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Author Topic: Interested in accreditation for Corbett Schools?  (Read 39068 times)
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« on: March 26, 2012, 08:39:27 AM »

Thank you Dr. Trani!
UPDATE! As of the board meeting this evening... 4/18/2012 Dr. Trani has committed to applying for accreditation and will be speaking with Dr. Darst, the State Director for the NWAC ( see below ) next week. This is good news for those interested in seeing accreditation return to the CSD.





Northwest Accreditation Commission will be at the Grange Tuesday at 6:30pm

Dr. Richard Darst State Director for the Northwest Accreditation Commission will be at the Grange Tuesday at 6:30pm to give a one hour presentation on Accreditation and will answer any questions the community has.

This would have been Corbett School District's 75th year being accredited, but it was removed in 1999/2000. If you are interested in seeing our schools pursue accreditation please come out! You can find out more about this topic here: http://corbettpost.com/csd/is-csd-accredited/ [/i]

A few misconceptions:

1. We have to have a library to be accredited. Since our library was turned into classrooms to make room for Charter seats - Randy Trani thought we had to have a library to be accredited. Actually, we don't have to have a library, just access to a library or books (Multnomah county library qualifies).
2. We need counselors. Since we don't have counselors in Corbett, Randy thought this was a problem. But we only have to have access to a counselor and MESD qualifies.
3. There is too much busy work filling out reports. This actually doesn't need to be done to be accredited according to Dr. Darst. They want basic things like directions around the school, directions to where the policy and procedures manual is, list of times teachers are available to be interviewed and the bell schedule.
4. Costs The reality is that the cost to apply is only $100. The cost to be yearly is $450 plus $.17 per student. ( So less than $600 for the year. ) 

To put that in perspective, we spend over 50,000 a year on AP tests. ( http://corbettpost.com/news/newsweek/ )

Bring yourself, your friends, neighbors, anyone who would like to learn more about the accreditation process, cost and benefits. Thank you.

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« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2012, 10:20:56 AM »

No, I am not interested in accreditation.  We don't need it, especially when you can look at these results.  WE DID RANK.
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/highschoolchallenge/schools/2011/list/national/
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2012, 10:55:18 AM »

Hi Bird,

Here is an evaluation and comment on the Washington Post Challenge Index - 2011″
The link is below.

1. When the public (even educators themselves) view the Challenge Index rankings they naturally associate a higher rank with being a “Better” school – which the public generally conclude means that students perform better and learn more at those schools.  This is natural, since that is what the public REALLY wants to know.  Furthermore, ranking schools intentionally perpetuate this inaccuracy for their own benefit (I work at the highest ranking school in my state, and I’m part of the PR mechanism that perpetuates the inaccuracy -  it’s part of my job.)

2. In my state there has been a big push to have students take the AP Exams, regardless of whether the students are actually prepared to do so.  The State requires that every AP students take the exam, and the State even pays for the exam for each student.  This obviously inflates the indexes for schools in my state.  In my own school I have seen large numbers of students place their heads on their desk and go to sleep within the first 15 minutes of their recently-administered AP exams – yet their “performance” is improving my school’s Challenge ranking, and ultimately our school’s statewide prestige as an educational icon.

3. For years my school has been highly ranked in the US News, and now WPost Challenge rankings.  There is a strong effort in the school to offer enroll as many students as possible in AP classes – not only because it is good for the students, but it is good for our rankings.  Unfortunately many students are mis-placed in AP classes, and teachers are forced to water-down the curriculum for fear of having too many failing grades and suffering the ire of administrators.  This is hardly what the public believes when they see our rankings.

