Catholic School Accreditation

… a process for determining the quality of a school’s overall Catholic Identity and educational program.

The Catholic school examines itself in order to understand what is working well for the total school community and
what it needs to do better to meet the learning needs of the students and to ensure long-term viability and vitality. 

The Seven Key Self-Study Outcomes

All assessment protocols for Catholic schools are designed to result in the following outcomes:

  • The assessment of the school’s Mission and Catholic Identity. The focus of the school is on its authentically Catholic nature and culture of the school, which provides students with an opportunity to deepen or form a relationship with Jesus while assisting them to see and understand the role of faith in one’s daily life and in the larger society.

  • The involvement and collaboration of all shareholders in affirming evident strengths and promoting ongoing school improvement. The focus of this outcome is to involve as many shareholders as possible in the process of accreditation. Shareholders are involved through their participation on committees, review of drafts, input through surveys, etc. A key understanding is that shareholder involvement and collaboration is ‘appropriate’ to their expertise and the Accreditation Factor being considered.

  • The clarification of the school’s Foundational Documents, including mission, vision, philosophy, and student outcomes (ISOs or SLEs). The mission, vision, and philosophy provide the overarching direction for the school. Student outcomes are a focus for student achievement

  • The use of high-quality criteria to assess the actual learning program and its impact on student learning and spiritual development. Data is disaggregated and analyzed, and instructional programs and methodologies are designed to allow each student to achieve at his/her highest potential mindful of equity.

  • The assessment of the school’s operational vitality. “Catholic schools exist in a milieu of constant socioeconomic challenges grounded in continuous need for sustainable financial planning, human resource/personnel management and professional formation facilities maintenance and enhancement and the requirement for institutional advancement and contemporary communication.” (NSBECS, 2012) Data is analyzed and programs reviewed to assist the school’s viability and sustainability.

  • The development of an Educational Improvement Plan that addresses identified goals to enhance student learning and strengthen institutional viability and sustainability. The purpose of the accreditation process is to design a plan that will result in students’ high achievement of the curriculum standards, student outcomes and governing authority expectations, as well as strengthen viability and sustainability of the institution.

  • The development and implementation of an accountability system for monitoring progress in meeting or redefining goals and strategies found in the Action Plan. The focus of this criteria is best summarized by seeking continuous school improvement in all domains.

    The Action Plan outlines the direction for the school to take. The accountability system ensures that the Action Plan will be implemented.

 

  • Under the guidance of the WCEA Commissioner, the school must use a WCEA approved protocol to complete a comprehensive examination of data and evidence related to the areas of:

    • Mission & Catholic Identity

    • Leadership & Governance

    • Academic Excellence

    • Operational Vitality

Then, the school must reflect on areas of strengths and growth in order to develop the Educational Improvement Plan/Action Plan. The plan will serve as a guide for the school as it moves forward with the school improvement process.

The school community then prepares for a visit by a Visiting Committee composed of educators who are trained evaluators from other schools with educational expertise.

A Visiting Committee spends 2-4 days with the school community after the review of the Self-Study document. The Committee visits classrooms, investigates the written evidence of responses to the WCEA criteria, holds interviews with shareholders, and prepares a written report of findings.

The Visiting Committee also writes a recommendation of an accreditation status based upon factors relative to the school’s successes and growth needs. In May of each year, the full WCEA commission reads the reports and recommendations and votes to determine the Accreditation Status for each school.