A commission of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges has voted to continue the accreditation of Derby High School.
The high school received a letter May 16 informing school officials of the news.
Accredited schools pass a vigorous academic review process, which shows the public a given high school is meeting educational guidelines, as checked by an independent review.
Click here to learn more about the process and what it means for schools.
The decision to maintain the high school’s accreditation came from the Commission on Public Secondary Schools. Its members visited Derby High School in the fall and authored a much-talked-about report highlighting areas where the school needs to make improvements.
A copy of the report is posted at the end of this article.
Click here to read a Valley Indy story on what the report said about school funding in Derby.
Click here to read good things the report had to say about the high school.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s administration has taken exception with some aspects of the report.
At a tax board meeting Monday, Superintendent Stephen Tracy said he and officials from City Hall were scheduled to talk about the report with representatives from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges later this week.
High school Principal Fran Thompson, who led the accreditation review process with his staff, said he was thrilled to hear Derby High would keep its accreditation.
Thompson pointed out the commission offered numerous commendations to Derby High School, including:
- The use of the school’s mission statement to foster a positive climate in the building
- The variety of assessment strategies used by teachers
- The creation of course specific rubrics
- The active role of the principal in the supervision and evaluation of teachers to guide improvement of instruction
- The collegiality of the faculty which leads to a positive culture for collaborative purposes
- The assumption of leadership roles by the faculty to improve the school
- The advisory program which allows students to connect with an adult in the building in addition to the guidance counselor
- The partnership with the University of Connecticut which provides a high level of challenge for students
The commission also gave the school recommendations to address concerns at the school, including:
- Curriculum — the report cited insufficient professional staffing levels and instructional materials
- Learning resources — the report cited the absence of a certified library media specialist
- “Community Resources for Learning” — the commission cited underfunding which has resulted in inadequate professional development for Derby High School staff and an inadequate and outdated technology infrastructure
Derby High School will submit a progress report by Nov. 1, 2011 indicating how they will start to address the concerns raised in the report. Another progress progress report will be submitted in two years.
The accreditation is re-examined in 10 years.
