Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year. Whether this is your first or last year here at Barton Hills, we are thrilled to be a part of your child’s life and truly want to be partners in your child’s education.  You may have seen Barton Hills Elementary mentioned in the news this summer for two events. One is the official TEA accountability ratings which were released on August 1st, 2008 and the second is for our participation in the AISD Strategic Compensation Pilot.

Based on our Spring 2008 TAKS performance, Barton Hills Elementary is a TEA Recognized School. To earn this rating at least 75% of all students in all subgroups must meet the proficiency standard in each of the tested subjects. To be Exemplary, at least 90% of all students in all subgroups must meet the proficiency standard in each of the tested subjects. For Barton Hills that is all 3rd – 6th graders in the tested subjects of Reading, Writing, Math, and Science. Below is a table showing our accountability subgroups and student performance.

As you can see, we have much to be proud of and we have areas of growth. We will continue to work this year on enhancing our instruction to ensure all students are successful.

During the 2007-08 school year, Barton Hills Teachers participated in the first year of AISD REACH, the District's strategic compensation initiative. This program is a new venture within the Austin School District aimed at supporting and rewarding success in the classroom. As part of the pilot project, each teacher set and assessed two student-learning objectives and received financial incentives for meeting one or both of these goals at the end of the school year. Student Learning Objectives are targets of student growth that teachers set at the start of the school year and strive to achieve by the end of the semester or school year. These targets are based on a thorough review of available data reflecting students' baseline skills and are set and approved after collaboration and consultation with colleagues and administrators. 92% of the Barton Hills Elementary teachers achieved at least one of their student learning objectives set at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year. We will continue to participate in this pilot project during the 2008-2009 school year. I am proud of the teachers at our school for their willingness to take a risk and provide meaningful feedback for the expansion of this project.

Kati Achtermann
Principal, Barton Hills Elementary