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by the Journalism Classes at Kean High
It’s not official yet, but Kean High met the approval of the accreditation team from Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools during their official site visit beginning February 27. http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/kean-gets-thumbs-up-from-evaluators-1.1280138#axzz1q9FEPYxJ
Dr. John Plesha, who headed up the team of five professional educators for Middle States, told the jubilant Kean faculty that he was recommending the school for approval without any stipulations. Middle States will make their formal recommendation in October.
Teachers spent weeks prepping students for the upcoming visit. ‘’They are going to be here to find out if the teachers are working toward preparing the students both for the real and academic world,’’ said Ms. Ileve Peltier, an English teacher. “They want to ensure that the environment is conducive for learning.’’
The team of five, including teachers from St. Croix and Puerto Rico, moved throughout the school to talk to “everyone-- all the stakeholders of Kean,” according to Ms. Patricia Evans, a Spanish teacher.
Students were told to “Be nice, show respect and be honest,” Ms. Evans said when asked what students can do to make the visit go well.
In an effort to see how well the school meets the 12 standards required for accreditation by Middle States, team members sat in classes, sampled the lunchroom food, checked out the bathrooms, and reviewed the school’s finances.
Some teachers approached the visit with confidence. “I think the school is ready, and I don’t see a problem. We have been through tougher situations, and we are in much better conditions now. The gymnasium looks great and our field is being worked on,” said Ms. Lucia Francis, chairperson of the Social Studies Department.
But there is still at least one issue of concern. “The gym is fixed, but the track is a provisional area that is needed for accreditation,” said Ms. Bodecia Gordon, a Business Department teacher.
“The government started the job seven years ago when the team came here, but after the team left, the construction stopped weeks after,” Ms. Gordon explained. “This makes us look like pretenders because the information is passed on from the previous years. All in all, the government would be a huge obstacle in accreditation because they don’t meet their requirements.” [Please see related articles on the gym and track on this website.]
“Accreditation is very vital to the school, faculty, and the students of Kean High,” according to Mr. Seymour Bernier, the head of the Health and Safety committee. Without it, “We would not be able to get federal funding for a number of programs,” he added.
“We need to be accredited because it is important for students who plan to attend college, and it is also important for the name of the school,’’ said Ms. Peltier.
Kean High has gained and lost accreditation from Middle States once already. Principal Sharon McCollum said she came to Kean as an assistant principal when the school was first applying for accreditation in 1995. At that time, the gym was not yet functional, and accreditation was delayed several years until it was completed. Dr. McCollum was transferred to another school in 1998.
Ms. Lydia Lettsome was principal of Kean High in 2002 when Kean High and Charlotte Amalie High School both lost their accreditation because the commissioner at that time, Dr. Ruby Simmonds, did not meet the deadlines to apply for the re-accreditation process.
Dr. McCollum said she was brought back as principal in 2003 to lead the school back to its former status as an accredited high school. Kean High was re-accredited in 2005 and was required, as most schools are, to reapply after seven years. “We’re not losing it on my watch,” she told the faculty at a meeting last year.
Led by Assistant Principal Sally Petty, the faculty met since last spring in committees and by departments to prepare for this week in February.
“We have a monthly department meeting where we discuss everything such as methodologies, problems, visions for student performance, improvements, new trends in education, and report on any workshops teachers may have attended,” said Ms. Hyacinth Caleb who chairs the English Department.
One of their major challenges teachers have faced is “The lack of time to meet,” according to Ms. Frances Rutnik, who heads up the Art Department. She said teachers often had to meet after school because the Department of Education did not allow for planning time during the school day as they did in the past years.
In recent months, the Department of Education [DOE] has been working to improve the physical condition of the school. Maintenance crews have painted the outside walls of buildings, updated the bathrooms, posted new signs, and installed new security cameras.
When asked how much money was spent for accreditation, Dr. McCollum said “two hundred thousand plus” for maintenance and other costs. The team stayed at Frenchman’s Reef Hotel, which was part of the cost.
While most students appreciate the improvements, not everyone has been impressed with the DOE’s efforts. One senior stated that the school and administration are "voluminous opportunists.”
More negative than positive, this annoyed, frustrated, and highly upset senior told a Kean Web Express reporter, “Why only now they want to be fixing up this and that, building a fish farm which no one would pay no mind to? I was in class and they come in to stick exit signs above our door, like we didn't know where to exit from before. I see that teachers now have to put their plaques of achievements on the door. Now you tell me, miss, do you think the administration really care[s] about that? June, hurry come, because I am gone and never looking back.”
Most students, however, were hoping that Kean would prove itself to be on par with other schools within the territory. Kean is the third school in the St. Thomas-St. John district to apply for accreditation this year. Charlotte Amalie High School and Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School hosted visits from teams in the fall of 2011. Both of those schools will be re-accredited, according to The Virgin Islands Daily News.
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to its website, it is “a non-governmental, voluntary organization of educational institutions, acting through their respective Commissions (as defined below), committed to excellence in all levels across the continuum of education, whose purposes are to encourage, advance, assist and sustain the quality and integrity of education.” For further information, please follow this link: http://www.middlestates.org/index.html
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