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SACS CASI is an accreditation division of
Oral Exit ReportQuality Assurance Review Team
District Accreditation
2© 2006 AdvancED
SACS CASI is an accreditation division of
What does district accreditation involve?
• The capacity of a school system to address three major elements. As such, a school system must:
Meet standards for accreditation;Demonstrate a systemic and continuous process of improvement; andImplement methods that provide for quality assurance.
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Defining the Need
If we do not examine and improve the overall system at three levels – the classroom, the school, and the district level - we will never have more than temporary havens of excellence that come and go.
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Systems ApproachDistrict Accreditation is an integrated
systemic process that examines how all elements of a system work in concert to the benefit of student learning.
All Parts of the District• Focus on a shared vision and goals for
improvement• Align operations to achieve shared vision
and goals• Connect improvement efforts
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Role and ResponsibilitiesQuality Assurance Review
• Assess the capacity of the system to meet the standards;
• Assess the efficacy and impact of the improvement process;
• Assess the effectiveness of the system’s methods for quality assurance;
• Identify strengths of the system deserving of commendation; and
• Develop recommendations which are designed to help strengthen the school system.
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Procedures FollowedQuality Assurance Review Team
Reviewed documentation provided by the school system;Developed points of inquiry for the on-site review;Established, in collaboration with district personnel, a schedule of activities and interactions that would provide for significant stakeholder involvement;Conducted interviews of a representative set of stakeholders throughout the district; andEngaged in professional deliberations as a team to consider the capacity of the school system to meet the requirements for district accreditation.
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Interviews with Stakeholders• During the on-site Quality Assurance
Review, team members interviewed:1 Superintendent of Schools8 members of the Board of Education69 members of central staff150 school-based administrators440 teachers and staff 134 parents 24 business partners162 students
988 TOTAL of stakeholders
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Evidential Process• In considering the evidence as provided
through data, documentation, observation, and dialogue, the Quality Assurance Team
Sought a district perspective;Pursued evidence that could be correlated through multiple sources;Examined the context and capacity of the school system in relation to its vision, mission, and beliefs; andApplied the criteria for accreditation.
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Systems Approach
Systemnetwork of parts which function as a whole
Systematicparts are organized, structured, arrangedprocesses are planned and predictable
Systemicall parts are interrelated, interdependent, alignedall parts contribute to shared purpose
Sustainablecapacity to endure, to embed and to maintain
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DeKalb County School System moving into the future…
From…
a school community to a community of learnerspockets of excellence to a system of excellencerandom acts of improvement to coordinated, aligned acts of improvementa system of schools to a school systemcreating systematic processes to systemic and sustainable practices and processes
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Summary of our Observations
• Strengths…recent accomplishments achieved by the school district or conditions which benefit the school district.
• Commendations…professional commendations by the Quality Assurance Review Team.
• Challenges…opportunities that the district may seek to address for further improvement or conditions which are potential barriers
• Recommendations…professional recommendations by the Quality Assurance Review Team.
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Strengths
• Strong, charismatic, respected leader who is willing to do what it takes
• Effective leadership at all levels • Diversity is seen as a strength• Vision that is shared, understood, and supported• Strong visibility and stakeholder support for
components of the Blueprint• Willingness to take risks in meeting the needs of
the diverse population and to fulfill the stated vision and purpose
• Alignment of district and school plans with an instructional focus
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Strengths• Decisions are driven by data and decision
making criteria • There are open channels of communication
and mechanisms to involve all stakeholders• A variety of theme-based and alternative
programs is available• A comprehensive program of staff
development is in place• Multiple efforts and systems to support
continuous improvement are providedFirst Class OSI Review, Monitoring and Feedback
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Strengths
• Programs and staff in schools to target priority needs of students
• Staff is professional, dedicated, and believes in themselves and their students
• Advisory councils, committees and task forces support the work of the schools and operations of the district
• Focus on teaching and learning that pervades the system
• Commitment to recruiting, retaining, and training of professional and support staff
• A culture dedicated to excellence
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Commendations• The Quality Assurance Review Team
commends the DeKalb County School System for:
Embracing diversity as a strength permeates the entire system. Stakeholders recognize the opportunities and challenges such diversity presents. Having a common, understood, and supported sense of purpose as articulated in the Blueprint, values, goals and strategic language. This purpose is enhanced and complemented with pride, passion and confidence in the leadership and system’s ability to achieve it. This serves to philosophically unify the system.
