Spring 2001 Issue

The Way I See It Dear NCA CASI Members: On January 1, 2001, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI) replaced the Commission on Schools (COS). The new name of the commission reflects the purpose of our organization, while the name "Commission on Schools" reflected our membership. As we launch our new name, we are also beginning implementation of Performance Accreditation for schools beginning their first year of the improvement cycle this fall. In addition, we have just accredited our first Transitions schools. We are in our second year of district accreditation, and I would like to address district accreditation in this letter.

North Central accreditation is granted on a school-by-school basis, and typically schools have addressed school improvement on an individual basis. At the same time that we accredit building by building, we recognize that the school system's capacity to support school improvement has a tremendous influence on the implementation of building-level school improvement. While the goals may be established building by building, the resources within the district are usually controlled from outside the building.

Recently, NCA state directors have facilitated districts and systems of schools that wanted to implement school improvement as a district effort. Practitioners have clamored for guidance in implementing district accreditation. They have told me that district accreditation affords the opportunity to focus district resources (i.e., leadership, funding) in a coherent direction that aligns the capacities of the system.

From my point of view, district accreditation fulfills a need, especially in these times of increased attention to accountability. District accreditation focuses all school improvement activity in a common direction while allowing for interventions that are unique to the building staff. District accreditation helps conserve resources through systemic staff development. One of the bigger obstacles in data driven decision making is creating an effective student information system. Districts are often better positioned to develop and manage a student information system than individual buildings are. And, it goes withoutt saying that the documentation phase of school improvement can yield only what was recorded in the early phases. A school can only get easily discernable results when the data system is well designed.

Many NCA practitioners understand the potential power of a district improvement plan that is aligned with building-by-building school improvement. The Department of Defense Dependents' Schools (DoDDS) where NCA CASI monitors school improvement provide a powerful example of a large school system-global, in fact-that challenges individual schools to work synergistically for the common good.

For more information on district accreditation, contact your NCA state director or visit our web site at http://www.ncacasi.org/.

Sincerely,

Kenneth F. Gose
Executive Director
NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement