Welcome to the third and final article in the accreditation series! In part I, I discussed three strategies to use during the year PRIOR to your accreditation visit. In part II, I discussed five strategies to help you manage all tasks that must be completed during the actual year of the accreditation visit. In this post, I will discuss how to plan for the external review visit.
As I mentioned in my last post, my district is accredited through AdvancED, and a major requirement – and the culmination of the district’s work – is the three-day external review. During the external review, a team of outside educators are on-site to review the district’s work and to determine how well the district meets the accreditation standards.
At this point, surveys have been administered, data has been analyzed, reports have been written, and presentations are ready. So what is left to do for the external review? Well, the external review is all about managing logistics. Here are my four methods for getting the external review right:
1. Form stakeholder groups.
For your external review, the review team may want to speak with groups of parent and community stakeholders. About two and a half weeks before the review, I formed two groups of 10 – 12 prospective partners.
Because people’s schedules change, I planned for slightly bigger groups than I thought I needed. A good thing I did, since some of my stakeholders cancelled.
So where do you find your stakeholders? Think about existing groups and teams that have community partner members, such as a Career and Technical Education advisory group. Often members of these existing teams will be more than happy to participate in the accreditation process. And as a bonus, these members are knowledgeable about the district’s work and can provide important – and positive – connections for the review team members.
You may find, as I did, that as a central office administrator, you have more access to community partners than to parents. However, your stakeholder groups need to be a mix of parent and community stakeholders. Fortunately, the principals at each of our schools were able to provide parent participants. And when some of the community partners that I had invited were unable to participate, the principals were able to invite additional parents. (Yay, principals!)
- Plan for lodging and food.
You want to make sure that you have nice accommodations for your review team members. Choose a hotel that also has a conference room that you can reserve for the team’s evening work sessions.
The district will have to provide breakfast and dinner at the hotel. The hotel may be able to handle these needs (free continental breakfasts or hotel restaurant). If the hotel does not have catering capabilities, you may need to look to an outside caterer. Sometimes a nearby restaurant can be the answer.
In addition to food and snacks at the hotel, you will need to ensure that the team has refreshments (at the central office and at schools) and lunch. I utilized our Family and Consumer Sciences program to provide all food requirements while the team was on-site.
Make sure you know what your budget is for the team’s accommodations and food. This area can get expensive in a hurry! For those of us in small districts, the number of members on the team is likely to be small, but these items can add up quickly.
- Transportation and drivers.
Some of your team members may drive in, but others may fly, and for those who fly, transportation to and from the airport is a must. In addition, plan for drivers to pick the team up each morning and deliver them to the appropriate district site each day.
I was fortunate with our visit because all of our external team members drove in. And because all of our schools are on one campus, I did not have to plan for multiple drivers to multiple sites.
- Plan your exit meeting.
At the end of the review, the team will typically present their preliminary findings. If your district has truly been committed to the continuous improvement process, this should be a fun and rewarding meeting. Invite board members, central office administrators, community partners to the exit meeting.
If possible, ask members of the press to cover the meeting. It is a great way to generate positive press and generate positive buzz about the work of your district.
Then,
CELEBRATE!
So there you have it, folks! If you want a quick reference Hosting a District Accreditation Visit Checklist that brings together all the suggestions from this three-part series, click the link above or click the image below.
In case you missed them:
How to Host a Successful Accreditation Visit – Part I: Prior Year Preparation
How to Host a Successful Accreditation Visit – Part II: Implementing and Managing a Plan
I am sure that next time, I will make some changes and try to improve on our process. What suggestions do you have for having a successful accreditation visit? Please share in the comments section!
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