Moving forward and moving ahead

While preparing for and engaging in the accreditation visit is time-consuming and demanding, it merely sets the stage for the most important element of the accreditation - school improvement.

A driving reason schools jump into the accreditation process is so that the educational experience for all stakeholders improves. Following the visit, an informal summary report will typically be shared with the school’s leadership team, with an official written summary soon to follow. The written summary will note whether accreditation has been awarded and will typically outline key strengths (commendations) as well as opportunities for growth (recommendations and matters to be addressed).

Given the accreditation summary represents the culmination of the work done by the entire community over an extended amount of time, it is highly encouraged that the report is shared formally, and publicly with the school at large.

As appropriate, it is also suggested that the sharing of the results is taken as a chance to celebrate the school’s successes as seen through the report. While there will always be improvements to be made, it is vital to celebrate the significant accomplishment of being accredited.

The summary report that is issued will determine the focus for school improvement across the various standards of the accrediting body.

It is important for the school to plan for the accreditation report to shape the school’s yearly operational goals, as well as its strategic plan.

Ideally, the school can time the accreditation process to coincide with the timing of the establishment of its goals and yearly objectives, as well as its yearly plan. The summary report will typically request a plan to address the areas of growth, including a timeline and resources needed to affect planned change. The summary report may dictate that certain elements are met by a given date, depending on the importance of the standard. For example, in matters of student safety, immediate changes may be mandated to happen by a given date, like the installation of lockable storage to guard chemicals in a science lab. Further, it may be the case that a follow-up visit may be scheduled to ensure that certain requirements are met.