Although I don’t generally advocate for the “tail wagging the dog,” this is a case where it is warranted.  If the public is going to naturally conclude that the Challenge rankings indicate that schools are better (which WILL be the case, no matter how many disclaimers WPost puts on their reports) and schools are going to use the rankings to perpetuate the same inaccuracy (which WILL be the case, in our school and probably every other school on the list), WPost should introduce into the index a calculation of how well students do on the exams.
There are many reasonable options for doing so, while still maintaining the “flavor” of the Challenge Index.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/alternatives-to-the-challenge-index/2011/05/12/AF3PfM7G_allComments.html?ctab=all_&#comments )
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« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2012, 10:22:18 AM »

Very interesting. I am still shocked by the ignorance of these two men (Mr. Dunton and Dr. Trani) and that the board continues to go along with them! Mr. Dunton's view of Accreditation is dangerously harmful to the community! Dr. Trani is locked in his Imaginative World of learning and "Sees no Evil!" The two of them together are an injustice to the Corbett Community, but they have enough followers that it creates the reenactment of "The Emperor's New Clothes". So why don't you really want the Accreditation Program back? Accountability? That would be a start for the grade school!

My wife and I (Joe and Kella Horton) were grateful to see that there was a Corbett boardmember, the vice principal of Corbett and a principal from an outer district school that attended this meeting. I hope that these people can see the importance of accreditation in our schools and act on the issue accordingly! As for the info that was presented that evening, we have come to a conclusion that someone is grossly misinformed or someone is purposely misleading the public. I was disappointed that Mr. Dunton (who is not a doctor) was not there to defend what he so strongly and passionately believes in. The representative that Dr. Trani sends had no input of why Corbett is not accredited nor does he defend it. (I imagine he was just there to gather info for for Bob and Randi so they can hide behind their computers and throw attacks out at the ignorant subjects - I wonder if they played D and D board games, thus the explanation for Imaginative Learning). I kind of thought that we would have learned the real reasons and problems why Mr. Dunton and Dr. Trani don't use accreditation? We all would have had a better understanding for the issues and maybe put many of them to rest.
 Instead, the two Educated all Knowing Intellects decided to use their "invisible cloaks" and escape their demise. Standing up for what you believe in is much more honorable. If Bob and Randi had real confidence in their plan it would have shown and then a discussion with  the community could have been created. Progress in a positive direction regardless of the direction! So instead, everything that Mr. Dunton has said about the accreditation program is grossly out dated or misleading (in opinion, for personal and financial growth). There is no reason not to become accredited and it only benefits the children of Corbett, period! Ignorance? Arrogance? Someone please tell me that I am wrong, because I have never seen such gross behavior and lack of consideration of ones community when it comes to children's well being.
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Bird
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« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2012, 09:30:00 AM »

Funny how my last post has not been posted.  Maybe it was lost?  Maybe it had too much truth to be considered interesting.
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« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2012, 09:46:40 AM »

Funny how my last post has not been posted.  Maybe it was lost?  Maybe it had too much truth to be considered interesting.

* It must have been user error. ( If you are logged in and select POST, the system will automatically post your information.) As long as you don't drop the F bomb your post will stay where you add it for people to read. Accurate or not.
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« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2012, 06:34:12 AM »

Just to clarify.  The above post mentions something about not needing a library to be accredited with NWAC.  While we don't need a library, according to the NWAC K-12 standards, we will need a library media specialist (something we do not currently have on staff). 

This information came directly from the NWAC website under their K-12 standards:
Library Information Services

6.17 The library media program is directed by a certified library media specialist.
a.   Library staff in schools of fewer than 250 students need not be certified, but are under the direction of a qualified library media specialist from a neighboring school district, the county library system or partner school.   .   
b.   Schools with an enrollment between 250 and 500 students have a full-time qualified library media specialist.   
c. Schools with more than 500 students have a full-time library media specialist and have additional library media personnel.   
d. Personnel are under the direction of a qualified library media specialist.


I am not opposed to accreditation, but also do not believe that it will be everything that many hope for.  My children attended CSD during all of the 1990s and graduated in 2003 and 2006.  CSD was accredited for a majority of that time and frankly, the middle school and high school are (in my opinion) better today then they were in the 1990s. 

