Clayton County schools gain accreditation
October 6, 2008 at 12:40 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsIt’s not the same accreditation recently stripped from the 58,000-student school system by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, but Clayton officials say the seal of approval from the Georgia Accrediting Commission may help students get accepted to public and private colleges and universities in the state.
Full release after the jump.
From a schools system release:
Clayton County schools earn accreditation through
Georgia Accrediting Commission
Continues focus on reinstatement of SACS CASI accreditation
JONESBORO – As officials with Clayton County Public Schools work to re-establish the system’s accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), the district received positive news earlier today.
Individual campuses of Clayton County Public Schools have successfully met the accreditation standards of the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC). The GAC Board made its decision this past weekend. Each school received the highest level of accreditation for which they were eligible. Superintendent Dr. John Thompson learned of the favorable decision by phone this morning. A formal report from the GAC is anticipated prior to the end of the month.
The decision to accredit Clayton County’s schools will have a positive impact for all students throughout the school district in that GAC accreditation validates the course of study taken – courses that result in grades or credits earned. GAC accreditation may also satisfy accrediting requirements for public and private colleges and universities in the state of Georgia.
“This is excellent news for our students, our employees, and our community,” said Thompson. “The results of the GAC review team visit confirm what we have been saying – that students in Clayton County schools are receiving an excellent education from highly qualified teachers using exemplary practices.”
While the decision serves as validation for the quality of education in classrooms throughout the system, Thompson stated that the districts’ work was not finished. “Reinstatement of our accreditation with SACS CASI remains a high priority,” he said. “Our work continues to be focused on this goal.”
“Seeking dual accreditation has been considered as one of our responding strategies upon hearing that our accreditation would be revoked,” said Thompson. “We conferred with the leadership of SACS CASI and were advised that there would be no conflict with our efforts to move forward with reinstatement should we be successful in obtaining accreditation with the GAC.”
“In fact, our involvement with the Georgia Accrediting Commission has actually helped us as we have been working to successfully meet the requirements of SACS recommendation number eight,” he said. SACS recommendation eight advises the district to “secure the services of outside consultants with expertise in conflict resolution, governance, and organizational effectiveness.” Involvement with the GAC addresses the area of “organizational effectiveness” specifically.
Through successfully meeting accreditation requirements, Clayton County Public Schools has re-associated itself with the Georgia Accrediting Commission. The district was, in fact, one of the first school systems to be involved with the commission when it was established in 1904. The GAC has strong ties with the University of Georgia and is one of two agencies that accredit schools in the state of Georgia.
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