Accreditation Team Training

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AccreditationTeam Training

• A Process for School Improvement

Dr. rosemary j. henry Assistant Superintendent
for Instructional Services and Accreditation
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Accreditation Visiting Team Training

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

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Benefits of Accreditation

• Affirms effective practices and school strengths
• Enhances awareness of school program, practices,
  etc.
• Facilitates data collection, assessment/data
  driven decisions
• Builds confidence and pride from stakeholders
• Creates needed areas of focus
• Develops a self improvement plan
• Advances mission and effectiveness of school
• Provides a plan for self-monitoring
• Earns 30 clock hours of professional development
• Grow professionally and personally
• Provides a venue for collegiality/collaboration

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Documents a School Prepares

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

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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

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Documents a School Prepares(cont.)

• School Improvement Action Plan complete with
  specific steps and time lines
• Evidence of students work that supports student
  achievement

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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

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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

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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

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WCEA/WASC SCHOOLWIDE CRITERIA

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

• Student Connectedness
• Parent/Community Involvement

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WCEA/WASC SCHOOLWIDE CRITERIA

• RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
• CATEGORY D

• Resources
• Resource Planning

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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

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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?

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Revision School Change
Elements of school change incorporated into the
WCEA/WASC School Improvement Process include

• Clarification of Schools Philosophy and
  Schoolwide Learning Expectations
• School Community Involvement in Process
• Analysis of the actual program for students
• Meaningful dialogue
• Collaboration and shared decision-making

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Elements of school change incorporated into the
WCEA/WASC School Improvement Process include

• The use of high quality criteria to analyze the
  program for students
• The development of a school improvement action
  plan to support learning expectations
• Outside perspective through the Visiting
  Committees dialogue and findings.
• The monitoring of progress through accreditation
  review and reports

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Why is Accreditation important?
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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

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The Visit
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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
• 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

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Important Points for theThree Day Visit

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

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Class Visitations

• Tag door of class you are in so that not more
  than two committee members are in the same room
  at one time.
• Slip into the classroom Do not interrupt.
• Note any important or significant observation
  when you leave the classroom.
• Areas of responsibility will be assigned, but
  everyone should feel free to observe everything.
• Look for techniques that have been stated in the
  study.
• Our purpose is not supervision, but observation
  and verification.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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Key Thoughts
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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

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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

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How to Write a Visiting Committee Report
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Divide the Visiting Committee Report into
Chapters as Follows
Chapter 1 Student/Community Profile (1-2 pages)

• Briefly synthesize pertinent information reported
  in the Student/Community Profile
• Comment on significant findings and/or important
  items that were not included in this Profile.

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Chapter 2 Progress Report
(2-3 pages)

• Summarize how the school has addressed each of
  the recommendations from the previous
  accreditation visit.
• Comment on the schools major changes since the
  last accreditation.
• Once a school has gone through accreditation
  using the new Protocol, the report will emphasize
  the areas identified as follow-up.
• The information for the Visiting Committee Report
  should be taken from the annual report submitted
  by the school to the Archdiocesan School
  Department.

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Chapter 3 Self-Study Process
(1-2 pages)

• Summarize the process used to develop the Mission
  and Philosophy Statement, and the School-wide
  Learning Expectations. (Attach a copy of the
  School-wide Learning Expectations to the Final
  Report.)
• Comment on the schools Self-Study process with
  respect to the following

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Chapter 3 Self-Study Process (cont.)