I was at the school board meeting over a decade ago when the board (directed by Bob Dunton) decided against paying an outside source to be accredited.  I worried about my own children getting into the college of their choice. I was assured that wouldn't be a problem. Both of my own children were accepted by every college (about twenty in all) that they applied to (private, public, in-state and out-of-state), as have hundreds of kids since that time.   I personally have not heard of one student not being accepted into a college due to CSD not being accredited.  Have you?  If so, please tell me the specific place.  Not sure still, ask any college whether it makes a difference. Call up their admission's office.  I asked about five.  College admission offices only care about the student's grade point average, their transcripts showing required coursework, and how you will be paying.     

If someone can truly show the benefit of accreditation, sign me up. I rarely just jump on board because it sounds like the right thing to do. Probably why I wasn't popular with the past administration at CSD.  My family experienced our school with accreditation and without accreditation.  Frankly, if someone didn't just recently tell you that CSD wasn't accredited, would you have known?  I actually hadn't thought about it in years and I was VERY mad when the board voted against it over ten years ago.  So what's the reason now?

I hear the reason is accountability. I believe accountability comes from our community, our CSD administration, the CSD school board, and the State of Oregon.  Research NWAC by browsing their website.  I did.  I found that CSD already does many of the things they had set as standards to be accredited.

How will being accredited through NWAC help Corbett?  Will it increase the chances of our students getting into the right college, the military, a vocational school, or maybe just getting right out into the work force?  No.  That is up to the kids.  They have to study hard, take the right classes, attend those classes, and apply themselves.  That is how you get into the college of your choice.

Corbett schools are on the map these days in a positive way. People outside of Corbett have actually heard of Corbett, think highly of it, and often want to know how their child can go there.  I am proud to be a teacher, a parent of two Corbett graduates, and a community member for almost 30 years. 

Be involved, be honest, be respectful, ask questions, and look carefully at the answers you are given.

Michelle Dawkins
 



   




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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2012, 08:54:51 AM »

From Dr. Darst at the Northwest Accreditation Commission in response to Superintendent Trani's concerns found on the NWAC web site:

“ [He] is reading the information on the website without the benefit of an explanation of how the overall program operates.  For example, the year long study (we call it a "self study") is basically done via OAR ( Oregon Administrative Rule ) by the district currently, or at least it should be done.  What we require out of that is an explanation of how the school meets the standards as marked by the district.  In addition, out of the self study comes the school improvement plan (called different things in different districts) and I suspect your district has that as it is also required by state OAR's, though some districts seem to ignore that OAR. “

According to Randy, CSD has not filed a continuous improvement plan since around 2006, which is supposed to be submitted every two years to the state. So this is something we should be doing anyway.

Accreditation allows parents and the community to know our District is focusing BOTH on what we do well and ALSO is open to independent ( outside of Corbett ) peer review to identify what we could do better for all our students. What is wrong with that in a public school?

Our community would possibly find reason to relax about the non-traditional teaching strategies in Corbett if we were accredited. Our administration would possibly have less fires to put out if people felt we were not “hiding” what we were doing or what plans we had laid.

DR DARST MET WITH SUPERINTENDENT TRANI IN February * ( It was February ... sorry... not January as was originally stated... )
He explained in person to him that much has changed in the approach of accreditation of schools over the last few years and that he should not take information directly off the NWAC web site because what is listed is only suggested and not necessarily required for accreditation for every school. Especially a small school district like Corbett.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COSTS
For example, a media specialist would most likely fall into the same situation that was explained to Dr. Trani as his concern about no longer having a library... The resolution is as simple as making sure students knew where the Multnomah County Library system was... or maybe going one step further to make sure kids get library cards.

IMPORTANT TO MANY STUDENTS
Accreditation proves that our schools are making sure students know about and have access to resources. It does not require we provide the resource. For example, counselors. As many are aware, Dr. Trani does not believe in counselors or that they are important in schools. But accreditation says that we should as a school at least provide help finding the resource if a child needs it. I agree. Many parents do. This can be simply making sure kids/parents in Corbett know how to contact MESD.

