AdvancED Team Recommends Accreditation For Diocesean Catholic Schools
An external review team from AdvancED announced on Sept. 14 that it is recommending accreditation for Diocese of Evansville Catholic schools for the next five years. The national leadership of AdvancED will act on the recommendation within the next 90-100 days.
The Diocesan Catholic Schools Office hosted the review team Sept. 11-14. It reviewed the system and a cross-section of diocesan Catholic schools to evaluate the system’s adherence to the AdvancED accreditation standards and to make a recommendation regarding AdvancED accreditation.
To earn accreditation, systems must: 1) meet the AdvancED accreditation standards; 2) implement a continuous process of improvement; and 3) host an external review team once every five years.
As a part of the accreditation process, a team of trained professionals from across the nation reviewed Diocese of Evansville Catholic Schools documents and performance data; interviewed diocesan, school and community stakeholders; conducted site reviews at several schools; and observed system and school practices in action. The team offered recognition of strong practices and provided information on areas for improvement to the system.
“AdvancED School System Accreditation is a rigorous process that demonstrates to our students, parents and community that we are focused on a strong Catholic identity, raising student achievement, providing safe and enriching learning environments, and maintaining efficient and effective operations staffed by highly qualified educators,” said Diocesan Superintendent of Schools Daryl Hagan.
In two years, the Catholic Schools Office must report to AdvancED its progress in addressing the external review team’s improvement priorities. “We believe strongly that the AdvancED School System Accreditation Process will make us even better,” Hagan said. “Students win when the entire school system commits to examining all of its processes and systems to determine what more we can be doing to benefit the students we serve. This is the essence of the accreditation process
Members of the community who wish to review the commendations and recommendations made by the external review team should contact the Catholic Schools Office. Parents and interested community members also can learn more about the AdvancED School System Accreditation Process at www.advanc-ed.org.
About AdvancED
AdvancED is the world leader in providing improvement and accreditation services to education providers of all types in their pursuit of excellence in serving students. AdvancED serves as a trusted partner to more than 32,000 schools and school systems—enrolling more than 20 million students—across the United States and 70 countries.
The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS ASI) are accreditation divisions of AdvancED.