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Commendations• The Quality Assurance Review Team commends the DeKalb
County School System for:
A comprehensive professional development program has been developed and implemented. It is reflective of system priorities and operations and systematically designed to drill down to the classroom.The system supports it schools through access to a wide variety of programs, technical assistance, expert support and material resources. All of these are focused on vision, purpose and need.
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Commendations• The Quality Assurance Review Team commends
the DeKalb County School System for:• Creating an effective and productive balance that
provides schools with system-wide direction yet allows for, and celebrates flexibility and customization at the school level. This includes a process for monitoring and feedback thus ensuring the quality and alignment of school plans to district initiatives. Stakeholders value support and appreciate flexibility.
• DeKalb County schools have effectively fulfilled the role and expectations of District Accreditation.
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Challenges• Providing unified leadership to lead and guide
major initiatives• Redistricting and responding to changing
demographics• Providing the technology needed to support
the instructional program• Diversity; meeting high needs populations
i.e. SWD, ELL, Refugees, Transients, Homeless
• Improving attendance and graduation rates
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• Resources- fiscal, human, facilitiesSPLOST passageAusterity cutsUnfunded mandatesRecruitment and retention of high quality and effective teachers and administratorsRenovation and new construction Obtaining alternative funding sources
• Ensuring program access and equity for all
Challenges
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Challenges
• Lack of appropriate instructional space that supports student learning
• Managing the complexity of the school system
• Building a perspective of unity that removes the perceptions of differences and inequities.
• Committing to sustaining the momentum of positive results and initiatives
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RecommendationsThe Quality Assurance Review Team recommends
that the DeKalb County School System:
• Identify and integrate the wealth of formative assessments into a systematic and systemic assessment system. Establish the link between these formative assessments and summative assessments used by the county and the state to create a comprehensive assessment package.
• Document results and build trend data to gain a longitudinal perspective.
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Recommendations
• Initiate strategies and communications that address the perception of differences throughout the system based on geography.
• Implement systematic and systemic vertical articulation and horizontal planning processes that support and sustain K-12 teaching and learning.
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Recommendations
• System commitment to premier DeKalb and high stakes initiatives designed to achieve “unity and purpose”necessitates that the leadership operate as a highly skilled and collaborative team. It is recommended that the Board, as a group, receive training in the following areas:
team development, problem solving, consensus building, systems thinking, role clarification, public relations and communication
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Recommendations
• The system supports a wealth of strategies and interventions and improvement strategies:
Use data and root cause analysis to guide the selection of interventions.Expand the capacity of the instructional staff at the school level to identify, implement, monitor and evaluate the impact of research-based strategies.
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Next Steps• A written report of our findings and observations
will be drafted and sent to the Superintendent of Schools within 30 days.
• After receipt of the report, the district is expected to
Review and communicate the findings and observations contained in the report;Initiate steps to address the recommendations in the report;Continue to monitor accreditation requirements for the system and its schools;Monitor the execution and impact of strategies for improvement; andContinue to engage methods that provide for quality assurance.
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Final Recommendation
• The Quality Assurance Review Team recommends, without reservation, to the SACS CASI Board of Directors that the DeKalb County School System be awarded District Accreditation as a quality school system.
• Once approved, the district and all its schools are granted a 5-year term accreditation.
• The district must commit to and provide evidence of addressing the recommendations in a Two-Year Progress Report. This is a requirement to maintain and sustain accreditation.
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Final Thoughts• On behalf of the Quality Assurance
Team, I extend:Our appreciation for your hospitality, support, and professionalism;Our respect and acknowledgement of the quality of the school district; andOur congratulations for achieving District Accreditation as a quality system.
SACS CASI is an accreditation division of
……helping schools helping schools and school and school
systems improve systems improve student learningstudent learning
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