Accreditation School Orientation

1
AccreditationSchool Orientation

• Accreditation WCEA/WASC
• Process for School Improvement for
• Catholic Elementary Schools
• Guidelines for using the PSI after the Initial
  Visit

Kay Purcell Assistant Superintendent for
Instructional Services and Accreditation
2
Accreditation School Orientation

• Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA)
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  (WASC)
• Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS)

3
Benefits of Accreditation

• Affirms effective practices and school strengths
• Enhances awareness of school program, practices,
  etc.
• Facilitates data, assessment/data driven
  decisions
• Builds confidence and pride from stakeholders
• Creates needed areas of focus/improvement plan
• Advances mission and effectiveness of school
• Provides a plan for self-monitoring
• Grow professionally and personally
• Provides venue for collegiality/collaboration

4
Documents a School Prepares

• A clear statement of mission/philosophy
• School Community Profile
• School wide learning expectations (SLEs)
  (knowledge, skills, spiritual principles, and
  understanding students should possess)
• In-depth curriculum study

5
Documents a School Prepares (cont.)

• Self-study (in-depth gathering of evidence that
  enables the school to look at the strengths and
  needed areas of focus)
• Community assessments and collection of findings

6
Documents a School Prepares(cont.)

• School Improvement Action Plan (specific
• action steps and time lines)
• Evidence of students work that supports student
  achievement

7
Schools will be assessed using the following four
categories of criteria
Categories of Criteria

• Organization for Student Learning
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Support for Student Personal, Spiritual, and
  Academic Growth
• Resource Management and Development

8
WCEA/WASC SCHOOLWIDE CRITERIA

• ORGANIZATION FOR STUDENT LEARNING
• CATEGORY A

• School Philosophy and Mission
• Governance
• School Leadership
• Staff
• School Environment
• Reporting Student Progress
• School Improvement Process

9
WCEA/WASC SCHOOLWIDE CRITERIA

• CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
• CATEGORY B

• What Students Learn
• How Students Learn
• How Assessment Is Used
• Note Data collection, analysis, interpretation,
  program implementation, and data driven decisions
  are integral

10
WCEA/WASC SCHOOLWIDE CRITERIA

• SUPPORT FOR STUDENT PERSONAL, SPIRITUAL, AND
  ACADEMIC GROWTH
• CATEGORY C

• Student Connectedness
• Parent/Community Involvement

11
WCEA/WASC SCHOOLWIDE CRITERIA

• RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
• CATEGORY D

• Resources
• Resource Planning

12
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS OVERVIEW
Background

• The basic concepts addressed in this process
  focus upon student success in meeting student
  learning expectations (i.e., what each student
  should know, understand, value and be able to do
  by graduation). They are

13
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS OVERVIEW

• How are the students doing with respect to the
  student learning expectations?
• Is the school doing everything possible to
  support high achievement of these expectations
  for all its students?
• To what extent are the WCEA standards (and
  descriptive characteristics) relating to Catholic
  identity infused into the total school program?

14
Why is Accreditation important?
15
The One-Day Previsit

• The Chair and visiting team members
• Meet with the principal and leadership team
• Receive the Self-Study
• Meet the faculty and staff
• Accept team responsibilities specific categories
  and chapters are assigned (assignments sent to
  chair in advance to 3 day visit)
• Tour the school

16
The Visit
17
The Three-Day Visit

• The visiting team members
• Validate the Self-Study
• View the evidence gathered according to the
  specified categories
• Review the school improvement plan
• Interview school representatives and stakeholders
• Observe classes
• Design recommendations for needed areas of focus
• Complete a Visiting Committee Report
• Complete the Documentation and Justification
  Statement
• Complete a Recommendation for Term of
  Accreditation

18
Important Points for theThree Day Visit

• Validate the self-study
• Assess the degree of effectiveness in meeting
  standards that impact student learning
• Assess the degree of effectiveness in meeting
  standards that impact school programs and the
  schools operation

19
Class Visitations

• Team members attempt to visit most classrooms
• Purpose is not supervision, but observation and
  verification of self-study content.
• Team members observe the interaction between
  teachers and students (teaching and learning
  models)
• Validate techniques, strategies, programs that
  are identified in the self-study.

20
Consultant from Northwest Association of
Accredited Schools

• A consultant from NAAS will visit for one day
  during the three-day visit to ensure compliance
  with regional Accreditation.
• The representative will visit with the school
  principal, leadership team, and visiting team.
• If the consultant is unable to attend during the
  three-day site visit, the consultant may arrive
  as close to the visit date as possible.

21
The mission of the visiting team is to

• Develop an accurate picture of the status quo
  drawn objectively by professional colleagues for
  the use of the school and information for the
  consumer validate self- study
• Reaffirm the schools strengths
• Develop a clear statement of growth needs
• Assist the school in developing a map (Strategic
  Plan) for future improvement
• Provide a plan for self-monitoring

22
As a group of professional educators,THE
VISITING COMMITTEE

• Reviews the schools self-study report
• Visits the school
• Dialogues with the focus groups/committees
• Assesses the school on each category/criteria

23
THE VISITING COMMITTEE

• Writes a report which reflects
• School-wide strengths
• School-wide critical areas for follow-up based
  upon the schools report, plus the visiting
  committees own on-site interactions and
  observations
• Prepares a confidential statement of
  justification for a recommended term

24
The Visiting Committees Primary Tasks are to

• Verify the schools Self-Study Report
• Assess the degree of effectiveness in meeting
  standards that impact student learning, school
  programs, and the school operation.

25
Key Thoughts
26
AGAIN! Through the completion of this process the
school should have accomplished the following KEY
OUTCOMES

• Involvement and collaboration of school and
  community members in the Self-Study
• Clarification of the schools
• Philosophy
• Mission, and
• School-wide learning expectations
• Assessment of actual student program and its
  impact on
• Student learning
• Spiritual development
• With respect to the
• Criteria and
• School-wide learning expectations

27
KEY OUTCOMES (continued)

• Development of school improvement ACTION PLAN
  that addresses identified growth needs
• Development and implementation of an accounting
  system for monitoring the accomplishment of the
  school improvement ACTION PLAN

28
Final Analysis

• Accreditation Elevates Teaching
• and Learning
• What is the payoff for you
• and for your school?