Lowndes County School System to Host External Quality Assurance Review Team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

The Lowndes County School System has spent the last eighteen months preparing for District Accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).  The Lowndes County School System began initial preparation for Distinct Accreditation in the fall of 2005.  All seven elementary schools joined Lowndes High, Lowndes Middle School, and Hahira Middle in the spring of 2004 by achieving elementary SACS accreditation.  Once all ten schools achieved SACS accreditation the district administration began seriously considering the district SACS accreditation process.  A readiness visit was conducted by Mr. Terry Cullipher, Director of Georgia Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS) Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI), on November 8, 2005.  Afterwards, district leaders and principals agreed the timing was optimal to pursue the process.  The Lowndes Board of Education approved the recommendation of the Superintendent to pursue district accreditation on November 8, 2005.  The school district received official approval to pursue district SACS accreditation on March 21, 2006 from Dr. Mark Elgart, Chief Executive Officer of SACS CASI.

District administrators, principals, teachers, and other staff members have been involved in all aspects of the district accreditation process since August 2006.  District and school level improvement plans have been developed after a thorough analysis of data.  The system mission, vision, and goals have been reviewed and revised to reflect the current state of the district and the needs of the students of Lowndes County.

The final requirement of the SACS district accreditation process is the Quality Assurance Review.  The Lowndes County School System will host the Quality Assurance Review conducted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) on November 11- 14, 2007.  

What is SACS CASI District Accreditation?

District Accreditation is a powerful systems' approach that reflects the "next generation" definition of accreditation; it gives school districts the flexibility and responsibility to identify and implement their desired process of continuous improvement focusing on increasing student performance.  Because district accreditation addresses issues systemically and uses quality tools, it strengthens the effectiveness and capacity of districts and their schools to flexibly adjust, and therefore, sustain learning gains. It is a process that examines how all the processes and functions of a district work in concert to the benefit of student learning.

The Council on Accreditation and School Improvement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS CASI) has developed and initiated a District Accreditation protocol.  The development of the new protocol is in response to requests from superintendents and other district leaders throughout the nation who wanted to coordinate accreditation with ongoing system improvement initiatives and state mandates.  SACS CASI led the nation in the development and initiation of the next generation protocol for district accreditation. 

School systems seeking district accreditation must tend to the three major responsibilities of accreditation.  The school system must meet the Accreditation Standards for Quality Systems; identify and illustrate implementation of a continuous system improvement process; and demonstrate quality assurance. 

District Accreditation has three major components.

• Engaging in Continuous Improvement :  The district articulates and implements a planning framework for district improvement that addresses four elements:  a Vision describing the future direction and purpose of the school system and its schools;  a Profile describing the current conditions of the school system and its schools focusing on student learning;  a Plan describing the pursuit of goals designed specifically to address student learning needs and to build the capacity of the internal systems of the district to address such priorities; and the documentation of Results stemming from improvement efforts.

• Meeting Standards:   The district complies with and maintains adherence to the ten District Accreditation Standards for Quality Systems.  Additionally, each school in the district is expected to meet accreditation standards specifically designed for schools.

• Demonstrating Quality Assurance:   The school system must demonstrate quality assurance through institutional integrity, peer review, and documentation of the results of its improvement efforts.  Through institutional integrity the system strives to deliver on its promise and to be what it claims to be to both the school community and the community at large through peer review the efforts of the system and its schools to improve student learning are strengthened; and through documentation of the results of its efforts to improve, the system and its schools are able to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to plan for further improvement.  Under the district accreditation framework the district is responsible for designing and implementing a quality assurance process for its schools and the district.  Every five years the district will be expected to host a SACS CASI Quality Assurance Review Team, composed of professional peers from outside the district that are responsible for validating compliance with accreditation standards;  assessing the efforts of the district and its schools in engaging continuous improvement; and evaluating the effectiveness of an established internal quality assurance process.  The SACS CASI Quality Assurance Review Team will also make random visits to schools within the district to ensure alignment and coordination throughout the district.

SACS CASI district accreditation is a national protocol that is being emulated by other accreditors and is of great interest by several state departments of education.  As of January 1, 2006, there were approximately 150 districts that have been approved to pursue District Accreditation.

Benefits of District Accreditation

District accreditation is not a stand-alone process or something "extra" that a district must do; rather it serves as an umbrella or framework that supports systemic, substantive, continuous progress focused directly on improving learning for all students. Already, districts find it provides a cost effective method for meeting federal No Child Left Behind mandates and state accountability laws.  In addition, district accreditation:

• Supports and enhances a common language of school improvement across content areas  and grade levels, as well as across individual schools, feeder schools, and district lines of  responsibility.

•   Ensures continuity and collaboration in planning for improvement, anchored in a common vision for education among all its schools, ensuring that each school's improvement goals complement those of the district.

•   Is cost effective for districts and schools.

•   Provides the district and community with validation and recognition for improvement efforts as well as recommendations from external professionals that are designed to further the district's improvement efforts.

•   Supports a system-wide approach to achieving results .

•   Is an integrated process that supports other accountability requirements such as those mandated by the state and federal educational agencies, and strengthens efforts to meet such requirements .

•   Provides recognition for the district and its schools, students, teachers, and the community.

As noted by Dr. Mark A. Elgart, Chief Executive Officer of SACS CASI:

"The capacity of any organization to improve is directly related to its ability to recognize, acknowledge, and act on its strengths and limitations.  The SACS CASI District Accreditation process provides a vehicle for assisting school districts to effectively identify its strengths and areas needing improvement, as well as for providing external experienced professionals who through a structured onsite visit assess the capacity of the district to meet the criteria for accreditation, commend worthy accomplishments, and recommend strategies that hold the promise of important systemic improvements."

Founded in 1895 and headquartered in Decatur, Georgia, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits over 14,000 public and non-public institutions throughout the world.