Greetings!
You won’t see me around for the first three days of next week because I’ll be
on a little jaunt up to Steamboat Springs.
Instead of packing my skis and poles, I’ll be traveling with briefcase,
laptop and a pile of documents.
As
a school head within the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS), it
is my honor and privilege to spend a few days helping a fellow school along on
their journey of self-improvement.
Each
of ACIS’ 32 schools, Friends’ School included, commits to a seven year cycle of
evaluation for accreditation. ACIS is a non-profit
organization dedicated to the continuous improvement of member schools by
providing accreditation, professional development, and advocacy services. It is
affiliated with the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).
A seven year evaluation cycle holds schools
accountable for complying with ACIS’ high accreditation standards. The
evaluation cycle begins with two years of preparatory work, including reviewing
the school’s mission followed by a rigorous self-study process in which the
school community conducts an honest and comprehensive analysis of its strengths
and challenges in every area of the school.
In year three of the cycle, ACIS appoints an
evaluation team that spends four days on campus to conduct interviews and
classroom observations, review documents, and develop their own assessment of
the school’s strengths and challenges in response to the school community’s
self-evaluation. During the school visit, the team evaluates the school’s
compliance with government regulations and the NAIS Principles of Good Practice. I will be
chairing that evaluation team next week at Emerald Mountain School in
Steamboat.
At Friends, we are in the first year of our seven
year cycle – the year in which we examine and review our school’s mission. This
is our third cycle since the school was first accredited in 1999.
Friends’ mission currently states:
“Friends’ School is a supportive, dynamic community
committed to educating the whole child — head, hand, and heart. Our students
acquire a strong academic foundation while developing creative expression,
social responsibility, and respect for diversity and the individual. We
challenge students and teachers to reach their full potential as engaged,
lifelong learners.”
A dedicated team of teachers, staff,
parents, and Board members is actively engaged in a process to review our
mission. The process includes a careful
assessment of each word in the mission and how it reflects our current practice
and beliefs. Our Board of Trustees holds
their annual retreat tomorrow (Saturday) and review of our mission will be part
of the day.
Friends’ School’s mission is our
“north star”. It is the lens through
which we view our programs and make decisions on what is best for the children
in our care. We are not anticipating
that our mission will change dramatically. It is still what we believe about
our school community and how our students and Teacher Candidates learn.
However, mission review is an essential process for an organization to engage
in from time to time.
We welcome feedback from parents and
all our constituents on our mission review process. If you would like to share any of your own
thoughts with me to pass along to the review team and the Board, please send me
a note.
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