AdvancED review team recommends MCSD for renewed accreditation

A review team from AdvancED, the Alpharetta, Ga.-based nonprofit organization that accredits the Muscogee County School District, has recommended renewing the accreditation.

MCSD announced the news Friday, following the AdvancED review team’s visit Oct. 29 through Nov. 1.

Superintendent David Lewis said in MCSD’s news release, “I would like to thank and commend our district and school personnel who diligently prepared for the team’s review visit, as well as our many community stakeholders, who assisted with this important endeavor. We enjoyed hosting the AdvancED Engagement Review Team and look forward to receiving the official report from AdvancED within the next couple of months, which will in turn be shared with the public in a School Board Work Session.”

AdvancED accreditation requires that districts meet AdvancED standards and accreditation policies, demonstrate quality assurance and engage in continuous improvement. As part of the accreditation process, a team comprising of 12 in-state and out-of-state educators conducts a site visit to include documentation validation, internal and external interviews and classroom observations.

The MCSD review included more than 700 interviews with students, parents, teachers, principals, administrators, board members and representative business, faith-based and community partners, according to the news release. The review team visited 12 schools, observed 128 classrooms and considered student performance data, School Improvement Plans, the District Improvement Plan and other evidence that MCSD is meeting the standards.

“The visiting team cited stakeholder engagement, allocation of resources, culture and the regional reorganization as district strengths,” MCSD said in the news release. “Suggested areas of continued focus were: the formal annual review of the district’s newly adopted mission, vision and values; consistent use of formative and summative assessments; individual student needs via the Multi-Tier Support System; and further integration of digital technology. The team is required to cite at least one targeted area for continuous improvement, which was the expanded development of a comprehensive professional learning program.”

MCSD’s current accreditation is from 2012-17.

“The MCSD is now recommended for National District Reaccreditation through AdvanED for the next five years,” school board secretary Karen Jones told the Ledger-Enquirer.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 3:36 PM with the headline "AdvancED review team recommends MCSD for renewed accreditation."