News - Local News

POSTED: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

Bellingham public schools getting accredited

When checking out private schools, most parents look into whether the school is accredited and can be counted on to provide a quality education.

But have you ever asked if your public school is accredited?

In Washington, public school accreditation is optional, but most schools go through the process.

"It's not required, but it's recommended," said Sherrie Brown, deputy superintendent for the Bellingham School District who has been involved in many school accreditations, both from the school side and the accreditation team side.

All four Bellingham high schools are going through the process this school year. Bellingham High has already received its accreditation report, and Options and Squalicum high schools had their site visits earlier this month. Sehome High will go through the process in the spring.

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is the process by which the quality of the school can be vouched for by a respected outside agency.

Public schools in Washington are accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. Schools that choose to be accredited go through the process every six years.

To be accredited by the NAAS, schools must meet the eight Core Standards for Accreditation:

-- teaching and learning;

-- curriculum;

-- instruction;

-- assessment;

-- leadership and organization;

-- school services;

-- support;

-- school improvement.

Schools also must have a continuous school improvement plan and have completed a self study.

What is the benefit to school accreditation?

Mostly, it gives credence to the school when students are applying to college. But not having your school accredited can be a hindrance. For example, the Bellingham School District has a policy that allows students to transfer up to only two credits from a non-accredited public or private institution.

What is the process like?

First, school officials and staff do a comprehensive self study, looking at how the school measures up to the Core Standards for Accreditation.

When Bellingham High School Principal Steve Clarke was preparing for the school's accreditation visit in October, he gathered as much data as he could find on how the school has changed and improved over the years. Then he had the staff take a survey, rating the school on all the different criteria the accreditation team would measure.

"You have in your mind what you think you are, where you're strong and where you're weak," he said, "but it's a whole different thing to have the whole staff sit together and talk about the school and then have outsiders come in."

After the comprehensive self study, an accreditation team comes for a site visit. The site visit team consists of teachers and education officials deemed "experts" in their given field, said Brown, who has been on several such teams. The team spends the entire day at the school, reviewing the self study, observing classes, talking to students and staff and examining school grounds.

"You really lift up all the rocks and really take a look at what they're doing and what they said," Brown said. "You want to open up your school and get as much feedback as you can."

At the end of the day, the site visit team determines if the school meets all the criteria. Even if the school passes with flying colors, the team will provide feedback on where improvements can be made.

What happens if a school doesn't pass?

If a school doesn't pass after the site visit, officials need to create an updated school improvement plan, reflecting the recommendations from the site visit team. The accreditation agency will help the school comply with the plan and improve and then bring in another site visit team, Brown said.

What is the cost?

Clarke said the cost is mostly time, though if anyone on the site visit team is a teacher from another school, they cover the cost of a substitute, which can run up to a few hundred dollars.

Where can you find a list of accredited schools?

At this point, there is no comprehensive list. There is an online list of schools accredited through the NAAS, but several local schools were accredited a few years ago by the State Board of Education, before rules were changed and the agency stopped providing public school accreditation. Those schools' accreditations have not expired yet.

The best way to find out is to call the school and ask.