Perrysburg Schools, an NCA Accredited District
A national review team of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) recommended Perrysburg Schools for District Accreditation in late 2006. All six schools were already accredited individually, but the district had not been accredited as a whole. Perrysburg is the third school district in Ohio to attain district-wide accreditation, and is the first in Northwest Ohio.
“District Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school system on the primary goal of creating lifelong learners,” stated Dr. Mark Elgart, President and CEO of AdvancED, NCA’s parent organization. “Perrysburg Schools is to be commended for engaging in this process and demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.”
A team of five educators was sent to Perrysburg by NCA to assess the quality of its systems and support to schools. The team met with over 150 people divided into 15 focus groups – including staff, parents, students, board members and community members. The team was also given material collected by school staff over the past 12 months that further explained Perrysburg Schools’ goals and accomplishments. Using this information, the team determined that Perrysburg meets every standard for accreditation.
The strong points NCA listed for the district include: a strong focus on academic achievement, recognizing the need to serve all students, an established strategic plan, staff members are enthusiastic and interested in growth, strong leadership at all levels and exceptional community support.
Accreditation provides many benefits for a school district and its students, including: assuring that the district is meeting high quality standards and implementing an improvement plan focused on increasing student performance; assuring that credits earned in one NCA school will be accepted by other regionally accredited schools; and benefiting students as they participate in specific sports programs, apply for federal grants or scholarships or pursue admission to colleges, technical schools or military programs that require students to come from regionally accredited schools.
NCA, a non-governmental, voluntary association, was founded in 1895. In early 2006, the organization came together with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools CASI and National Study of School Evaluation to form a unified organization called AdvancED. The merged entity’s services include accreditation, research and professional services. It represents 23,000 public and private schools and districts in 30 states and 65 countries and serves almost 15 million students. Under the AdvancED parent organization, schools still earn NCA or SACS accreditation seals depending on their location. For more information, visit www.ncacasi.org and www.advanc-ed.org.
