What Does Accreditation Mean?

In talking about the school building project, you may have read or heard discussion about accreditation of the high school, or reaccreditation.

Educational accreditation is like educational quality assurance. It's standards set and evaluated by a third party to verify that an educational institution meets certain basic criteria. As consumers of education, it's a way for us to be sure that our children are getting a solid educational foundation. For colleges, it's a way to help ensure that applicants to their institutions have certain basic knowledge and will be prepared for the academic rigors of higher education.

High schools in New England are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). NEASC is the oldest of the regional accrediting bodies in the United States and serves over 2000 public and independent schools in our region.

The reaccreditation process takes place every 10 years. DHS is now in the process of reaccreditation.

During the last round of reaccreditation, NEASC found the physical qualities of the high school to be "at risk" (on the NEASC website, poor facilities is noted as "Community Resources for Learning"). This was a way to let Duxbury know that as buildings fall further in to disrepair, facilities might not meet the minimum quality standards for accreditation -- much less for our students.

Losing accreditation would be a serious problem for our schools and for our students. A diploma from a non-accredited high school might not be accepted by a college or university for admission. Accreditation status directly affects our children's future.

Last week, the town of Winchester approved funding for a school building project. Among the dialogue about the project, both for and against, we noted the following commentary from a parent in that town:

"I moved to Winchester because I was attracted to its outstanding schools, and its community spirit. I moved from a town that had let its high school fall into such disrepair that it lost its State Accreditation- due to structural, not educational, reasons. High School Seniors that year could not attend the colleges that had already accepted them for the upcoming year. The reason the mayor that gave for not putting money into the schools was that 'we had other priorities'. My family moved to Winchester 3 months later. "

We are not the only town in Massachusetts grappling with deteriorating buildings. The town of Beverly recently completed a new high school in direct response to Beverly High school being put on probation by NEASC:

"Accreditors visit Beverly High to assess school"

Thankfully Duxbury is NOT one of the nine high schools in Massachusetts currently on probation. It would be a disservice to our kids to let it get that far -- but it might be one of NEASC's next steps if we do not address our school situation. Keep in mind also that the high school is newer than the middle school.

Finally, the parent from Winchester also wrote:

"I am not looking forward to paying more taxes; my family sacrificed a lot to live here already. If we do not maintain a strong educational system for our town, however, and show a lack of commitment to its children, what will happen then? Will people with small children move to other towns, concerned that their children will not receive a good elementary or high school education? Sure, that will relieve the need for new or refurbished schools in the short term. But as many have pointed out, this town relies on its property tax base. If scores of people move out and the reputation of Winchester's schools dwindle.....how much more will the remaining residents suffer economically if property values lessen?"

We need to ask ourselves the same questions.