Liberty County School System was accredited during a called meeting Wednesday for the next five years by AdvanceED, an outside company that evaluates the efficiency of school systems.
The official accreditation will go into effect in about a month when the review comes back, Superintendent Dr. Judy Scherer said. As far as making the required changes, the LCSS has the full five years to implement the company’s requirements into the system.
“It’s always nice to have your work validated, and this school system is a very good school system,” Scherer said. “We’ve worked very hard to meet the needs of our students and create an atmosphere that students, parents and community members are involved in for the education of the kids.”
If the system had lost accreditation, it would mostly impact high school students, as colleges won’t accept credits from any school that does not have accreditation, which is why the evaluation is so important, Scherer said.
Andre Harrison, lead evaluator for AdvanceED and SACS/CASI, gave the quality assurance review team overview and announced that the school district met requirements to be accredited for the second time in 10 years. Only a few required changes are necessary of the system, Harrison said.
Ten years ago, the schools were individually accredited, Scherer said.
“You all have done a phenomenal job [utilizing resources],” Harrison told BoE members and the audience of teachers, staff and educators. The lead evaluator also told the audience that he was impressed with the use of technology in the classrooms. “You’ve done a lot of great things here.”
The team of seven interviewed parents, students and staff of the LCSS and visited several schools as a part of the process to ensure that the school system meets the needs of students. Community members also were interviewed as a part of the evaluation process.
Every five years, the team re-evaluates and collects data as a way to make sure that the teaching across the system is uniform, Harrison said. Upon arrival, the team listened to district presentations, interviewed samples of all district stakeholder groups, examined relevant documents, visited several schools and observed teaching practices in the classroom.
In the next few weeks, the board will analyze the data and interview information collected for a compiled report to benefit the LCSS and serve as official notice that the school system is accredited.
The system was commended for the following items:
• Various methods of communication available to parents
• Efficient use of financial resources to promote teaching
• A technology-rich environment for students
• Recruiting and retaining high-quality employees
• Strong community partnerships established
• Quality pre-k program
• Impressive upkeep of school facilities and grounds
The system is required to take action on the following items:
• Create formative assessments at all grade levels “to support teaching and learning improvements within the system”
• Create a way to better monitor each individual school’s progress and how to make improvements at each school
After submitting the finalized review to the LCSS, the district and all its schools will have a five-year-term accreditation.
“We are very excited; we’re very pleased to have five more years of accreditation,” Scherer said.
Chairwoman Lily Baker also thanked the audience, staff and AdvancED team for their support.
“We can’t thank you enough … It takes a lot to do this. We enjoyed the interviews … So we’ve got five years and some things to work on.”