Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! I hope you have had a great summer. The first days of school are among my favorite of the entire year. It’s an exciting time for students, families and staff as they get to know each other a little better and begin a new educational journey together. There is a tremendous amount of tradition that surrounds the first days of school and it goes a long way to help create unity and partnership throughout the community. This year, we have some exciting changes that will be taking place, and I want to take a moment to share a few of them with you:
We are extremely excited to officially open Peakview Academy at Conrad Ball, a PK-8 campus that consolidates the school communities of Monroe Elementary School, Mary Blair Elementary School and Conrad Ball Middle School. The middle school received an extensive renovation over the past several months and we know that our students and families are going to love the building as well as the new programs that have been designed.
A new expansion at High Plains School is opening as well, featuring new classroom space plus an additional gymnasium, performance area and athletic fields. This new space will provide the additional room that is needed to further enhance programs and activities at the school, while also providing additional student capacity.
Thanks to a great community partnership, we are proud to debut a brand new scoreboard at Max Marr Stadium at Berthoud High School. The new scoreboard will provide a greatly enhanced visitor experience for sporting events, activities and future BHS graduation ceremonies.
The State of Colorado’s new “Healthy School Meals for All” program is now officially in place. The program provides free meals for all students regardless of income. Families are encouraged to continue to fill out a district meal benefits form, as those who qualify may be able to receive discounted or waived school and sports fees, utilities support and other benefits.
Design work is currently underway for a Northern Colorado regional youth shelter that will be hosted in the building that previously served as the Monroe Early Childhood Center. Youth homelessness is a significant challenge for our district and region and this project will help to provide some much-needed support. Collaborative partners for the shelter include Thompson School District, Poudre School District, The Matthews House, Thompson Education Foundation, Larimer County and several local nonprofit organizations. The project recently earned grant awards from the State of Colorado in the amount of $4.7 million, and Larimer County has also earmarked $1.5 million in funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act. The shelter will have the capacity to serve approximately 25 individuals on an overnight basis, as well as 15-20 people for drop-in support.
As you can see, there is much to be excited about as we return to classes and we can’t wait to welcome students and families back to our campuses. We look forward to seeing you soon!