1. Leon County School District Oral Exit Report Quality Assurance Review Team District Accreditation

2. World’s Largest Educational Community
A Picture of AdvancED
World’s Largest Educational Community
23,000 public and private schools
30 states and Navajo Nation
Department of Defense Education Activity
65 countries
15 million students
18,000 volunteers
3 million plus teachers
15 million students
18 thousand volunteers
3 million plus teachers 2 2 2

3. District Accreditation (Systems Approach)
District Accreditation applies a systems approach to improvement. It examines how all elements of the school system work in concert for the benefit of student learning. It looks for examples of systemic, systematic, and sustainable improvement.
Systemic improvement – using and aligning the interdependent functions within and across the district to produce improvement
Systematic improvement – fostering improvement efforts that are regular and predictable at all levels of the district
Sustainable improvement – maintaining improvements over time 3

4. Pillars of Accreditation
To earn and maintain District Accreditation, districts must:
Meet the AdvancED Quality Standards
Engage in Continuous Improvement
Demonstrate Quality Assurance through Internal and External Review
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5. Expectations District Schools
Meets the AdvancED Standards for Quality Systems
Identifies and guides the implementation of a systemic continuous improvement process
Monitors its schools through a quality assurance process
Prepares and hosts a QAR visit every five years
Schools
Meet the AdvancED Standards for Quality Schools
Implement the district’s continuous improvement process
Participate in the district’s quality assurance process 5

6. Purpose & Role of the Quality Assurance Review Team
Determine the extent to which the district meets the AdvancED standards.
Assess the efficacy of the district’s improvement efforts.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the district’s methods for quality assurance.
Provide high-quality feedback with clear recommendations and actionable next steps.
Make an accreditation recommendation. 6

7. Activities of the Quality Assurance Review Team
Artifacts/documents review
Interviews
School visits
Observations
Professional deliberations
Artifact review
Reviewed the Standards Assessment Report, profile data, student performance results, improvement plans, and other documents.
Interviews
Conducted interviews with a representative sample of district stakeholders.
School visits
Visited a representative sample of schools in the district.
Observations
Made observations of how the district and its schools daily demonstrate adherence to the AdvancED Standards.
Professional deliberation
Shared findings and engaged in deliberations as a team regarding the district’s adherence to the AdvancED Standards. 7

8. Interviews with Stakeholders
During the on-site Quality Assurance Review, team members interviewed:
The Superintendent
84 Administrators
140 Teachers
64 Support Staff
103 Parents, community, and business partners
88 Students
5 Board members
TOTAL of 485 stakeholders 8

9. Criteria Used to Arrive at the Team’s Findings
When reviewing evidence to arrive at its findings, the team:
Sought a district perspective;
Pursued evidence that could be corroborated through multiple sources;
Examined the context and capacity of the district in relation to its vision, mission, and beliefs; and
Applied the criteria for accreditation. 9

10. Structure of Team’s Findings
Strengths
Strong and effective practices, processes, or systems which benefit the school district
Commendations
Significant accomplishments in meeting and/or exceeding accreditation standards and requirements
Challenges
Limitations and/or barriers that may be impacting (or have the potential to impact) the district’s performance and effectiveness
Recommendations
Actions that will enhance district effectiveness and improve student learning 10

11. Strengths
Consistently high student performance in academics (“A” School District);
Highly qualified teachers (91.5%);
Safe and orderly environment;
Communication to stakeholders;
District is data-driven; 11

12. Strengths cont. Accessibility and openness of the superintendent;
Relationships of board/administration/community;
Committed and dedicated teachers and staff;
The large number of volunteers and business partners who support and assist the schools and school district;

13. Strengths cont.
Sense of pride embedded throughout the district and community;
Quality professional development; and
Collaborative working relationships with post-secondary institutions.

14. Commendations
The Quality Assurance Review Team commends Leon County School District for:
The provision of a safe and orderly environment throughout the district which helps ensure a climate conducive to learning;
A superintendent who is highly visible throughout the schools and community and who provides numerous opportunities to dialogue with stakeholders; 14

15. Commendations cont.
The provision of high quality systemic professional development at the district and school level;
Utilization of a wide variety of methods to communicate information about student performance, the school, and school system;

16. Commendations cont.
A comprehensive system for data collection and analysis which includes the sharing of results with administrators and individual school faculties;
School and system decisions are based on what is best for children;

17. Commendations cont.
Encouragement of open communication among stakeholders through varied venues; and
Recognition of the need to operate a non-traditional high school (SAIL) for students who need this approach to be successful.

18. Challenges Funding Maintaining, upgrading, and expanding technology
Maintaining the high quality of educational programs
Maintaining the seven period schedule (high school)
Employment of retirees
Time to get everything done due to staff wearing many “hats” 18

19. Challenges cont.
Identifying clear and compelling evidence of what works and what does not work;
Responding to the perceptions of differences between the north and south regions;
Closing the achievement gap among subgroups;

20. Challenges cont.
Achieving diversity that is representative of the school community; and
Moving from shared, common beliefs to shared, common behavior.

21. Recommendations
The Quality Assurance Review Team recommends that Leon County School District :
Identify, implement, and monitor additional strategies to close the achievement gap while maintaining high expectations for all students;
Develop a comprehensive District Strategic Plan which includes all annual performance goals to be utilized as the foundation for school improvement plans. The Strategic Plan should be reviewed and revised on an annual basis; 21

22. Recommendations cont.
Formalize system-wide curriculum maps, pacing guides, and formative assessments in core subject areas; and
Review the organizational structure of the district in order to effectively manage the many requirements and processes of the system.

23. Next Steps Written report of findings submitted within 30 days
After receipt of the report, the district is expected to:
Review and communicate the findings.
Address the recommendations.
Monitor accreditation standards on ongoing basis.
Monitor strategies for improvement.
Submit the Accreditation Progress Report. 23

24. Accreditation Recommendation
The Quality Assurance Review Team recommends to the AdvancED Accreditation Commission that the Leon County School District be awarded District Accreditation as a quality school system.
Once reviewed and approved by the AdvancED Accreditation Commission, the district and all its schools are granted a 5-year term accreditation. 24

25. Final Thoughts On behalf of the Quality Assurance Team, I extend:
Our appreciation for your hospitality, support, and professionalism;
Our respect and acknowledgement of the quality of the school district; and
Our congratulations for your progress toward achieving District Accreditation as a quality system. 25

26. …helping schools and school systems improve student learning
AdvancED District Accreditation
for Quality Systems
…helping schools and school systems improve student learning