Dowagiac elementary schools attain NCA accreditation
Published 7:46 pm Wednesday, November 14, 2007
By Staff
Finding ways to help kids learn isn't new to Dowagiac educators. In fact, state and federal mandates insure that certain levels of performance are met and maintained.
The validation of achieving this accreditation is what makes NCA (North Central Association) accreditation so important to district personnel.
The recent NCA review of Dowagiac Union Schools validates that our schools have attained levels of excellence in education. The NCA review assures that an in-depth study of school procedures and classroom instruction has been carried out.
The NCA evaluators asked each of our four elementary schools to send a team of teachers for training by NCA personnel. The training required each team to develop a building profile that included the insights unique to each building.
Each team also collected and organized building scores on state tests and individual students' scores on national achievement tests. Student report cards were also examined. Classroom teachers were surveyed and the data was compiled into a building profile.
Once the profile was complete, NCA staff members helped each team identify specific areas for improvement and design teaching strategies to help improve student performance.
After classroom initiatives were targeted, teachers were trained to remediate each deficit area. In addition to that, each grade level in the building developed a timeline for instruction with assessments and benchmarks for student performance expectations. This initial review is coupled with a yearly quality assurance assessment. At the end of five years, another intense review is conducted.
Schools that attain NCA accreditation meet and usually exceed state and federal requirements.
All of the schools in Dowagiac have now attained NCA accreditation status. The NCA accreditation process is just another way that Dowagiac schools have helped their students move from good to great.