Participate in the School Accreditation Process
NWESD 189 is accepting applications for school accreditation, as authorized by the Washington State Board of Education (SBE).
The application process requires four stages: planning and self-evaluation, review of the written plan, school visitation and interviews, and finally reporting out and evaluation.
“The state board changed the process a year ago,” says Bob Estes, who performs accreditation reviews for NWESD 189. “We provide the form, the school fills it out, and in a three-ringed notebook, they provide evidence showing they’ve gone through a pretty sophisticated and involved school-improvement process. They show that staff and parents have been involved, and to some degree students, too.”
The school must complete a year of school-improvement planning, the SBE states. Once that’s complete and the application is submitted, “a lead ESD staff member will meet with the school leadership team to share a rubric for assessing the quality and thoroughness of the plan,” SBE continues. “All the stages of the process for accreditation will be explained.”
“The first big think we’re looking for is, did they have a variety of people involved in the process,” Estes explains about stage two. “We’re looking for broad-based participation. Did they demonstrate people were ready to go on with the improvement process? Did they set goals and collect data? Did they analyze all of it and set up mission and monitoring plans?”
The next step in the process is the prearranged arrival at the school of a well-trained team to meet with the school’s principal and leadership group.
After a brief presentation by the school’s leadership group to the accreditation team, each visitor will spend the day conducting site observations and separate interviews with administrators, staff, students, parents and community members, ending Stage Three.
“At the end of the day, the accreditation team (members) will offer their commendations and recommendations to the principal before going to a full staff meeting,” SBE points out about the review process.
“If we’re satisfied, we send a recommendation to the state school board,” Estes adds.
The value of accreditation is measured by the publicity it generates, according to Estes.
“It shows you are going through a rigorous process to become accredited,” he says. Much like colleges that become accredited, the process lends prestige to the school and the community that supports it.
Granite Falls HS was the first one from our district to successfully undergo the process. Currently under final consideration are Nooksack Valley, Blaine, Concrete and South Whidbey high schools, Estes says.
For the complete process outline, consult the State Board of Education School Improvement Plan Requirement & Accreditation Process or go to www.sbe.wa.gov.