ACCOUNTABILITY
You wrote: “I believe accountability comes from our community, our CSD administration, the CSD school board, and the State of Oregon. “ And in a perfect world or school that would be enough. It isn’t a perfect world.

HIGH SCHOOL TODAY IN CORBETT
We are a Continuous Progress and All AP program. As long as you know more at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year ( according to one teacher’s syllabus ) you will get a passing grade. There are no D’s or F’s issued. I am guessing our school’s report card looks better than many schools because of this. This does not mean that there is no reason to become accredited.

* If a child leaves Corbett High School, for whatever reason, with 'incompletes' and enters an accredited high school those incompletes equal F’s. Also, work completed will have to be audited and proven for any credits to transfer and in some cases, depending on the “progress” a student has made in that course, it can mean not graduating on time because of level of work not meeting the accredited school’s standards.

Gresham-Barlow School District had NO IDEA Corbett was NOT accredited and this HAS BEEN AN ISSUE now for students leaving Corbett.

SCHOLARSHIPS/COLLEGES/ ETC.
We would have NO IDEA if a child was passed over/rejected for a scholarship or entry because of coming from a non-accredited school. It does happen. It also happens that, for example, with companies offering internships like Intel, they will not accept students to participate if their high school is not accredited. That goes the same for grants offered by these companies as well.

You can hear Dr. Darst's presentation at the Columbia Grange recently with a healthy Q&A at the end here:
http://corbettpost.com/csd/is-csd-accredited/




 
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gorgewind
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« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2012, 05:34:49 PM »

Please understand that I am not opposed to accreditation.  I just like to ask a lot of questions and check the answers I get. My past experience is that sometimes the answers to questions were not fully researched.  When we were accredited many years ago, we had many of the things in place that was required and in my own personal experience, things were not that great.  You are right, we don't live in a perfect world.  I guess that I am just one of those people that enjoy the smaller, local approach.  Things like NCLB and some of the mandates from the state can't compare with having a school that is run by the local community that it serves.

The NWAC website is pretty specific about school size and media specialist requirements.  If that isn't their requirement, why is it listed on their website?  It should be removed and updated.  What else listed isn't really required as a standard?  Funny thing how standards can be adjusted. 

Not sure want your mean about the correlation between a student having an incomplete and the State of Oregon report cards.  The State of Oregon report cards list state test scores, demographics, teacher information, dropout rates, and attendance rates.  Grade point average of students isn't taken into consideration.  The criteria is the same for all schools in Oregon.  Corbett looks pretty good compared to the surrounding districts.
 
Also I don't understand the comment about "non-traditional teaching strategies."  I can only speak to what I seen happening in the grade school, but we teach reading, writing, and math daily.  We also include a huge amount of science, social studies, and health.   I also love that we believe in the value of music education.  Something not so sure is happening with our neighboring school districts.  If you are referring to "Imaginative Education,"  you are confusing us with the charter school.  I never really jumped onto that band wagon. I really do believe that the basics are important. 

As for college scholarships and internships.  Both of my children have now graduated from college.  They both applied to many different colleges all around the country and were accepted to EVERY SINGLE ONE!  Yes, they had good grades, they were involved in a lot of outside activities, and they took the required coursework.  Steph attended and graduated from Linfield College on a President's Scholarship.  She then went on to the University of Tennessee and received a fully paid for MBA program.  Joe attended University of Colorado and Oregon State University.  Both had diplomas from CSD which was a non-accredited school at that time.  Corbett has had students that attended Harvard, USC, Fordham, University of Oregon, and many more all while not being accredited.  If you called ten admission offices, I would be very surprised if you could find one that would not accept a student due to their school being non-accredited.  I know that, because i personally made those phone calls over ten years ago when this was first brought up.  Maybe that has changed.  I am willing to call and check.  We could also poll the upcoming Corbett graduates and see where they have been accepted to college.  If we would have NO IDEA, how do you know this has happened? 

"Gresham-Barlow School District had NO IDEA Corbett was NOT accredited and this HAS BEEN AN ISSUE now for students leaving Corbett."  How exactly has this been an issue?  Can you be more specific?

