WESTMINSTER — The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) has voted to award initial accreditation to Bellows Falls Union High School (BFUHS).
Late last year, a NEASC evaluation team spent three days at the school and spent time visiting classes and interviewing staff, students, parents, board members, and faculty members. These evaluators examine every aspect of a school and after the examination, NEASC extends accreditation to institutions that meet its standards.
The importance of NEASC accreditation, according to BFUHS Principal Chris Hodsden, is that it helps to verify that the school is doing quality work, and helps teachers and administrators learn best practices for teaching.
To prepare for the visit, the BFUHS faculty and staff spent 18 months conducting a study of the school to guide the visiting NEASC team in their work. Hodsden said this process helped the school identify the things it does well, and the areas where it could improve.
In a 69-page report presenting their initial findings, the NEASC evaluation team lauded the school and its staff for its innovation and initiative.
The school was praised for its programs such as Project PASS and the Freshman Academy, which have provided a substantial decrease in the dropout rate. The NEASC evaluators commended the school for coordinating expectations for writing skills within and across disciplines, and recognized the efforts already under way for writing and evaluating the K-12 curriculum to ensure alignment with standards.
The team said they were impressed with the district and school administrators who understand the importance of continuing to elevate academic expectations and asked the high school to continue to make this its highest priority.
The team raised concerns regarding the condition of the science labs. BFUHS leaders were asked to submit a special progress report in February 2013 detailing steps they will have taken to update science labs and curriculum.
The NEASC accreditation process is considered an arduous one, and one that is repeated every 10 years.