Prairie Grove Schools Receive Accreditation

PRAIRIE GROVE — After a fourday comprehensive evaluation, a review team with AdvancED unanimously recommended that Prairie Grove School District continue to receive district-wide accreditation.

AdvancED is the nation’s largest educational accreditation organization and serves 32,000 schools in the United States and more than 69 countries.

Being accredited is not an easy process and takes a lot of work, David Barnett, lead evaluator for the team, said during an exit report with Prairie Grove School Board on Nov. 9.

“Districts that want to take advantage of this are taking every opportunity to better themselves,” he said. “These schools recognize the importance of comparing what you do to best practices.”

Barnett, a retired administrator from Kentucky, chaired a five-person review team that included educators from Fort Smith, Alma, McGhee and Tulsa, Okla. The team

was on site Nov. 6- 9. Evidence reviewed by the group beforehand and evaluations conducted on site show the district should be fully accredited, Barnett said.

The team’s findings will be forwarded to the AdvancED Accreditation Commission for final approval. If approved, the accreditation lasts for five years but the district must submit a progress report on any recommendations within two years.

The process to be accredited includes an internal review conducted by the school district to show how the school believes that it meets criteria for being accredited. The review team then comes in to find evidence to confirm the findings of the internal review.

While on the Prairie Grove campus, team members interviewed 168 people, including 76 students, 46 teachers, 13 parents and other community leaders, school board members and administrators.

The external review looks at the impact of teaching and learning, capacity of leadership and the use of resources.

Barnett sa id team members heard consistent themes during their interviews. Words used to describe Prairie Grove School District included “family, caring, community and heart,” he said.

“This was spoken to us with a great deal of passion and a great deal of pride,” he said. “There’s a trust factor here and a value of respect, as well as longevity of staff.”

He said the same theme was heard from the students. The students had a sense of pride as well, he said.

The evaluation also noted the effectiveness of the district’s board of education and how it works as an “effective, cohesive body.”

Barnett told School Board members they should feel good about themselves.

“Over and over people said we have a board of education that understands their role as an advocate for the child and not as school administrators,” Barnett said. “You trust your lead- ership, it shows and it looks like they are doing a pretty good job.”

Barnett commended the school for its partnerships with the community, such as the storm shelter and the school-based health and wellness center. He also noted the district’s effective allocation of financial, technological and human resources.

The report gives two areas for improvement for the next five years.

One is for the district to develop a process for collecting, analyzing and using data to enhance the curriculum and instructional strategies.

“A lot of data is being analyzed but it was not clear how it was being used to impact decisions,” Barnett said. “You need to develop a process for using the data.”

The second improvement recommended the district create sustainable learning communities to support student achievement leading to college and career readiness.

Superintendent Allen Williams said both recommendations go together in that the review team wants the school district to analyze and use data and to make sure this information is being used within the school’s professional learning communities.

Part of the issue with data, Williams said, is that the state has changed its tests for three consecutive years so schools do not have test scores that can be compared year to year.

However, he said the team’s recommendation is a valid point.

“You can always take a look at data and go back to it when you are making decisions on curriculum and professional development,” Williams said.

Williams said he believes the review team did a thorough job of looking at the district. The process to be accredited gives schools the opportunity to self-evaluate themselves and then have an outside group look at the self-evaluations.

“These are outside educations and it gives you another source of information for your district,” Williams said.

David Barnett