NEASC Continues DISHS's Accreditation

Post date: May 01, 2012 5:30:39 PM

As part of the accreditation process for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, each member school is required to submit a two-year progress report after their evaluation visit. DISHS submitted its two-year progress report on October 1st, 2011. On April 4th, 2012, I received a letter from the Commission on Public Secondary Schools acknowledging that they have accepted our two year progress report and continuing our accreditation. The Commission identified positive aspects of school improvement since the visiting team was here in October 2010 and since our special progress report was submitted February 1st, 2011.

The Commission has also asked for another special progress report, due January 2nd, 2013, to provide an update on our progress at:

• • Reviewing our core values, beliefs, and learning expectations as part of the strategic planning process;

  • submitting a timeline to complete the vertical alignment, K-12, of the curriculum;

  • increase opportunities for all students in all classes to frequently participate in higher order thinking; and

  • fix the walkway to the music modular building.

We currently have plans in place to address all four recommendations that are on the special progress report. When we meet in the summer and very early fall to create our School Improvement Action Plan for next year, we will adjust our curriculum development plan to ensure that there is a timeline for completing the vertical alignment of the curriculum and that there are frequent opportunities in the curriculum for higher order thinking for all students.

Despite the note of concern at the end of the letter, we have developed a plan to address all of the recommendations from the visiting teams report in our five-year progress report, due in March of 2014. I review this plan every 6-8 weeks and update as recommendations are moved forward and eventually completed.