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Welcome to the 2014-15 School Year!
We hope your summer was restful and you were able to spend time with family and friends.  Your AdvancED Idaho staff spent the summer getting ready to provide you with continued outstanding service from the AdvancED Idaho Managing Office.  Our primary goal is to serve each of you with all of your school improvement and accreditation needs in an expeditious, courteous and helpful manner.  We also are available to come to Idaho schools and provide training as needed. Please feel free to contact us anytime. But, for now please mark your calendar and plan to attend the Regional Fall Accreditation Meeting in your area.  The dates, locations and the agenda are listed below.  All Idaho accredited schools are strongly encouraged to attend the following meetings:

 Region 1: September 11, 2014, NIC-location same as IHSAA-SUB, noon – 2:00 p.m.
 Region 2: September 10, 2014, Lewiston High School, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
 Region 3: September 16, 2014, Middleton High School, 9 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
 Region 4: September 22, 2014, Canyon Ridge High School, Twin Falls, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
 Region 5 and 6: September 18, 2014, Snake River High School, 10 a.m. - noon

On the agenda will be continued training to use the many components of the AdvancED Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools (ASSIST™).  Please see the dates above.  We will review the instructions to update the annually required demographics and Executive Summary, and we plan to provide training to access and complete staff, parent and student surveys.  We also will spend time sharing how the Accreditation Progress Report works for those schools who hosted External Reviews in 2012-13.  The report is a requirement for all institutions two years after their External Review.  The agenda also will include continued training to enter goals, objectives and activities into ASSIST. 

Welcome back, and we hope to see you during the fall training. Again, please feel free to contact us if you need assistance with your accreditation and school improvement needs.

Dale Kleinert, Director
dkleinert@advanc-ed.org
888.413.3669, ext.5509

Vikki Reynolds, Administrative Assistant
vreynolds@advanc-ed.org
888.413.3669, ext.5759

Quick Links Professional Development Calendar AdvancED Website Idaho State Department of Education AdvancED Council Contact Us

2014-15 Accreditation Requirements All accredited schools will be required to update their demographic information and the Executive Summary in ASSIST, which will fulfill the 2014-15 accreditation requirements for those schools who are not hosting an External Review.  All schools are required to complete the two sections (Demographics and Executive Summary) no later than October 15.  This required annual information will be reviewed by the AdvancED Idaho Council at their fall meeting.  Schools that will host their External Review during the 2014-15 school year participated in specialized trainings held throughout Idaho in June to learn about their additional requirements.  In addition, multiple webinar trainings were held between February and April to help schools prepare for their External Reviews.  External Reviews are scheduled throughout the school year, much the same as in the past.  External Review Team Members Needed Approximately 60 Idaho schools will host External Reviews this year.  Lead Evaluators have been assigned and additional team members are needed to serve throughout the state.  University credit from Northwest Nazarene University will once again be available to those who serve on teams.  If you have a review approaching in the next couple of years, this is a great opportunity to learn how the AdvancED Accreditation Process works. Contact your regional coordinator or the managing office to sign up. ASSIST/WISE School Improvement Pilot Project AdvancED and our Idaho managing office developed a substantial partnership this past year with the Idaho State Department of Education.  The objective of this partnership is to provide flexibility for districts and schools to meet state continuous improvement planning and reporting accountability requirements.  The goal is to eliminate duplication for three-star schools and school systems hosting an AdvancED External Review during the 2014-15 school year and gather data and feedback from the pilot to inform further statewide adoption and implementation. The institutions that are eligible to participate in the project will be able to use the ASSIST for their reporting accountability requirements.  Through this partnership, we aim to build leadership capacity in five of Idaho’s continuous improvement schools and one school system model to implement focused improvement efforts based on actionable data and information derived from standards-based internal and external evaluations.    External Review Schedule External reviews are the on-site reviews required of all AdvancED accredited schools every five years. To see the school year scheduled for your review, click on Five-year Visitation Schedule on the AdvancED Idaho Web page. You will be contacted by the AdvancED Idaho staff approximately one year in advance to begin the process. You are encouraged to use the services such as surveys and planning tools for your continuous improvement needs. AdvancED Launches Redesigned Website  AdvancED recently launched a redesigned website to provide visitors with an improved online experience. The result is a fresh, new look with streamlined navigation, real-time social media interaction and more concise and relevant information.  The new AdvancED site includes improved location maps for the over 40 AdvancED Managing Offices worldwide using Google Maps and mobile device viewing capabilities.  The new website truly reflects the work and scope of AdvancED from our advocacy efforts to our partnerships.  Please visit the site to see the new look and learn more about AdvancED.