increases (July CPI cited as 2.63%) but said funding constraints limit larger raises.
The meeting approved the consent agenda early in the session on a voice vote. No roll‑call tally of votes was recorded in the transcript. The board scheduled continued review and deeper goal‑setting work for the fall and expected follow‑up on audit results and additional assessment detail in future meetings.
