District Administration - November 2008 - (Page 24)

Briefings NewsUpdate Looking Hard at Accreditation districts should ensure that “the standards of accreditation always guide your improvement efforts,” says Mark a. elgart, president and Ceo of advanceed, which handles accreditation standards and processes for SaCS and North Central association. he also advises that districts be as transparent as possible in the accreditation process and in sharing with the public their efforts to improve. elgart also recommends that districts “have an informed relationship with your community so that they can remain involved in a supportive way.” accreditation revocation is usually a rare occurrence. In the western association of Schools and Colleges, which deals with schools in California and hawaii, only five to 10 schools annually lose accreditation, says executive director david Brown. last year, King City high School—located about 100 miles south of San Jose— lost its accreditation and was directed to improve in such areas as parent involvement and the use of test data. Brown urges districts to take the Few people have ever heard the word “accreditation” paired with K12 schools, much less shown a familiarity with the accreditation process. Yet when Clayton County (Ga.) public Schools became in September the first district in nearly 40 years to lose the status, the term suddenly made headlines, illustrating the high stakes that the seal of approval carries for school leaders. The Southern association of Colleges and Schools revoked the school’s accreditation, citing a dysfunctional school board whose members violated an ethics policy and allowed for improper outside influences on decision making. losing accreditation doesn’t just mean losing public confidence in education. It could mean students are ineligible to apply to some colleges or some scholarships. There are six regional K12 accreditation bodies that periodically have experts review documentation and make visits to schools as part of the accreditation process. In general schools are expected to meet similar standards. By staying focused on standards and preparing for and managing the accreditation process, districts can ensure that they don’t share the same fate as Clayton County, experts say. Clayton County students call for the resignation of the school board following their district’s loss of accreditation. Inset: A school board member, Jessie Goree, right, with State Rep. Mike Glanton (D.), after accreditation was lost. accreditation process seriously, noting that waSC provides free training on how to navigate the full-scale self-study required as part of the accreditation process. Schools also should look at recommendations received from the accrediting body in previous years to ensure that those concerns have been addressed. —Kevin Butler Big Apple School Gets Green Makeover StudeNtS at BeeKMaN hIll INterNatIoNal School on Manhattan’s upper east Side might feel like they’re floating in air when they exercise in the building’s top floor gymnasium, and it’s because they are. The gym’s floor uses a system supported by springs to minimize noise and vibrations for 22 classrooms below—just one of the innovative construction elements students and educators enjoy at what is now New York City’s first green public school. developed through a partnership between the educational Construction Fund, an arm of the New York City Board of education, and real estate 24 November 2008 developer world-wide Group, the top-rated pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade school is the first to comply with the city education department’s Green Schools rating system. The school is housed in what used to be the Manhattan eye, ear, and Throat hospital, and the designers, ehrenkrantz eckstut & Kuhn architects, even saved on materials and resources by reusing the building’s exterior shell. “what’s helped is that we already had an existing building,” says ee&K associate principal raya ani. to take a truly sustainable approach, she says, it’s important to “work with what you have.” The school uses an hvaC system that monitors air temperature and automatically adjusts to optimize comfort levels and energy consumption, and insulated windows reduce heating and cooling loads. The building has no boilers, consumes no fossil fuels, and produces no carbon dioxide emissions. District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - November 2008

District Administration - November 2008
School Breakfasts: An Added Value
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
1-2-3 Campus Safety
News Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Snacks as Part of Your School Nutrition Program
Technology
Facilities & Construction
Admissions
DA Web Seminars
Leadership Assessment
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Technology Books
Professional Opinion
Supervisor’s Opinion
Crisis Response
Problem Solution
Research Center

District Administration - November 2008