HCS Recommended for Accreditation
By Sam Poe
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 | 11:03 PM
https://hbtv.us/news/?story_id=2029
The Haleyville City Board of Education recently announced Haleyville City Schools would be seeking accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The SACS Review Team has been in Haleyville this week and has conducted 111 interviews with students, parents, teachers, and administrators. They also observed 28 classrooms on the HCS Campus. In Tuesday's special called Board of Education Meeting, Dr. Patricia Golding and the External Review Committee announced Haleyville City Schools will be recommended for SACS accreditation.
The committee based their decision upon several factors. Some of those are listed below. Each factor was scored on a scale of 1 to 4. The actual scores recorded for HCS are listed below.
-Equitable Learning Environment: 3.16
-High Expectations Environment: 3.36
-Supportive Learning Environment: 3.47
-Active Learning Environment: 3.48
-Progress Monitoring and Feedback Environment: 3.32
-Well-Managed Learning Environment: 3.31
-Digital Learning Environment: 2.06
Standards for accreditation are vital to this process. For HCS, the following scores were recorded on a scale from 100 to 400. Dr. Golding assured the administrators, these scores are very high. The committee members have never awarded a score of 400 because there is always room to improve, in any school system.
-Index of Educational Quality: 288
-Teaching and Learning Impact: 271
-Leadership Capacity: 300
-Resource Utilization: 313
Powerful practices noted in the school system were also provided. The following positive points were provided as part of the presentation by Dr. Golding and the External Review Committee.
-The governing board is highly effective in collaborating with the superintendent to foster the implementation of policies, practices, and goals for the advancement of the district's purpose.
-A relationship of mutual respect and commitment exists between the school board and the superintendent with a clear understanding o the respective roles and responsibilities.
-Haleyville City Schools' faculty and staff demonstrate commitment to addressing the physical, social, emotional, and academic needs of each student.
And finally, the committee provided required actions, or working points, for the school system as they move forward. Those points are also listed below.
-Establish, implement, and evaluate a formalized systematic mentoring, coaching, and induction program for all system personnel that set expectations and support instructional improvement consistent with the system's values and beliefs about teaching and learning.
-Formalize the systematic and timely examination and utilization of assessment data for the purpose of informing instructional practices consistently and district-wide.
The committee repeatedly commended the schools for the welcome they received this week, respect and hospitality they were shown, and the professionalism shown by the teachers, staff, and administrators across the school district. Dr. Golding stated, "You know your district already. We are just validating it."