Courtesy photo
Roy Tripi, new principal at BHS effective July 1.

By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

Effective July 1, Berthoud High School (BHS) will be getting a new principal. Roy Tripi will be filling the vacant position left by the current principal Gordon Boschman, and Tripi is looking forward to the new experience.

“I’m just excited to start working with our staff, and get to know our students, and get to know the community a little bit better,” Tripi said.

Tripi grew up in California, and a friend who knew people in Fort Collins inspired him to move and finish his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Colorado State University. Initially working as a physical education teacher and baseball coach at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Tripi was hired as the dean of students at Wellington Middle School after earning his master’s degree. Having two years of being a dean under his belt, Tripi would become the assistant principal and athletic director for Thompson Valley High School in Loveland and is now working exclusively as assistant principal.

Finding the joy both he and his classmates shared in physical education when he was in middle school sparked Tripi’s interest in education. Tripi says that he had great PE teachers in middle and high school, and seeing how they taught different sports and promoted a healthy lifestyle was what led him to find a career in education.

One of the biggest challenges facing high schoolers that Tripi identified is finding the relevancy of classroom material. He says that “It’s up to us as the educators to provide and show and demonstrate how what we’re learning is relevant to them,” but also that “It’s up to students to also begin to explore that (relevancy) and really kind of ask the questions.”

Another challenge Tripi found is that oftentimes, high school students feel that they need to know their future path as quickly as possible. Tripi says “I think there’s a lot of pressure on high school students to feel like ‘I need to do well in high school because I need to know what I want to do next. Because if I don’t know right now, then I’m already behind,’” and he adds, “I just don’t think that’s true. I think there’s a lot of life out in front of you, and just (by) performing well in school and working your hardest, you’re on track. You’re doing what you need to do and just kind of keep exploring the options that are out there. Eventually, something will land for you that really piques your interest.”

In terms of academic achievement at BHS, Tripi would like to continue the success that the school has seen while building upon it. Finding those that may not be on the right track to graduation and helping them earn their diploma is key. Tripi wants to avoid complacency and continue to grow, saying that even one more student graduating than last year would be considered a success.

To provide a positive and inclusive culture, Tripi says that making sure staff is greeting students as they walk into the building and classroom is important for creating a welcoming environment and ensuring that they are in a good headspace for learning. In addition to this, Tripi wants to utilize the expertise of staff to make sure that BHS provides enough classes to encapsulate diverse interests.

With this, Tripi says, “The next thing on my list to do before the school year ends is to be able to have some opportunity to sit down with some of our current students and ask them the question ‘what’s missing from Berthoud High School right now that is going to help you feel connected and like this is your place to finish out your high school career?’”

For the staff side of things, Tripi values collaboration. Saying that he does not pretend to know everything, he plans to ask the staff questions and hear them out to make sure that they are the best they can be for the students. He also wants to involve the community so that BHS can be “viewed as the center and the hub for learning in the community.”

At the moment, Tripi is wrapping things up at Thompson Valley but is excited to engage with staff and the Berthoud community, as he wants to be able to formulate new ideas to bring to the staff over the summer for the next school year.