All About Accreditation
Accreditation can be a scary word to some educational organizations.
It signifies an up close and personal examination of people, processes, and results. It is often seen as negative – what you did wrong or what you failed to do at all. It doesn’t have to be that way and can be a very rewarding and critical activity for schools and education in general.
By its very name, it means, “the act of granting credit or recognition,” a positive action. Another definition says, “a voluntary method of quality assurance developed more than 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools, and designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational standards.”
As a public school accountable to the taxpayers of Florida, it is appropriate that those taxpayers have substantiated evidence that their dollars are being spent in the best way possible.
Accreditation, which occurs every five years, is the best way to verify academic excellence.
The process is supported by an outside accrediting agency, which has specific standards for every aspect of education, from building safety to student learning growth to staff credentials. Schools and districts do a self-assessment first against those standards, using the rubrics provided, student performance data, and stakeholder survey data to demonstrate evidence. Based on the outcome of that self-assessment, the school or district will create an Improvement Plan designed to address both the areas that scored high (plans for how to sustain high performance) and areas that can be improved. That plan is used to create action items to ensure that continuous improvement is always occurring.
According to accrediting organization AdvancED:
“The Internal Review provides a framework for rich dialogue and collaboration for the purpose of increasing student learning.”
The accrediting agency also conducts an on-site review, doing the very same assessment but confirming evidence through interviews, data analysis, and documentation review. The agency will call out Notable Achievements and Opportunities for Improvement, which then become action items for the school to address going forward.
“The External Review energizes and equips the institution’s leadership and stakeholders to achieve higher levels of performance and addresses those areas that may be hindering efforts to reach desired performance levels.”
What does accreditation mean for students and parents?
It signifies that the school is meeting academic standards and the education credits issued by that school can be recognized and accepted by any other school or business. It also means that the school is committed to achieving excellence and uses a continuous improvement process to set the bar higher and higher instead of resting on its laurels. It’s a win-win proposition for all.
Post by: Shearon Arnott, FLVS Strategic Solutions Administrator