District SACS Accreditation

Probably all of us have at one time or another have participated in a SACS accreditation. We may have done so as a teacher, parent, student, or combinations of each. All Talladega City Schools are accredited, which should serve as a point of pride for our school system. The fact that we are all accredited opens for us an opportunity which has only existed since 2002. That opportunity is “District SACS Accreditation.” The first three districts (Fulton County, GA; Cobb County, GA; and Volusia County, FL) achieved this goal in 2004. An additional 15 school district accreditation status in 2005, and another 57 earned theirs in 2006.

As of the beginning of this school year, only two Alabama school systems had achieved District SACS Accreditation. They are Russell County and Alexander City. A total of 28, however, were at some point in the process. Talladega City Schools was among those 28.

District Accreditation means that rather than each school hosting a SACS review team every five years, the school district hosts a visit every five years. Rather than every school compiling documents, the school district compiles one document. The process is designed to cut paperwork, cut expense, and transform a system of schools into a true school system.

We will host the District SACS Accreditation visit from February 24-27, 2008. The team will spend a great deal of time talking to various groups of people about our vision, our plans, where we are strong, and where we would like to be better. From what they see and hear from us and our written documentation, they will be looking for three things:

• Do we meet the seven SACS Standards?
• Do we have a plan for continuous school improvement?
• Do we, as a school system, have a method of monitoring ourselves to insure that we are following our plan, continually updating that plan, and moving in a direction of quality education for all stakeholders?

As we prepare for our SACS visit, we want and need the input of many people. The first such area is helping identify examples of how we meet each of the seven standards. Each of us will see things and think of things which others miss.

If you click on this link, it will take you to a document showing you the seven standards and their indicators. (If you are asked for a password, simply click "Cancel.") We need your input on what evidence you see that we meet those indicators. As you have input, simply add a comment right on this blog post. Over the course of the next few months, we will focus more on one standard or another. The end result will be a narrative in which we have all played a part.

We already have a plan for continuous school improvement. Each school has a School Improvement Plan, and the school system has an LEA Improvement Plan. As we update these plans, we will be keeping in mind that these are the documents we will be presenting to our visiting team.

You will see posts regularly between now and our visit asking for your input and giving you information as we proceed together on this journey.