Hillsdale County Intermediate School

District Oral Exit Report

Quality Assurance Review TeamEducation Service Agency

AccreditationESA 2008-09

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A Picture of AdvancED

World’s Largest Educational Community

• 23,000 public and private schools• 30 states and Navajo Nation• Department of Defense Education

Activity • 65 countries• 15 million students• 18,000 volunteers• 3 million plus teachers

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A Picture of AdvancEDDedicated to Advancing Excellence in

Education through:

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Accreditation Standards, continuous

improvement, quality assurance NCA CASI and SACS CASI are

the accreditation divisions of AdvancED

Professional Services Professional development,

technical assistance, conferences, consultingResearch and Innovation

Publications, resources, tools, evaluation

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ESA AccreditationA national protocol for

education service agencies committed to systemic,

systematic, and sustainable improvement

• Builds the capacity of the ESA and its partners to increase organizational effectiveness and sustain student learning

• Stimulates and supports improvement and effectiveness throughout the agency

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ESA Accreditation• Ensures all people, processes,

departments and operations of the agency work in concert

• Strengthens efforts to meet accountability requirements

• Encourages growth beyond compliance to achieve excellence

• Promotes continuous not episodic improvement

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Systems ApproachESA Accreditation applies a systems approach to improvement. It examines how all elements of the agency work in concert for the benefit of improving learner performance. It looks for examples of systemic, systematic, and sustainable improvement. Systemic improvement – using and aligning

the interdependent functions within and across the agency to produce improvement

Systematic improvement – fostering improvement efforts that are regular and predictable at all levels of the agency

Sustainable improvement – maintaining improvements over time

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Pillars of Accreditation

1. Meet the AdvancED Quality Standards

2. Engage in Continuous Improvement

3. Demonstrate Quality Assurance through Internal and External Review

To earn and maintain ESA Accreditation, agencies must:

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Expectations Agency• Meets the AdvancED Standards for Quality

Education Service Agencies• Identifies and guides the implementation of a

systemic continuous improvement process• Monitors all schools it operates through a

quality assurance process• Prepares and hosts a QAR visit every five

yearsSchools It Operates• Meet the AdvancED Standards for Quality

Schools• Implement the agency’s continuous

improvement process • Participate in the agency’s quality assurance

process

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Purpose & Role of the Quality Assurance Review

Team1. Determine the extent to which the

agency meets the AdvancED standards.

2. Assess the efficacy of the agency’s improvement efforts.

3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the agency’s methods for quality assurance.

4. Provide high-quality feedback with clear recommendations and actionable next steps.

5. Make an accreditation recommendation.

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Activities of the Quality Assurance Review Team

• Artifacts/documents review• Interviews• Visits to agency-operated

schools and a sample of school districts it serves

• Observations• Professional deliberations

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Interviews with Constituents and Other

Stakeholders• During the on-site Quality Assurance Review, team members interviewed: The Superintendent 3 members of the Governing Board 26 members of agency staff 9 district-based administrators 9 school-based administrators 25 teachers and staff 15 parents, community members, and business

partners 38 studentsTOTAL of 126 constituents and other

stakeholders

45 classroom visits

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Criteria Used to Arrive at the Team’s Findings

• When reviewing evidence to arrive at its findings, the team: Sought an agency-wide

perspective; Pursued evidence that could be

corroborated through multiple sources;

Examined the context and capacity of the agency in relation to its vision, mission, and beliefs; and

Applied the criteria for accreditation.

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Structure of Team’s Findings

NarrativesStrengths Strong and effective practices, processes,

or systems which benefit the agency Opportunities for Improvement Suggestions related to individual

standards that can help the agency move forward with improvement efforts

Commendations Significant accomplishments in meeting

and/or exceeding accreditation standards and requirements

Recommendations Actions that will enhance agency

effectiveness and improve student learning and district partner performance

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Strengths• Collaboration – The ISD provides

support and leadership across the county to innumerable groups and has developed quality, on-going relationships that help resolve issues throughout the county for the benefit of students, families, and communities.

• Partnerships – Established with local districts, local service agencies, colleges, other ISDs, MDE, Michigan Works!, legal system, Hillsdale county and other entities. These trusted partnerships allow for meaningful, high quality collaboration.

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Strengths

• Responsiveness to constituent needs. There exists a pervasive attitude of deliberately acting to solve problems and find solutions.

• Provide a variety of services focused on identified needs. Some are typical, some are unique, all are in support of the people of Hillsdale County.

• Alignment of mission statements across departments and focused on continuous improvement efforts.

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CommendationsThe Quality Assurance Review Team commends HCISD for:

• Collaboration, partnerships, and county wide service to schools and students. There exists a pervasive culture of collaboration and continuous improvement and the efforts to move from “school improvement” to “continuous improvement” are commendable. The ISD effectively aligns resources, human and financial, to support the work of the ISD and its partners.

• The consistent commitment, passion, and investment to support the achievement of all students throughout Hillsdale County.

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Commendations

• Innovative approaches to addressing student needs despite challenging economic constraints.

• Commitment to development and support of professional learning based on alignment of goals to local districts’ and ISD’s mission.

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• Increasing need for services for students and families in Hillsdale County.

• Providing leadership and innovation across the county while responding to unique local perspectives and challenges.

• Developing capacity to effectively organize, analyze, and use data to inform decision making that positively impacts effective teaching and learning in local schools and the ISD.

• Building and maintaining capacity for sustaining these continuous improvement efforts as changes occur and people change.

Challenges

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Recommendations• The Quality Assurance Review Team

recommends that HCISD :

Develop and implement a comprehensive system of organizational evaluation based on clearly defined performance measures through which it will effectively organize, analyze, and use data to inform decision making that positively impacts effective teaching and learning in local schools and the ISD.

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Recommendations

Build institutional capacity to sustain improvement efforts and services that are independent of individuals.

Strategically strengthen communication methods to better inform constituents of the services available through the ISD. Celebrate successes and share data that reflects progress toward goal accomplishment.

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Next Steps• Written report of findings submitted

within 20 days

• After receipt of the report, the agency is expected to: Review and communicate the

findings. Address the recommendations. Monitor accreditation standards on

an ongoing basis. Monitor strategies for

improvement. Submit the Accreditation Progress

Report.

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Accreditation Recommendation

• The Quality Assurance Review Team recommends to the AdvancED Accreditation Commission that the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District be awarded Education Service Agency Accreditation as a Quality ESA.

• Once reviewed and approved by the AdvancED Accreditation Commission, the agency and all of the schools it operates are granted a 5-year term accreditation.

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Final Thoughts• On behalf of the Quality Assurance

Team, we extend: Our appreciation for your

hospitality, support, and professionalism;

Our respect and acknowledgement of the quality of the ESA; and

Our congratulations for your progress toward achieving ESA Accreditation as a quality system.

…helping schools, school systems and education service agencies improve student learning

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