I get the incomplete part.  I am sure that kids in other schools fail classes and don't receive credit.  Seems logical to me. You have to do the work to get credit. Kids that leave Corbett and don't receive a C- or better, shouldn't get credit, unless they complete the work required.   

You peaked my interest with your comment, "It also happens that, for example, with companies offering internships like Intel, they will not accept students to participate if their high school is not accredited. That goes the same for grants offered by these companies as well."  Besides Intel, who else won't accept students coming from a non-accredited high school? 

Like I said in the beginning.  I like to ask a lot of questions and then I check the answers.  If I call Intel and ask about internships, I am assuming that they will tell me that the student has to come from a high school that is accredited?  I will probably look into that personally.  If that's true, count me in for accreditation.  That would certainly be a reason to be accredited.   

For the record, I would have loved to come and listen to the gentleman from NWAC.  Unfortunately it was scheduled during spring vacation and not really well advertised.  I will listened to the link you provided. 

Mindy - I very much appreciate the opportunity to have this dialogue. Two years ago, I would have be afraid to voice my views in fear of my job. Today, I know that the current administration at CSD respects and values my views and the views of others. I know that this isn't' a perfect world.  I know that there are many things that CSD can improve upon.  When talking with teachers and parents in the surrounding school districts, I feel very fortunate to live and work in Corbett. 
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2012, 06:57:55 AM »



“ Home-schooled Students & Graduates of Non-standard or Unaccredited High Schools ”
This is a pretty common term used on most college applications for schools that are not accredited. Students from non-accredited high schools do have extra hoops to jump through. ( For example, many students must also take and pass the GED ... Or they must have a minimum score on a SAT in lieu of being from an accredited high school...or write essays etc.) Here are some of the colleges I found in Oregon with a quick Google Search with these examples....

UofO( http://admissions.uoregon.edu/freshmen/alternativeadmission )
OSU ( http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/graduates-non-standard-or-unaccredited-high-schools-or-home-schooled-students )
Western Oregon University ( http://www.wou.edu/student/admissions/undergrad_requirements.php )
Southern Oregon University ( http://www.sou.edu/admissions/homeschooled/admiss-criteria.html )
Oregon Tech – Wilsonville ( http://www.oit.edu/portland/admission/freshman )

If the high school is accredited by one of the six regional accreditation bodies in the United States, then the credits are accepted when transferring into a new school ( like GBSD ) but if you are home schooled, come from a private ( non accredited ) school or another non-accredited school then your credits must be evaluated to transfer in. That is not treating Corbett unfairly, that is a quality assurance that says these students can meet the basic criteria for the credits and curriculum they are seeking enrollment into.

Ultimately the lack of accreditation brands an entity as one without quality control. That in and of itself is why parents hearing Corbett is not accredited are concerned. Especially considering 90% of public and 98% of private high schools in Oregon are accredited.

“We are just paying a private company for their product!”
CSD spends $50,000 or more each year on AP tests from a private company selling a “product” for our AP FOR ALL program.... We actually buy so many tests from the College Board we get a very nice discount on these tests compared to other school districts. And we pass very few of these tests....around 25% or possibly less.

Spending about 1% of the costs of these AP tests to make sure not even one scholarship, internship or application is passed over for our students is a good investment.

“We don’t need accreditation, look at our results!”
If we are going to continue to hold to this particular claim, then we need to be more honest as a district about those results. Honest about National ranking and how this has nothing to do with our school’s overall success or effectiveness. Honest about our state test scores and that at the lower grades we are ranked lower than state averages. Honest that not assigning grades in middle school and no D’s or F’s in our high school’s continuous progress model is NON TRADITIONAL and if it is truly “all that” we should welcome evaluation, not fight it.

“What about that media specialist and the NWAC web site?”
A media specialist could be anyone on staff that would be able to point you to where the overhead projectors are stored and that can tell staff how to use them. That benefits the school and students and it could be Mr. Pearson or Mrs. Haines. We don’t have to hire someone! We just have to prove ( as I said above ) that we provide the resource.

