Three day evaluation of District schools concludes with special Board of Education meeting on February 14, 2018.
The Dearborn Public Schools is hosting an evaluation team from AdvancED starting on Monday, February 12, 2018. The review takes place every five years and is part of the process to earn accreditation through the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance where schools, districts, and universities are held to rigorous standards and heightened accountability. The current Systems Accreditation will expire in June 2018 and the District is looking forward to being granted accreditation for another five year period.
Under the new process, the visiting team no longer awards accreditation status. Instead, the team will report back to the AdvancED home office, where a final determination will be made. The team will report on their findings at a special Board of Education meeting on February 14 starting at 3 p.m. at the Administrative Service Center, 18700 Audette, Dearborn. Staff, students, parents, and community members are invited to attend this public meeting.
“We invite everyone to attend and take full advantage of this opportunity to hear an outside group of highly skilled educators provide a non-bias evaluation of the education taking place in our classrooms,” commented Ms. Fatme Faraj, Director, School Improvement and Leadership Coaching in the District.
Ms. Faraj and her team have spent the last several months collecting artifacts (evidence) of the work taking place in the district, preparing accountability reports, setting up several announced and unannounced school visits, and making sure all the logistical details of the visit are in place.
The external review team is made up of a lead evaluator from out of state and an associate lead evaluator from within the state. Additional team members from in and out of state participate in the review. The visiting accreditation team will review reports, examine evidence, visit a number of schools, and conduct on-site interviews with various stakeholder groups.
“The time spent with the AdvancED team has been very productive. We have been able to share data about our programs, tour our schools, and provide them with a wealth of information that will help them in their evaluation of the teaching and learning taking place in our classrooms,” Ms. Faraj added.