• How well the school has accomplished the five key
  outcomes of the Self-Study (see Pages 3-4 of the
  Visiting Committee Handbook)
• How well the Self-Study accurately reflects the
  schools program
• Observable evidence of what ALL students are
  doing and producing with respect to WCEA/WASC
  criteria and the school-wide learning
  expectations
• How well the observable evidence supports the
  schools identified areas for follow-up and
  further growth
• Involvement and collaboration of stakeholders

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Chapter 4 Quality of the Schools Program
(1-2 pages each section)

• Four categories
• Organization for Student Learning
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Support for Student Personal, Spiritual, and
  Academic Growth
• Resource Management
• Discuss the school program and the school support
  for student learning through what currently
  exists. Include the following information

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Chapter 4 Quality of the Schools Program
(continued)

• Analyze, based on the self-study and findings,
  what currently exits in each category and impact
  on learning
• Highlight key issues (if any) which need to be
  addressed to ensure quality education for all
  students
• Include important evidence about student learning
  from the Self-Study that supports strengths and
  key issues
• Synthesize the strengths and key issues from the
  criteria included in each of the four categories
  into school-wide strengths and critical areas for
  follow-up. Follow the following format

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Chapter 4 Quality of the Schools Program
(continued)

• Examine and Synthesize
• Assess the strengths and key issues from the
  criteria included in each of the four categories
• Develop school-wide strengths
• Develop school-wide critical areas for follow up

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Chapter 4 Quality of the Schools Program
(continued)

• Begin with general overall comments about the
  emerging school-wide strengths and critical areas
  for follow-up.
• A) List numerically the school-wide areas of
  strength
• B) List numerically the school-wide critical
  areas for follow-up that will do the following
• Support those areas already identified by the
  school in the Action Plan Sections
• Strengthen those identified areas in the Action
  Plan Sections
• Address additional areas identified by the
  Visiting Committee.

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Chapter 4 Quality of the Schools Program
(continued)

• VERY IMPORTANT The school-wide areas of strength
  and school-wide critical areas for follow-up are
  what you will use to support the ratings and
  rationale on the Justification Statement.

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Chapter 5 Ongoing School Improvement
(1-2 pages)

• Comment on the following School Improvement
  issues
• Adequacy of the School Improvement Action Plan
  and the degree to which it addresses the Critical
  Areas for Follow-Up summarized in Chapter IV.
  Include a one-page Summary of the School-wide
  Action Plan using these questions for
  consideration
• Do the Action Plan sections address the Critical
  Areas for Follow-up?
• Will the Action Plan steps enhance student
  learning?
• Is the Action Plan feasible within existing
  resources?
• Is there sufficient commitment to the Action
  Plan?

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Chapter 5 Ongoing School Improvement
(continued)

• Existing factors that will support school
  improvement
• Impediments to school improvement that the school
  will need to overcome in order to accomplish any
  of the Action Plan sections
• Soundness of the follow-up process that the
  school intends to use for monitoring the
  accomplishment of the School-wide Action Plan.

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How to Write a Documentation and Justification
Statement
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Accreditation Documentation and Justification
Statement Worksheet for WCEA/WASC Elementary
Schools
Directions

• Discuss the evidence reviewed through the
  self-study and the visit. Be sure to examine the
  progress made since the last accreditation, if
  appropriate.
• Individually, read the factors and the supporting
  documentation. Mark an X for the most
  appropriate rating in the box provided (?).

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Directions (continued)

• As a visiting committee come to consensus on the
  most appropriate rating. NOTE Listed below are
  guides to assist in the synthesis of the visiting
  committees findings from the self-study and
  visit. Other points may need to be brought into
  the discussion.
• Complete the official Documentation and
  Justification Statement.

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? HIGHLY EFFECTIVE The results of the self-study
and the visit provide evidence of (1) the
achievement of a high degree of student learning
with respect to the category of criteria and (2)
a strong operable school improvement process not
requiring external monitoring. ? EFFECTIVE The
results of the self-study and the visit provide
evidence of (1) the achievement of student
learning with respect to the category of
criteria and (2) the need for some minimal
outside monitoring to support the school
improvement process. ? SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE The
results of the self-study and the visit provided
limited evidence (1) the achievement of student
learning with respect to the category of criteria
and (2) the necessity for outside monitoring to
support the schools improvement. ? INEFFECTIVE
The results of the self-study and the visit
provide little, if any, evidence of (1) the
achievement of student learning with respect to
the category of criteria and (2) the necessity
for consistent outside monitoring to support the
schools improvement process.
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Accreditation Term Determination Worksheet Sample
for WCEA/WASC Elementary Schools
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Rating Rationales
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AccreditationTeamResponsibilities
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Team Responsibilities
In preparation for the WCEA/WASC evaluation, the
following information may assist you in reviewing
our role as visiting team members and completing
our assignments.

