District Five receives top review from accreditation group AdvancED

IRMO, SC – Lexington-Richland School District Five has received a top review from education evaluation group AdvancED, renewing the district’s five-year accreditation with the internationally recognized organization.

District Five received an overall score of 291.87, well above the average of 282.45 for the more than 32,000 educational systems AdvancED reviews worldwide. Accreditors visited the district April 20-22, examining the district’s performance based on five standards including: Purpose and Direction, Governance and Leadership, Teaching and Assessing for Learning, Resources and Support Systems, and Using Results for Continuous Improvement.

“The review by AdvancED is essentially a stamp of approval and affirmation that District Five is offering a quality instructional program for our students,” said District Five Chief Instructional Officer Dr. Christina Melton. “The accreditation is not required, but it’s our choice because of the rigor of the process and our desire to provide the best instruction, facilities and resources to students in this community.”

Preparations for the AdvanED visit began in spring 2014 with internal self-assessment, surveys and committee meetings.

“AdvancED is an external review, but it starts with an internal review. Last year, we looked at these standards internally to find out where we are and how we can improve further…It was a collaborative effort to evaluate our schools across the board and make them even better for our students,” Melton said.

AdvancED, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization reviewing primarily K-12 schools internationally, conducts rigorous, on-site external reviews of schools and school systems across the U.S. and 70 other countries. More than 1,200 schools in South Carolina are accredited through the group, and members of the review panel include state officials, local educators and reviewers from outside the state.

Accreditors interviewed more than 170 District Five stakeholders, including: school board members, principals, students, parents, community officials, business leaders and the superintendent. The group also made site visits to several District Five schools, observing classes, noting facilities and asking questions about instruction and procedures.

“The AdvancED accreditation was a great way for us to self-evaluate and find areas of strength and improvement, which in the end benefit our students,” said Kelly Brown, principal of Leaphart Elementary where AdvancED accreditors visited. “We are continuously trying to find ways to better teach our students and make the learning rich and meaningful for them. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and we learned from the process. We were very proud to show the group our school.”

Reviewers also visited Spring Hill High, the district’s all magnet high school. “The AdvancED representatives that visited our school were from Montana, Idaho and other areas… and they were really impressed with the facilities, delivery of instruction, engagement and behavior of the students, and with a whole host of other things about the school,” said Dr. Michael Lofton, principal of the school. “In District Five, we really do teach at a high standard, so in many ways the comments were confirmation of what we see each day. It made me proud to be an administrator here, proud to live here and proud to have my own children in our school district.”

In its External Review Exit Report issued April 22, AdvancED commended District Five for “Powerful Practices” in three areas: attracting and retaining top educators, professional development, and leadership by the superintendent and school board. Accreditors recommended the district design and implement a grading process that would cross all grade levels and design a means for further student mentoring.

The review by AdvancED is the latest of several measures rating District Five among the top. In November the district received an “Excellent” rating on the state report card, and national ranking and reviews website Niche.com ranked the district the top district in South Carolina. District Five also earned an overall “A” rating under the federal accountability system, and the 2014 U.S. News & World Reportranking showed the district led the state in preparing students for college. All the district’s high schools had college readiness scores above the state average.

“Top reviews and ratings are not possible without the combined efforts of our students, teachers, staff, parents and community,” said District Five Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hefner. “With a laser focus on instruction and continuous improvement, we will stay the course and continue to provide an educational system where all students have an opportunity to succeed and excel.”

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