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District Accreditation

Our vision is to develop principled students
prepared for life after graduation.
 

For many years the Enterprise City Schools have enjoyed the distinction of being the first public school system in Alabama to be fully accredited, both by the State of Alabama and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

With an even grander vision for quality assurance in mind, in 2006 the Southern Association merged with the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement and the National Study of School Evaluation to form AdvancED, headquartered in Decatur, Georgia.  AdvancED currently oversees school accreditation in 30 states and in 65 foreign countries.

In August 2008, upon recommendation by the System's administration, the local Board formally committed the System's eleven schools to AdvancED's progressive and ambitious model for system-wide accreditation.  The AdvancED model will serve as the framework for supporting continuous improvement which focuses first and foremost on the enhancement of student learning.

More specific objectives being pursued by the system in terms of accreditation are the following:

  1. Meeting AdvancED standards.  The AdvancED  Accreditation Standards for Quality School Systems are derived from educational research and best practice.  They are centered on teaching and learning and encompass all aspects of a system.  The standards require that schools have a clear vision and purpose; have effective and responsive leadership; have a rigorous curriculum taught through sound, research-based methods; collect, report, and use performance results; provide adequate resources and support for its educational programs; value and communicate with stakeholders; and have a commitment to continuously improve.  
     
  2. Engaging in a continuous process of improvement.  An accredited system is committed to being better today than it was yesterday.  The system and all of its schools identify a shared vision, maintain a district-wide profile of the current reality, establish plans and assess the implementation of interventions, and document the results of their efforts to improve student learning and school/system effectiveness. 
     
  3. Demonstrating quality assurance through internal and external review.  Internal review involves district and school stakeholders.  External review involves feedback from experienced educators from outside the district.  In both cases, reviewers examine evidence to determine if the district and its schools are meeting the standards and achieving goals for improving student learning and school/system effectiveness.