Clarke County School District Recommended for Accreditation

This information comes from a press release prepared by Anisa Sullivan Jimenez, the public relations director for the school system:

The Clarke County School District was recommended for accreditation by a report given by AdvancED at a called board meeting, earlier Wednesday. The review team observed 29 classrooms and interviewed 340 stakeholders during their review process Monday and Tuesday.

Chair George Griffin remarked that, “Your district overall, in terms of focus on student achievement, is way at the top. Nobody deviated from that. It was refreshing and commendable.”

AdvancED (formerly the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities) is the world’s largest educational network. It evaluates 30,000 public and private schools throughout the United States and 70 countries nationwide. Its mission is to advance excellence in education through continuous improvement, organizational effectiveness and accreditation.

What AdvancED Does

When appropriate, AdvancED identifies powerful practices that stand far above what is expected, and serve as national models for other school districts. These are not always found during AdvancED accreditation visits, and are only reported when exemplary practices are found. For the Clarke County School District, the external review team identified the following three powerful practices:

1. The Professional Development School District partnership with the University of Georgia’s College of Education that has resulted in positive student achievement outcomes;
2. The effective use of technology in classrooms that positively impacts student learning;
3. System and school leaders effectively monitoring and supporting instructional practices that impact student success.

“We are about performance, we are about our kids succeeding and we are about our students reaching goals – often even higher than they had ever dreamed,” said Superintendent Philip D. Lanoue. “While having one powerful practice identified for a district is exceptional, it is extraordinary to have three. We are very pleased that the external review team recognized the work of everyone in our school community as making a difference in student performance.”

Key Elements for Accreditation

Key elements for accreditation include assessment of AdvancED’s standards and indicators, student performance and stakeholder perceptions. Ratings range from 1-4, with 1 indicating minimal performance and 4 indicating outstanding performance. Most institutions fall within the 2-3 range, and Griffin said that anything above 2 indicates “you are functioning very well. These are high numbers.” Results are as follows:

www.clarke.k12.ga.us

• Purpose and Direction – 2.75
• Governance and Leadership – 3.00
• Teaching and Assessing for Learning – 2.92
• Resources and Support Systems – 3.00
• Using Results for Continuous Improvement – 2.80

Team members also spent a minimum of 20 minutes in 29 classrooms to complete observations. Those results are as follow:

• Equitable Learning Environment – 2.6
• High Expectations Environment – 2.8
• Supportive Learning Environment – 3
• Active Learning Environment – 3.1
• Progress Monitoring and Feedback Environment – 2.6
• Well-Managed Learning Environment – 3.1
• Digital Learning Environment – 2.1

When summarizing the classroom visits, Griffin said, “(Y)our students are actively engaged in learning activities. Your classrooms are very well-managed, and students interact respectfully with teachers and peers. Your classrooms are safe for students to take risks in. They’re not afraid to ask questions.”

The Team and Its Visits

The team was comprised of six educators – three from Georgia and three from other states. It began its evaluation process Monday, with a day-long session at the school district’s administrative offices. The team met with board members, Superintendent Lanoue, district and school administrators, instructional leaders, teachers, parents and community partners – including those in business, industry, government and higher education. 

Tuesday, visits took place at Chase Street Elementary School, J.J. Harris Elementary Charter School, Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School, Stroud Elementary School, Coile Middle School and Clarke Central High School.

“The credit goes to our teachers. They are prepared because they go in each and every day with the belief that our kids can learn,” said Lanoue.

A Proposed Action Plan for CCSD

Finally, as part of the accreditation process, AdvancED provides a list of required actions to all institutions. At the local level, the AdvancED process gives educational institutions a framework for quality and continuous improvement so that they may achieve ever higher degrees of excellence.

Actions for the Clarke County School District are to create a more targeted professional development program and to develop individual teacher professional learning plans that support teaching and learning initiatives.

“Again, we’re very impressed with conversations and the focus being on student achievement. I hear ‘all students’ (can achieve) a lot, but here, I felt it,” concluded Griffin’s presentation.

The final report will be available in 45 days from AdvancED, with the team’s recommendation that the school district be accredited.

With 21 schools and over 12,000 students, the Clarke County School District offers students both diversity and a culture of academic excellence. The district was recognized as Georgia’s top school district for closing the achievement gap as a Title I Distinguished District. For more information, visit http://clarke.k12.ga.us.