"It’s just too expensive and time consuming"
Even the Gresham-Barlow web academy is going through accreditation right now and total costs will be less than $1,000 according to the district’s CFO. (How can we be told it will cost us $40-$75,000 by our administration to simply “evaluate” whether to do this or not at the last budget meeting?)

The fact is much of what accreditation ensures we have in place, our district should already be doing legally. Unfortunately, this is not the case ( for whatever reason ) as mentioned above. Also, I am not sure if you know, Michelle, but does Corbett School District have a site council? (That is another area that I believe we should be doing by LAW and I have never heard mention of it.) This would allow all level of staff, parent and administrator to have a forum for discussion and resolution of issues and they should be meeting regularly. (See the attached pdf on this.)

Also, keep in mind, once fully accredited, the time per administrator to take care of the paperwork is about 3 hours each year to keep yourself on track... and that is for a high school the size of Sam Barlow. I know that because my husband has done this work as an administrator. He has also been at a school that went through first time accreditation and the process was extremely valuable to the school and staff. He has also served on a peer review board to visit a school earning their accreditation.

Accreditation is a TOOL to ensure our schools are committed to continuous improvement and core standards for our kids. It tells the community, we are “all that” and we welcome peer review, and welcome any recommendations on how we could be better.... because no school is perfect.


* site_counc copy.pdf (48.67 KB - downloaded 1115 times.)
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« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2012, 09:36:05 AM »

If our schools are so wonderful than why not prove it by being accredited.  I find it really hard to believe that the administration of Corbett Schools is making better decisions than the 90 percent of the high schools in Oregon that are accredited.  If there are things that our school doesn't have that we need to be accredited I would think that those are things we never should have gotten rid of in the first place ( like the library).   I think a little accountability would be an amazing thing for our community.   

Here is the list of accredited school in Oregon.  The only High school not on it I could think of is Corbett High School. http://nwacoregon.org/webpagefiles/All%20Accredited%20Member%20Schools.pdf
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« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2012, 11:11:27 AM »

There is a lot of hate and bashing done from the "school officials" and not displaying proper professionalism - in my opinion.  I'm submitting the following letter to the CSD members and urging my contacts to do the same....

RE: CSD Accreditation

 

Attn: Dr Trani,

         School Board Members,

         And to whom it may Concern:

 

This email is to express my concern about the CSD and its voluntary loss of accreditation. My wife’s family has been out here for generations. We had wanted to raise our children out here in this great community and have the children go to school in the CSD. It was a win-win.  I have 2 children attending – 1 in Elementary and 1 in Middle School. Without Accreditation, my children would have major education issues getting scholarships, recognition, transferrable credits or financial aid options from graduation from CSD, as it is not accredited.  With the way the economy is going, this can not be acceptable to other parents, as it is not with me. This is jeopardizing my children and other parents’ children futures. I feel, for such as small fee that is associated with accreditation, is a small expense to ensure Corbett’s future graduates and the possible future prosperity our our community. This lack of accreditation is not only a threat to our children/students but to the teachers as well.  I have heard a lot of people wanting to pull children out of this district to go to others just for the accreditation studies.  I can feel their pains and hope this is not going to be necessary.  This is going to have a negative effect on our community as a whole. I believe pulling children is a last resort, so I strongly urge you to quickly debate and seek accreditation for our future.

 
Thank you,

 

Allen Thompson

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Bird
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« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2012, 09:29:14 AM »

Here is some new information to add to the conversation.   Again, we do rank by US News and World Report - 2nd in the State and 74th in the nation. See the web site link:
 http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/oregon/districts/corbett-sd-39/corbett-school-16444
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2012, 11:32:46 AM »

The topic is Accreditation....The fact is that CSD is not accredited and there have been recent/current issues for students trying to leave Corbett and enter into an accredited school district. (If you come from a non-accredited school you have to prove your work/credits just as if you were home-schooled. ) This can even mean your student may not graduate on time if they can't meet the requirements of an accredited school.

