October 6 Riff: Validation

From October 2—October 4, the accreditation team came, they saw and they were conquered.  Within 72 hours they interviewed groups of teachers, students, parents, board members, administrators, visited classes, and reviewed our finances. They trekked around the campus numerous times and were glad they brought comfortable shoes.  At the end, they made recommendations—we need to hire more diverse faculty members, we need to do a better job with marketing and we should think about changing our signs.  Then they started their commendations:

·      They commended the faculty for their outstanding constructivist teaching,

·      They commended the strong overall academic program,

·      They commended our project based curriculum and urged we keep it,

·      They commended the strength of the communication between school and parents,

·      They commended the school’s strong sense of community, and

·      They commended the skill and dedication of the administrative staff. 

I literally chocked up hearing Marcia Spiller, our accreditation chair (and Chair of the National Association of Independent Schools board) sharing the team’s accolades at a school-wide faculty meeting.  The team concluded that Duke School is excellent at doing the most important thing--preparing our children for their future.  One team member said he so enjoyed visiting our classrooms that the three days felt like a vacation.   It is great to have an outside group validate your program; it is even better to know our children are getting the best education has to offer.