Nederland Middle/ Senior
Message from the Principal

1/13/2005 - Nederland Middle Senior High School is a vibrant, personal, neighborhood school in a beautiful mountain setting. As a staff, we take great pride in providing for students a foundation of solid academic excellence within a caring and nurturing environment. High academic performances have been a hallmark over the last several years.

  A variety of teaching strategies and numerous curricular choices are provided in an atmosphere of respect, responsibility, and safety. Keeping class size small is a priority for NMSHS.

  Our two School Improvement goals focus on improvement in writing skills across the curriculum and maintaining exposure to diversity issues.

  Parents are integral partners at NMSHS. Parents serve on the School Improvement Team, on the Booster Club, and on Friends on Nederland Secondary School as well as volunteering in the Counseling Office, the Main Office, the Media Center, and help sponsor field trips.

  I personally invite you to visit our school to talk with the staff and with me to get an even better indication of how well we are educating our student. Great things happen daily at Nederland Middle Senior High School. Our doors are open to you.

Rich Salaz,
Principal

Teacher Quality

  The influence of a highly qualified teacher cannot be overstated. In fact, research continues to confirm that greatest gains in the classroom can be made through a variety of instructional strategies including high quality teachers, strong parental support, adequate facilities, class size and ongoing professional development.

  Annually, the district attests in writing to compliance with Colorado Department of Education (CDE) requirements that all teachers in core subjects are highly qualified in their field of endorsement. Additional information on staff classification, salaries and professional experience of teachers is included in the School Accountability Report provided by CDE.

  Average years of teacher experience: 12

  Boulder Valley School District has provided resources to help reduce class size during literacy instruction. We are now getting additional assistance from the State through the Read to Achieve Grant and Amendment 23 funds.

  Student Teacher Ratio: 14.8:1

  According to the 2003-04 Snapshot Survey…

What Parents Are Saying

  I am honored to be asked to describe my experience as a parent of a NMSHS student. I have two children, incoming 5^th and 11^th graders who have attended Nederland schools since kindergarten. In reflecting on these years, my greatest impression with both schools in how well they each reinforce the values my husband and I embrace in our choice of this rural mountain community as the place to raise our kids. NMSHS is truly a school where students can have their cake and eat it too, and not even realize they are being served dessert every day!!

Parent Satisfaction

  According to the 2003-04 Snapshot Survey…

Achievement Data

  CSAP Tests: The achievement data below will look a little different from how it has been presented in the past. Boulder Valley has adopted the Colorado Department of Education’s weighted index for analyzing CSAP data instead of percent proficient and above as we have historically.

  The main limitation of using percent proficient and above is that it is not sensitive of all changes in performance. For the highest achieving students, progressing from proficient to advanced is of value. For lower achieving students, progressing from unsatisfactory to partially proficient is a meaningful step on the way to reaching proficiency. Yet neither of these improvements is recognized when we focus exclusively on proficient and above.

  One of the biggest advantages of the weighted index is that it recognizes gains or losses across all performance levels, not just from partially proficient and below to proficient and above or vice versa. Also, the weighted index allows for averaging across grade levels and comparison across years in school.

  To calculate the weighted index, each performance level is given an assigned value and then the values are averaged. An advanced proficient score is worth 150, proficient is 100, partially proficient is 50 and unsatisfactory and not tested receive –50. If all students were to achieve a score of proficient, a school’s weighted index score would be 100. The weighted index calculation works n much the same way as a grade point average (GPA). Point values associated with those categories.

  Please note, weighted index calculations must be viewed in light of standard error. Standard error gives a rough idea of how much we might expect the average score for all students to vary due to chance, based on the number of students who were assessed.

  You can find CSAP data analyzed in terms of percent proficient and above on the BVSD website at: http://www.bvsd.k12.co.us/assessment/bv_csapdonload.shtml. The Colorado Department of Education school accountability reports also present the data in this way.

Program Characteristics

  Nederland Middle Senior High School is a small school in a beautiful mountain setting west of Boulder offering a comprehensive education with personalized instruction in small classes grades 6-12. Nederland Middle Senior High School is Boulder Valley School District’s only 6-12 school.

  Nederland Middle School offers honors classes in Math. Other Middle Level classes offered are Spanish, French, Pottery, Jewelry, Band, Orchestra, choir, acting, Foods, Applied Technology, Computers, and Woods. High school Advanced Placement and Honors classes are taught in English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Spanish, and French. Elective choices include Choir, Band, Orchestra, Theatre, Jewelry, Pottery, Photography, Outdoor Education, cycling, Foods/Catering, Construction, computers, and Business Law. Nederland students also participate in the Post-Secondary, Connections, and Nederland Chinook programs.

  The school-wide Homeroom program allows students the opportunity to meet in small groups to practice for special contests and events as well as meet in grade level meetings, as Student council members, as WEB and LINKS members, and in a variety of other clubs and activities. Tutoring in the Student Assistance center is also available at this time as well as throughout the school day. Tutors may be CU Practicum students, parents, community members, and/or students themselves. The Post-Graduate center helps students grades 7^th through 12^th determine their “after high school” interests as well as providing information about colleges, universities, and vocational schools. Scholarship information is also available through the Post-Graduate center. The talented & Gifted Coordinator works with middle level and high school students. We also provide At-Risk and special Education services.

  This school is fully accredited by the Colorado Department of Education.

Special Programs and Opportunities

  Nederland Middle Senior students are encouraged to participate in activities in addition to the regular academics of the school. Co-curricular programs offered include: Science Fair, Middle Level and High school Student councils, Geography Bee, Quiz Bowl, National Junior Honor Society, National Senior Honor Society, TAG programming, School Plays and musicals, District Literary Magazine, Athletic Activities, BVSD’s only Ski Team, Snowboarding After School activity, Thespians, International club, Middle Level and High School Yearbooks, High School Cheerleading and Prom & Dance Squad.

School Climate

  Assurance of our good faith effort of implementation of a safe school plan, including use of a threat assessment team to evaluate threats of violence, is provided in our annual end-of-Year Report which is available in the school office.

  This report provides evidence that

  According to the 2003-04 Parent Snapshot and Student climate Surveys…