Bob Dunton, our past Superintendent and Current Charter School Director, has been very clear as to his feelings regarding Accreditation in his letters recently to parents. He sent one letter on March 24th ( about the same time Dr. Darst from the NW Accreditation was invited to speak to parents at the grange by the community... ) and he sent one just recently ( April 28th ) regarding one of his students having issues entering the GBSD from his non-accredited Charter School. If you are interested, you can read his letters and feelings ( disdain ) for accreditation and those that believe it matters, here: http://corbettpost.com/csd/is-csd-accredited/

Kudos to Randy Trani for standing up and agreeing with parents, that accreditation does matter...

As to National Ranking, "Bird"... and not to ruffle any more feathers, but this is a topic that we need to be more honest about. I just encourage everyone to consider THE FACTS in how ranking is achieved in Corbett. Not everyone is aware, so once again:

1. We are a small district that pays for 100% of all AP tests.( Not many other school districts can swing that...even with the large discount we receive from the College board because of all the tests we buy... ) 2. We have an ALL AP PROGRAM. ( 9-12 take all AP and lots of tests. ) 3. The ranking we tout is heavily based on the following formula; Number of AP tests taken school wide ( they don't need to be passed ) divided by the number of graduates ... So, yes, Corbett is sure to shine.http://corbettpost.com/news/newsweek/

This "national ranking" is simply not a true measure of much of anything else about a school's success, except for maybe the commitment to an AP program and/or the amount of money they can pay for tests each year. These things are great on their own, but using the tagline of nationally ranked as an excuse not to accredit - is weak. It also seems to portray something more than what we are. Especially considering we can not even guarantee our students easy access to other accredited high schools because we don't "believe in it"...or haven't until very recently...

More perspective than only my own:

Rank Foolishness: http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=56684 ( NASSP web site )

Associated Press Web Site: http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=gNJiyMxE

" The proportion of all tests taken last year earning the minimal score of 1 increased over that time, from 13 percent to 21 percent. At many schools, virtually no students pass. ... they acknowledge the trend raises tough questions: Is pushing poorly prepared students to take college-level classes effective? Or does it just demoralize them and divert time and money better spent elsewhere?"

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Bird
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« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2012, 10:59:22 AM »

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/highschoolchallenge/
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/oregon/districts/corbett-sd-39/corbett-school-16444
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/20/america-s-best-high-schools.html
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #15 on: May 22, 2012, 12:37:20 PM »


THE TOPIC IS ACCREDITATION.
You seem to be hung up on NATIONAL RANKING Bird....

Accreditation allows parents and the community to know our District is focusing BOTH on what we do well and ALSO is open to independent ( outside of Corbett ) peer review to identify what we could do better for all our students. Nobody's perfect "BIRD"............. right?

By the way, have you seen the comments on this page? This is what happens to people when they decide to stand up and voice their concern about the school... http://corbettpost.com/corbett-school-board-contact-information/

This "national ranking" is simply not a true measure of much of anything else about a school's success, except for maybe the commitment to an AP program and/or the amount of money they can pay for tests each year. These things are great on their own, but using the tagline of nationally ranked as an excuse not to accredit - is weak. It also seems to portray something more than what we are. Especially considering we can not even guarantee our students easy access to other accredited high schools because we don't "believe in it"...or haven't until very recently...

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Bird
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« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2012, 06:58:48 PM »

 Reply #1 on: March 27, 2012, 10:20:56 AM »
No, I am not interested in accreditation.  We don't need it, especially when you can look at these results.  WE DID RANK.
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/highschoolchallenge/schools/2011/list/national/

See above Reply #1 - You seem to have forgotten why I'm not interested in accreditation.
I don't believe it costs CSD a fee to be ranked, but there won't be an end to accreditation fees.
Why do you bring up another topic in your reply about letters to the Board?  What does that have to do with accreditation?

Yes, nobody is perfect.
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #17 on: May 23, 2012, 01:08:51 PM »

I don't believe it costs CSD a fee to be ranked, but there won't be an end to accreditation fees.

