Everett High Principal Erik Naumann confirmed this week that EHS’s accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) has been continued following the association’s review of Everett’s latest progress report and a visit by the NASC accreditation committee in October 2014.
This latest continuation means that EHS is continuing to make progress toward the standards that NEASC sets for all of its ember schools.
Naumann explained that Everett High began its 10-year accreditation process with NEASC in January 2011 and that the school district has been responsible for providing two-year updates since then, regularly reporting on the progress made in areas or categories that were deemed to have been in progress, when the accreditation was first granted in October 2011.
With this latest report and continuation, Everett High will next have to complete a five-year progress report to the NEASC, which will be due in March 2016.
Among the items that Naumann explained helped the school receive its latest continuation were progress on 21st Century learning expectations, programs aimed at improving literacy and vocabulary among all students and increases in common planning time, which allows teachers to work together in planning lesson plans and sharing best practices. Naumann said that EHS has doubled the number of teachers who participate in common planning time activities since accreditation began.
Naumann also noted the challenges facing the EHS staff and faculty, as the school’s enrollment has grown from 1,710 student when accreditation began in 2011 to 2,072 students this year.
“The accreditation process is designed to help us keep a focus on teaching and learning. . .here at the high school,” said Naumann.