Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Council on Accreditation and School Improvement(SACS/CASI)   Summer Conference

Patricia A. Grimsley, Coordinator
Florida School Choice Resource
Nova Southeastern University

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS/CASI) is the organization which accredits schools, colleges and universities. Florida CASI currently accredits over 1,800 elementary, middle, and secondary schools, public and nonpublic, across the state of Florida. Annually, SACS/CASI hosts a summer conference for Florida schools and colleges. Dr. Patricia Grimsley, Coordinator, professional development for Florida School Choice Resource Center, attended this conference on June 11 -12, 2007, in Orlando Florida. The training qualifies one to serve as a peer reviewer of schools. By becoming eligible to work with schools in the state adds another dimension to the Florida School Choice Resource Center. Many charter, independent, and parochial schools volunteer to participate in the accreditation process.

SACS/CASI has now become a division of Advanc/ED which includes Middle States Association of   Colleges and Schools, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Through this division, SACS has updated its review process. The new process uses research based information to guide the peer review process. The seven new standards are comprehensive statements of quality practices and conditions that research and best practices indicate are necessary for schools to achieve quality student performance and organizational effectiveness. Those standards are:   (1) Vision and Purpose; (2) Governance and Leadership; (3) Teaching and Learning; (4) Documenting and Using Results; (5) Resources and Support Systems; (6) Stakeholder Communication and Relationships; and (7) Commitment to Continuous Improvement. Through the use of these standards, school will meet high standards, engage in continuous improvement, and demonstrate quality assurance through external review.

Attendance at the conferences does not automatically ensure participation on a review team, but it does improve the likelihood of being selected as a peer review team member. Dr. Grimsley availed herself of several workshops at the conference which will give her a better understanding of the review process and will make her a more effective team member when serving on peer review teams. The Accreditation for the 21 st Century: The AdvancED Process was a three hour session on the new accreditation process which goes into effect July 1, 2007. It was presented by Dr. Nikki Armato of AdvancED. The standards were carefully reviewed and explanations were given on how a school demonstrates fulfillment of each standard. Charter Schools:   Empowered by Choice was presented by Dr. Marjorie Wessel, principal of Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores, Florida.   Dr. Wessel explained why her charter elected to become accredited by SACS/CASI and the process that the school undertook to meet the high standards of the organization. Charter schools are not required to be accredited by SACS/CASI. The third session on Continuous Improvement in High Poverty-High Minority Rate Schools was presented by Mr. Floyd Henry, Principal of Lake Shore Middle School, Belle Glade, Florida. Mr. Henry has been able to move his school forward each year and show improvement, which he and his staff have tailored for the population served. He was quick to point out that he may not make the gains that the state recommends with his student population, but his gains are continuous. Mr. Henry stressed that monitoring and a very participatory administrative staff are the most important strategies in this model. Implementing Schoolwide Professional Development to Improve Reading Achievement was presented by Dr. Kimberly Knutson of Palm Beach County School District. Using funds from a grant which she authored, Dr. Knutson taught a school how to effectively use the Scholastic Reading Inventory and Lexile Framework to improve reading in the school. The entire school participated in this data-driven process and the results were positive.

On Tuesday, June 12, 2007, Dr. Grimsley attended a session entitled District Accreditation Process III:   Preparing for the District Accreditation Quality Assurance Review Visit (QAR) .    School districts may also be accredited by SACS. This workshop outlined the details of a SACS visit for a district review. Dr. Dody Sapp was the presenter.   Dr. Simon Johnson, a SACS/CASI, peer review team chairperson and Mr. Rocky Pace presented a session entitled What Schools Do That Work:   Welcoming and Working with Your QAR Team Members. This was a practical session which gave pointers to schools about how to prepare from beginning to the end of the visit. Dr. Johnson and Mr. Pace have been working with SACS for over 27 years and they shared some of the things that schools can do to ensure a successful visit. The final session, entitled Breakthrough-at-a-Glance was presented by Dr. Armato. Breakthrough School Improvement is a continuous improvement process that schools can elect to use as a model for school improvement. This process was developed by the National Study of School Evaluation and is research-based. While SACS/CASI or AdvancED cannot require a school improvement model, the organization supports Breakthrough because it is research based.

Overall, the conference was most informative for a first timer. The organization is prestigious and known throughout the United States for the work that it does. While accreditation is not required, it gives schools, colleges, universities and districts prestige when it is accredited by SACS/CASI or another regional accreditation organization under this umbrella.