It costs our taxpayers over $50,000 every year in AP tests for that national ranking.
Rank Foolishness: http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=56684 ( NASSP web site )

Why do you bring up another topic in your reply about letters to the Board?  What does that have to do with accreditation?

It was about how the school's deputy clerk pulled a criminal background check on someone. Either she was directed to do that or she did it on her own. But since there seems to be no reason for her to have done that, it seems we have operated outside the scope of having oversight for long enough.

Every public institution needs oversight. And accreditation will help narrow in on areas where we might have been sacrificing the public trust and could do better. That is the idea behind becoming accredited... a lot like the philosophy of continuous improvement.... What's wrong with that?

http://corbettpost.com/corbett-school-board-contact-information/
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Bird
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« Reply #18 on: May 23, 2012, 11:33:53 PM »

Wow, sounds like someone is talking about something they know nothing about.  Better speak to the source instead of making assumptions.  Unless someone has something to hide, they should have no problem agreeing to have a criminal history background check done if they volunteer or work at a public school.
That is true accreditation for Corbett Schools.
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #19 on: May 26, 2012, 08:01:44 PM »

Better speak to the source instead of making assumptions. 

From the way you post, I was assuming you WERE the "source"...

Unless someone has something to hide, they should have no problem agreeing to have a criminal history background check done if they volunteer or work at a public school.

The Hortons weren't volunteering. They were removing their child from the Corbett Charter after the way they were treated. Speaking of not having anything to hide, why not use YOUR real name "BIRD"?

That is true accreditation for Corbett Schools.

That makes no sense. At all. And, for the record, I have NEVER been asked to do a criminal background check for volunteering at CSD until 2011/12*. And my oldest has been attending since 2005/2006. So, CSD could improve by actually getting checks on volunteers IN ALL OUR SCHOOLS vs. those LEAVING OUR SCHOOLS?



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MSHAW
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« Reply #20 on: May 27, 2012, 12:26:13 PM »

Regarding criminal background checks for volunteers. Every time a new person volunteers, or every new school year previous volunteers must fill out background checks. I believe we have been required to do this for some time. I specifically remember the last four years.  I think I have turned in 10-15 this year. So it is a frequent process.
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #21 on: May 27, 2012, 12:32:56 PM »

That's great that you do it Megan. I am just saying I have not been asked to do it * in the grade school... * I did for the middle school with the registration packet in August... (I went back to look.) Though, as I understand it, these checks are not usually run with the state, or are only run subjectively... .
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cpwhite
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« Reply #22 on: June 11, 2012, 09:51:06 AM »

Any updates on accreditation post meeting?
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Mindy Schmidt
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« Reply #23 on: June 12, 2012, 08:32:08 AM »

ACCREDITATION: The process is going forward and the school should hear back from the commission this month about receiving provisional accreditation retroactive to the beginning of this school year.  That does not go earlier than this school year. We will then have 3 years to earn actual full accreditation.

SITE COUNCILS ( The Oregon Legislature recognized the importance of site councils when it passed House Bill 3565, the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century, in 1991. The act required that every Oregon school have a site council. Subsequent legislation (HB 2991) in 1994 changed the composition of the councils.  ) It is not a requirement that a school have one for accreditation, though it is a law. Currently Corbett does not have one. ( The state does not enforce this law and schools are aware of that and so not all do it... ) Accreditation from NWAC will, however, require that CSD do a survey of parents, students and staff, so the question about communication will be addressed as the school moves to full accreditation.

" I believe that as they move through the process, the school will find utilizing a group, call it a site council or call it a school improvement team or call it something else, will be very helpful if not necessary.  A number of these sort of things will surface as the school works on full accreditation and as it moves from our current standards to the AdvancED standards. " - Dr. Richard Darst, the Oregon State Director of the Northwest Accreditation Commission.
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cpwhite
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« Reply #24 on: June 12, 2012, 10:18:06 AM »

Thanks!
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