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The AdvancED WYO Prep Academy is a new feature that will be included in all AdvancED Wyoming monthly newsletters to help school systems and schools prepare for External Reviews. As External Reviews draw near, certain tasks do need to occur to ensure a quality review for both the school and the External Review Team. Continuous improvement is something that must occur at all times, not just every five years in preparation for an accreditation review. Consider how your school system and schools view and practice continuous improvement.
Next fall, the southwest corner of Wyoming will be hosting AdvancED External Reviews. This includes: Laramie#1; Lincoln #1; Lincoln #2; Sublette #1, Sublette #9; Sweetwater #1; Sweetwater #2; Teton #1; Uinta #1, Uinta #4; Uinta #6.
All school systems and their schools must complete their Accreditation Reports early in September 2014. The Accreditation Report consists of several elements. Following is a list of the elements that make up the Accreditation Report along with suggestions on when these tasks should be conducted:
- Executive Summary—This narrative tells your school or system’s story. It could be completed any time. Why wait?
- Self Assessment—Why not kick off the school year with this, if it hasn’t been conducted yet? This tool could be used every year to monitor continuous improvement. Please make certain that this is completed in collaboration with the entire school staff and system representatives and stakeholders. It is not meant to be completed by just one or two people “guessing” at the community’s perspectives of the system and school(s).
- Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic—These are the surveys that AdvancED requires. Stakeholder feedback is essential to continuous improvement. If you have not yet administered these surveys, it is strongly suggested that these surveys be completed BEFORE the end of this school year (2013-2014).
- Student Performance Diagnostic—This is a description of what assessments are used to measure student achievement and how the assessments are administered. This section could be completed in May, after most assessment have been administered.
- AdvancED Assurances—These are “yes/no basics” that all AdvancED accredited schools must have in place. This could be submitted any time.
- Improvement Plan—This is required to be updated in ASSIST each year by November 1. The team is happy to review your most current improvement plan, whether it be this school year’s or next.
A veritable bonanza of resources awaits to help with all things “AdvancED Accreditation and continuous improvement” at the Accreditation Resources and Tools for School Systems Web page for school system personnel and the Accreditation Resources and Tools for Schools Web page for school personnel.
If you are struggling with what you need to find at the above resources or need help locating these resources, don’t hesitate to contact Geri Fitzgerald at 307.399.9819.
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Want to Serve as an External Team Member?
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Serving as an External Team member can be some of the best professional development any teacher, curriculum director and superintendent can experience. We now are collecting names of those who would like to serve on one of the External Review Teams next school year. Priority to serve will be given first to those individuals whose school systems are up for review school year 2015-2016. The reviews are occurring this fall on the following dates: October 5-9; October 12-16; October 19-23; and October 26-30. Please send your name along with the date(s) that work best for you to Geri Fitzgerald.
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Session and Exhibitor Proposal Forms Due
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If you are interested in either presenting a session or being an Exhibitor at our Fall Continuous Improvement Conference, please visit the AdvancED Wyoming Web page to access the forms from the Resources section. All forms are due June 1.
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Spring Conference Success
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Despite the poor weather and smaller attendance, the Spring School Improvement Conference was a huge success! The two keynote speakers, Vicki Davis and Debbie Silver, hit the ball out of the park with their message and their humor. The sessions were all very well attended, and the feedback we received was nothing but positive.
AdvancED Wyoming is considering changing things up a tiny bit in the fall, so stay tuned! The AdvancED Wyoming Fall Continuous Improvement Conference will be held in Cheyenne at Little America, Monday and Tuesday, September 29-30, 2014. By popular demand, Heidi Hayes Jacobs will be back! She will not only present a keynote address, but will stay all day Monday and hold break-out sessions as well. We are looking forward to Heidi's message.
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An interesting article showed up on Twitter recently. As AdvancED seeks to stay on the cutting edge and help all of its accredited schools and school systems stay with us on this journey, we thought it was worth sharing. Check out the link below.
21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020
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Each System, Each School, Every Year
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If you are still preparing for your External Review, here is a list of what schools and school systems must do in order to maintain AdvancED Accreditation:
- Adhere to the AdvancED Standards for Quality
- Engage in ongoing self assessment and continuous improvement
- Document results of improvement efforts
- Update school demographic and contact information
- Notify AdvancED of any substantive changes in the school's ability to meet the Standards
Do these activities represent something out of the norm? No, these activities should become a part of doing business. As long as systems continuously improve, so will the performance of its different parts. The ultimate beneficiaries of continuous improvement are the STUDENTS.
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AdvancED, the home of NCA CASI, NWAC and SACS CASI, is dedicated to
advancing excellence in education worldwide.
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