By Kate Larsen
Camera Staff Writer

Nine of the 33 St. Vrain Valley schools reviewed by an accountability team are still waiting to find out if they will be recommended for accreditation.

Before this school year, accreditation was handed out by the state. It is now done at the district level. The state accredits a district and then requires it to review its own schools based on the progress of student achievement.

Community members, teachers, principals and Board of Education members make up St. Vrain Valley's accountability team, which reviews each school. The team looks at scores from the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests, TerraNova tests and district assessments.

Using that information, the review team recommends an accreditation status — accredited, on watch, probation or not accredited — to the board.

"I think it's always very helpful having that outside view," said Kathy Hall, school board president, about the importance of having outside community members on the review teams.

School officials say the new evaluation will provide schools with more detailed information on how they can improve, along with assuring the public that schools are making progress toward having all students master core content areas, such as reading and math.

St. Vrain Valley schools yet to earn recommendations for accreditation status are the following: Columbine, Frederick, Lyons, Mountain View, Prairie Ridge and Spangler elementary schools; Frederick and Heritage middle schools and Frederick High School. The review team is waiting for more test scores and other information from the schools, some of which have the lowest test scores in the district.

While much of the accreditation status is based on CSAP scores, committee chairman Jack Brubaker said that's not all the team looks at.

"This one score does not represent what the school community is like to us," Brubaker said.

In its report, Brubaker's team lists strengths as well as concerns for each school.

"We're not trying to judge teachers' or administrators' competence," Brubaker said. "We understand that each school has its own challenges."

Limited time meant the review team could only visit a few schools. School representatives came to the team with a presentation.

The team will review additional CSAP scores as they are released this summer and meet once again with the nine schools before making its recommendation.

Brett Drobney, principal of Columbine Elementary, said he's not too worried about the accreditation status.

"We're a little scared, but we're not holding our breath because we know we are doing a lot to address what has historically been a problem here — low student achievement," Drobney said.

Columbine is finishing its first year as a school with kindergarten through fifth grade. Twenty-two new teachers, a new school calendar and intense bilingual programs are just a few of the changes students and staff members are adjusting to.

"We understand it takes more than just one or two or three years to see the progress," Drobney said.

Contact reporter Kate Larsen at larsenk@thedailycamera.com or (303) 473-1361.

May 28, 2002

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