Catholic Schools Continue

This academic year, Diocese of Evansville schools are continuing the process of accreditation through AdvancED.

AdvancED is a “non-profit, non-partisan, accrediting agency that assists school in evaluating their effectiveness,” said Michelle Priar, assistant Superintsndent of Schools for the diocese.

While AdvancED does not serve Catholic schools exclusively, the organization offers a Catholic Identity component that schools can incorporate into the process. This is good news, as Catholic schools previously created their own assessments for evaluating spiritual environment.

All diocesan schools are participating in the accreditation process, joining the other four Indiana dioceses. This statewide effort is only taking place in Indiana.

Accreditation rests upon four domains: Mission and Catholic Identity; Governance and Leadership; Academic Excellence; and Operational Vitality. Future articles in this series will focus on the last three domains.

In order to evaluate Mission and Catholic Identity, schools are surveying three different groups that represent all “invested partners” – school faculty and staff, families and students in grades 5-12. 

The first of these surveys was conducted in October 2014; its results were featured in a previous issue of The Message.

Called the “Defining Characteristics” survey, it asked participants to rate the accuracy of 17 statements about Catholic identity in schools. Examples included “Our school makes Jesus and the teachings of the Catholic Church known to all students” and “Our school supports the social, emotional and spiritual growth of every student.”

On a scale of one (the lowest) to five (the highest), the average rating across all statements and all survey participants was 4.39 – between “agree” and “strongly agree.”

The second survey, called the “Program Effectiveness” survey, was completed earlier this year. While the number of survey items varied among stakeholder groups, the questions measured each school’s adherence to the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, which were developed at Loyola University.

This survey included statements like “Our school mission clearly expresses a commitment to Catholic identity” and “Our school administration effectively carries out its responsibilities in the areas of faith formation and instructional leadership.”

The average rating on this survey was 4.10 – like the results of the first survey, between “agree” and “strongly agree.”

The third survey, called a “Stakeholder” survey, will be conducted this coming fall. While the first two surveys evaluated the spiritual identity and vigor of diocesan schools, this survey will focus on academics and learning environment.

Priar emphasized that, while enabling schools to examine and improve their academic and spiritual standings, the AdvancED accreditation process is made even more valuable through its emphasis on community. AdvancED brings the thoughts and values of all stakeholders into its evaluation, spreading the positive impact of education throughout the community. “It’s not just about students and parents,” Priar said.