CHEROKEE ACCREDITATION RECOMMENDED. Mary Ann Hipp, chairperson, Advance Ed review team, shares with Cherokee County School System administrators, teachers and stakeholders the results of the recent District Accreditation Review in a special called meeting held last week on the campus of Gadsden State Community College-Cherokee. She was happy to report that the team would recommend Cherokee County Schools for District Accreditation. In seven areas, the team rate Cherokee County Schools as highly functional in one area and operation in the other six.
This recommendation, if approved, will mean that all eight (8) schools in Cherokee County will be accredited.
The external review team provided the district with four commendations and three required actions.
The commendations were the following: 1) “Cherokee County School System has implemented an exemplary shared leadership model that promotes broad internal stakeholder participation in an efficient, effective, intentional systemic planning process.” The review team’s chair commented that shared stakeholder leadership was evidenced not only at the district office level, but also throughout the schools’ administrative and teaching levels as well as into the classrooms where students participated in shared leadership opportunities.
2) “Cherokee County School System has developed a unique, highly effective Professional Learning Community (PLC) structure that facilitates the Continuous Improvement Monitoring Review process at each school for Quality Assurance.”
3) “Cherokee County School System garnered unprecedented community support for the funding needs of the Career Technical Center.” 4) “Technology is embedded in systemic processes that support student learning, professional collaboration, and organizational effectiveness.”
The required actions were the following:
1) “Create, communicate, and implement a long range strategic plan.”
2) “Formulate and articulate system-wide strategies for community stakeholder participation in policy formation and review in the Cherokee County Schools decision-making process.”
3) “Explore additional funding sources and expand system-wide strategies and practices that support the academic, social, and emotional needs of students impacted by the economic downturn.”
Of the seven (7) standards that were extensively reviewed, all were measured operational with the exception of Governance and Leadership – “The system provides governance and leadership that promote student performance and system effectiveness.” The Governance and Leadership standard was considered to be at the highest level obtainable - highly functional.
The Superintendent, Brian Johnson, and the Cherokee County District Leadership Team would like to thank standards committee members, administrators, certified and support staff, students, parents, and community members for your work and participation in this process that began in 2009. Because of your care, work and commitment to the children of Cherokee County, we can celebrate, together, this recognition of achievement as we continue our work towards educational excellence.
“In April, 2006, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACCS CASI), and the National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE) came together to form one strong and unified organization under the name AdvancED.”
“AdvanceED is dedicated to advancing excellence in education. AdvancED works to:
-Help schools maximize student success.
-Build the capacity of schools and school systems to achieve excellence through high standards, quality assurance and continuous improvement.
-Bring together research and resources for student, school and system improvement.”
The standards that are addressed through AdvanED are the following:
-Standard I: Vision and Purpose - The system establishes and communicates a shared purpose and direction for improving the performance of students and the effectiveness of the system.
-Standard II. Governance and Leadership - The system provides governance and leadership that promote student performance and system effectiveness.
-Standard III. Teaching and Learning - The system provides research-based curriculum and instructional methods that facilitate achievement for all students.
-Standard IV: Documenting and Using Results - The system enacts a comprehensive assessment system that monitors and documents performance and uses these results to improve student performance and school effectiveness.
-Standard V: Resources and Support Systems - The system has the resources and services necessary to support its vision and purpose and to ensure achievement for all students.
-Standard VI: Stakeholder Communications and Relationships - the system fosters effective communications and relationship with and among its stakeholders.
-Standard VII: Commitment to continuous Improvement - The system establishes, implements, and monitors a continuous process of improvement that focuses on student performance.
There are four levels of system performance:
1) Not evident - Little or no evidence exists,
2) Emerging - Evidence indicates early or preliminary stages of implementation of practice,
3) Operational - Evidence indicates practices and procedures are actively implemented.
4) Highly Functional - Evidence indicates practices are fully integrated and effectively and consistently implemented.
Systems must be working at the Operational level on every standard to be recommended for accreditation.
The Quality Assurance Review Team that reviewed Cherokee County Schools was comprised of five educators - two from Louisiana and three from Alabama.
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