As the Board of Education heard during a presentation at its September 1 meeting, years of work will culminate with a visit representatives of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) next month.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this process with such an outstanding school and a dedicated staff who have put in such a great deal of time and energy and enthusiasm over the last few years,” said NHS Principal Lorrie Rodrigue.

Following a visit during the 2005-06 school year, NEASC placed NHS on warning status, mostly due to overcrowding. By March of 2011, then-principal Charles Dumais received a letter announcing the warning status had been removed, thanks in large part to the completed high school expansion.

The original report said, “For Newtown High School to be successful in fulfilling its potential and truly preparing all its students for a knowledge-based, technologically driven world, the community of Newtown must do much more to support the teachers’ efforts to improve learning for every student. The overcrowded facility, the lack of adequate numbers of teachers, the overworked staff and the limited technology are all issues that the community must address quickly.”

A steering committee kicked off the school’s efforts to work toward the upcoming NEASC visit in May 2013 with a dinner. Since then, as NHS social studies teacher and the NEASC committee chair Amy Deep told the school board at the September 1 meeting, the steering committee as worked on completing a self-study.

Following the NEASC visit next month commendations and recommendations will be shared with NHS, according to Ms Deep.

“We will come up with a two- to five-year plan to address those recommendations,” said Ms Deep.

Part of the steering committee’s efforts included “revamping” the high school’s mission statement, according to Ms Deep, and a survey was shared with staff, students, and community members to gather input for the new mission statement. Ms Deep also shared other efforts and new changes that have been made at the high school based on the efforts of the steering committee.

“[Regional accreditation] provides both a sense of accomplishment and pride for staff, students, parents, and the community, because it expresses that our high school sets high standards and expectations and this is certainly important for students applying to regionally accredited institutions, colleges, and universities,” said Dr Rodrigue.

The NEASC visit, according to Dr Rodrigue, is scheduled for October 4-7.

Regional accreditation, Dr Rodrigue said, is a voluntary process and the NEASC visit will be conducted by teachers and peers from other districts in the region.

“While accreditation comes up every ten years, the cycle of preparation leading up to a site visit by the commission typically takes about 12 to 18 months,” said Dr Rodrigue. “It includes self-study reports and the collection of data for seven standards and multiple indicators within those [seven] standards.”

The standards include curriculum, instruction, assessment, school resources, culture, and leadership, according to Dr Rodrigue.

“The overall philosophy of those standards truly reflect best practices, research, and high school reform,” said Dr Rodrigue.

The goals of the project, Dr Rodrigue said, include determining the effectiveness of the practices at NHS, improvements, assurances to the community the high school demonstrates the highest standards, and identifying future changes the school can make in the “best interest of all learners.”

“The staff at Newtown High School should be applauded for their hard work and dedication during this process,” Ms Deep said, explaining later that the steering committee members have grown and learned from the process of the NEASC self-study.

According to the presentation, recommendations from the visiting NEASC representatives will be received by NHS within four to five months after the visit.