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Volume 7

 

November 2013


AdvancED Virginia Conference is February 24-25--Register NOW! 

 Pic of Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center
Join us at the AdvancED Virginia Annual Conference February 24-25, 2014, at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center in Williamsburg. This year’s theme, Cultivating Learner Success, will prompt and facilitate discussions on how performance-based accreditation and school improvement efforts empower education providers to leverage their knowledge, expertise and resources in innovative ways to achieve higher levels of student performance and organizational effectiveness. Join us for a high quality professional learning experience designed to explore the AdvancED Standards for Quality, the AdvancED Accreditation Protocol, the Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools (ASSIST™) and much more. Don’t wait; register for your seat at the conference today!

Topics will include:
  • Accreditation Protocol for Schools and School Systems
  • AdvancED’s School Improvement Web-based Platform-ASSIST
  • Preparing Your School or School System for the External Review
  • Internal Review Preparations for Schools and School Systems
  • Other small group sessions on current education topics
                                    Click here for more information and to register!
                                   
Quick Links
 
Lead Evaluator Training Scheduled at Conference
Put your leadership skills to work while helping area schools with their school improvement efforts by training to be an AdvancED Lead Evaluator. This two-day training will be Sunday and Tuesday, February 23 and February 25, 2014, during the AdvancED Virginia Annual Conference at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center in Williamsburg. The training will be held in conjunction with the AdvancED Virginia Annual Conference, February 24-25. Participants will have the option to attend Day One of the conference on Monday, February 24 at a special rate.

Click here for more information and to register!
Call for 2014 Conference Presenters
If you have a creative idea, a hot education topic or a best practice and would like to lead a small group session during the AdvancED Virginia 2014 Annual Conference, we would like to hear from you! The conference will be February 24-25, 2014 at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center in Williamsburg. Click here to write a brief synopsis and see how to forward it on to the AdvancED Virginia Managing Office. 
AdvancED Process Supports State Initiatives
In Virginia, educators are facing many changes as they begin to implement more challenging state standards and assessments. AdvancED recognizes the need to provide leadership to help ensure that schools and school systems adapt to change in a manner that provides opportunities for students to gain skills and knowledge to be successful in college and the workplace.

Dr. James Brown, Chairman of the AdvancED Florida council, shared the following summary regarding AdvancED as a global leader in helping educational institutions address and direct change in order for students to receive a quality education that equips them for life in the 21st Century:

...AdvancED's External Review process will now use an Index of Educational Quality (IEQ) as a barometer to gauge school achievement and performance. The IEQ is centered around three domains: 1) the analysis and evaluation of the impact of teaching and learning, 2) the leadership capacity to govern, 3) the degree to which resources are optimally utilized. Embedded in these domains are the AdvancED Standards for Quality and their accompanying Indicators.

Read more of this article from the News section of AdvancED Virginia Web page.
Are You Using ASSIST?
AdvancED was excited when the first component of ASSIST™ (AdvancED Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools) was launched nearly two years ago. The excitement is still there as our accredited institutions are reaping the benefits of using ASSIST.

Institutions are successfully managing their continuous improvement efforts along with accreditation requirements, because ASSIST successfully merges process, content and technology into a dynamic web-based platform. It supports end-to-end management of both the school improvement and accreditation processes involving all levels of the education system. Since the initial launch, more and more functionality that meets the needs of our accredited institutions has been added.

ASSIST now provides the tools to guide your next internal and external review for accreditation, including Surveys, Student Performance Diagnostic and Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic tools. In fact, more than two million students, parents and teachers across the United States and around the world have completed AdvancED surveys about the quality of their educational institutions using ASSIST. Institutions also can submit a Self Assessment, Executive Summary and school improvement plan in ASSIST. ASSIST is the future of school improvement, and we invite you to be a champion for educational excellence and login to ASSIST today!

Congratulations to Newly Accredited Schools and Systems
Congratulations to the following School systems and schools that were recently awarded accreditation from AdvancED.

School Systems
  • Prince Edward County Schools
  • Rockbridge County Schools
Schools
  • The Goddard School, Ashland
  • The Goddard School, Ashburn
  • The Goddard School, Glen Allen
  • The Goddard School, Leesburg
  • Howard Gardner School, Alexandria
  • IQRA Academy, Richmond
  • John Champe High School, Loudoun County Schools
  • Millwood School, Midlothian
  • Open Door Learning Center, Leesburg
  • Rainbow Station, Wyndham, Glen Allen
  • Tawheed Prep School, Richmond
New and Departing Council Members
AdvancED Virginia welcomes Ms. Scottie Clowdis to the AdvancED Virginia council. Ms. Clowdis is a Business and Information Technology instructor at Halifax County High School with 13 years of service in Halifax schools. She also is an adjunct teacher for Danville and Southside Community Colleges.

We thank John Reynolds, Rockbridge County Schools Superintendent, for his three years of service to our AdvancED Virginia Council. Mr. Reynolds will retire from Rockbridge County at the end of the year. Best of luck, John!

A Few Reminders…
Demographics Update: Don’t forget to update your school or school system demographics in the AdvancED database. We depend on you to ensure that your demographics are kept current in ASSIST™. To update your demographics, please go to www.advanc-ed.org and log in with your email address and password. Select ASSIST and access the Profile from the selections. Access the Demographics Update link to review and make corrections as needed. If you need assistance, please contact, DeDe Alderman Administrative Assistant, AdvancED Virginia.

Annual Accreditation Fees: If you haven’t mailed your annual AdvancED accreditation fees, please do so as soon as possible. If you need a copy of the invoice, contact DeDe Alderman.

Volunteers for External Review Teams: AdvancED Virginia always is looking for experienced educators to serve on External Review Teams. It is an outstanding professional development opportunity. If you would like to serve on a school or school system External Review Team contact DeDe Alderman.


 
AdvancED, the home of NCA CASI, NWAC and SACS CASI, is dedicated to
advancing excellence in education worldwide.


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