• Meet with faculty, administration and staff the
  afternoon of the pre-visit.
• Understand the purpose of the Self-Study its
  level of importance to the school and diocese
  its impact on teachers, administration, parents,
  students and the parish and the role of the
  visiting team members.
• Review WCEA/WASC Visiting Committee Member
  Handbook for Catholic Elementary Schools, 2003
  Revision available at www.seattlearch.org/schools
  . Click on Forms and Documents (navigation bar
  on left side). Then click on the Accreditation
  link. Finally, click on WCEA/WASC Visiting
  Committee Member Handbook 2003 (pdf) to read the
  document.

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Team Responsibilities

• Understand that the purpose of the visit is to
  validate/verify what the school community has
  reported in the Self-Study regarding strengths
  and areas in need of growth.
• Read the Self-Study report and concentrate on
  assigned areas.

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Team Responsibilities

• Write preliminary narrative listing strengths and
  areas of growth for each area.
• Write any questions, concerns, and clarifications
  to pursue during the visit.
• Visit classrooms, meet with parents, teachers,
  administration, clergy, staff and others as
  appropriate. Review evidence binders/boxes,
  displays, etc.
• Find examples to support school-wide learning
  expectations and key outcomes.
• Write tentative report regarding visit,
  interviews and/or observations share findings
  with committee members. (sample included in team
  training module)

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Team Responsibilities

• Discuss tentative report come to consensus and
  prepare draft report.
• Present draft report to administration and make
  appropriate modifications.
• Prepare justification statement and recommend
  term of accreditation.
• Present final report to full faculty and
  administration.
• All team notes will be collected and shredded.
• Complete evaluation forms prepared by the
  Diocese.
• Sign off complete confidential report.
• Dress professionally remember you are a
  professional team representing the Archdiocese.

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Team Responsibilities

• Communication
• Be friendly, establish rapport, listen, do not
  evaluate. (Does not often happen, but if someone
  has a burr under a saddle and wants to complain
  to you about it, please refer them to the chair.)
• Avoid comparing. This isnt how we do it. Our
  way is better. May seem strange, but it is
  unwittingly easy to do. Let us help each other.
• Ask rather open-ended and non-threatening
  questions in the interview process. (Tell me
  about, What do you want us to know about your
  school?)
• Be able to justify everything you write.
• One of the strongest obligations of the Visiting
  Committee is that of CONFIDENTIALITY.

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Team Responsibilities
It is not our purpose to compare this school with
any other school but to validate this school in
terms of

• its own stated philosophy
• its reason for existence
• strengths and limitations that are identified
• the success of its product
• its efforts to improve its program

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Some Helpful Suggestions
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Some Helpful Suggestions
The school report should be read at least two (2)
times before the actual visit.

• The first time read it through to get the entire
  school picture.
• The second time begin marking the book (placing
  special emphasis on your sections of
  responsibility). Begin to note things you wish to
  observe.
• Begin to formulate areas of strengths and areas
  of growth that strike you as you read the report.
  The classroom/school visitation/conferences will
  substantiate or negate your comments. Use
  worksheets to help organize your thoughts.
• Narratives are written with supporting evidence
  of how the school has met the WCEA Criterion.

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The more work we accomplish before the Visit,
the more successful the Visit will be!
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Focus AreasAre SLEs measurable?How does the
school assess if students achieve SLEs ?Use of
dataDisaggregation of dataAnalysis of data
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Gratitude to Team Members

• As a team member
• You elevate teaching and learning.
• You enhance the schools programs.
• You enrich the schools operation.

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Conclusion

• Questions
• Discussion
• Evaluation