Academics

Eligibility Checklist BKW is committed to helping students prepare for higher education and the 21st century workplace through challenging and engaging academic programs. BKW offers a curriculum designed to nurture student development both inside and outside the classroom.

Strategies for Success Targets

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District has set the following academic goals:

  1. Graduation Rate
    1. Increase the graduation rate to 90 percent
  2. Regents Exam Passing and Mastery Rates
    1. At least 5 percentage point increase in passing and mastery rates
    2. Departments will define skills necessary to pass and master the Regents exams and measure student progress on those skills on a quarterly basis
  3. Grades 3-8 State Assessments
    1. Aggregate proficiency rate across grades 3-8 to increase by 5% points
    2. No grade level proficiency rate below 25 percent
  4. Course Failures
    1. Reduce course failures by 10 percent
  5. Reading Benchmark
    1. Decrease the number of students reading below grade level by 10 percent

A dedicated teaching staff

The BKW teaching staff is composed almost entirely of highly qualified teachers, or teachers who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and have passed rigorous state teacher certification tests for core teaching subjects. For both schools combined, 99 percent of teachers are highly qualified, with the remaining 1 percent on the proper pace to become highly qualified within time limits set by the state.