AdvancED Systems Accreditation

Handbook for Catholic Schools

Academic Year 2015-2016

To Enable Every Student to Achieve His or Her Full Academic Potential in a High-Performing School

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The Catholic schools of the

Archdiocese of Chicago is an

educational system not only that

works but is designed to

perpetuate itself for the benefit of

our faith communities and

the civic order.

Archbishop Blase J. Cupich

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction to Systems Accreditation…………………………………………..…..4

Chapter 2. School AdvancED Accreditation Team………….……………..…………….……4

Chapter 3. The Internal Review in 2015-2016…………………….................................….6

Chapter 4. The Archdiocese of Chicago School Improvement Review Visit....………9

Chapter 5. A note on Checklists………..…………………………………………………………...11

Appendix 1. Update School Profile in ASSIST Checklist ……………........................12

Appendix 2. Create the Catholic Identity Stakeholder

Feedback Diagnostic Checklist…………………………………………………….13

Appendix 3. Continuous School Improvement Plan Checklist……………………….....13

Appendix 4. Policy Assurances Checklist……………………………………........................14

Appendix 5. Executive Summary Checklist……………..……………………......................15

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Chapter 1. Introduction to Systems Accreditation

Accreditation is a process of quality assurance designed primarily to distinguish schools

adhering to a set of educational standards, for its ability to effectively drive student performance,

and engage schools in continuous improvement.

The purpose of this handbook is to outline the technical work that will create the

conditions for the School AdvancED Accreditation Team to adjust and adapt to the complexities

of continuous school improvement. All elementary and high schools under the governance of the

Archdiocese of Chicago earned the distinction of systems accreditation in June 2015. In order to

maintain accreditation schools must respond to the AdvancED Improvement Priorities, meet the

five AdvancED Standards for Quality, engage in a process of continuous improvement, and

perform improvement reviews for 20% of schools in the system each academic year.

The Office of Catholic Schools is committed to helping our schools in the Systems

Accreditation process. Questions regarding the Systems Accreditation process can be directed to

the Director of School Improvement and Catholic School Accreditation, Dr. Jorge Peña, by email

(jpena@archchicago.org) or by telephone (312-534-5289).

Chapter 2. The School AdvancED Accreditation Team

School AdvancED Accreditation Team

The School AdvancED Accreditation Team consists of four to eight members and is led

by a Teacher-Chair appointed by the principal. Additional required members of a school’s

AdvancED Accreditation Team are the Principal and the Pastor or an Archdiocesan Initiative

Model (AIM) Board member. An exemplar AdvancED Accreditation Team will be made up of

the Principal, the Teacher-Chair, the Pastor/AIM Board Member, an Assistant Principal/Lead

Teacher, and two additional Teachers.

The work of the School AdvancED Accreditation Team is more important than ever and

that work will be focused the evidence that shows continuous improvement. Time is perhaps the

scarcest resource in schools; meeting at least twice a month for collaborative work on continuous

improvement is strongly recommended. Use norms during collaborative work as ground rules to

conduct effective meetings.

Adopt meeting norms:

1. Assume positive intentions. Take the position that everyone in the group is acting out of desire

toward our shared goal of helping all students learn.

2. Take an inquiry stance. Ask questions that allow insight into a colleague’s point of view. Use

sentence starters such as, “What led you to conclude …?” “I’m hearing you say…is that

correct?” “I’m wondering what you mean by…?”

3. Ground statements in evidence. Make a conscious effort to cite data or offer a rationale when

explaining one’s point of view. Sentence starters such as, “I notice that…” “I see…” “I saw

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evidence of…” can make it more likely that statements are not laced with adjectives and

proclamations. The School AdvancED Accreditation Team can support one another by

asking, “What’s your evidence?”

4. Stick to the norms. Stay within the guidelines of using the norms during a meeting, even if it

feels constraining.

5. Start and end on time. This norm is enormously important for developing the trust and

respect of all team participants.

6. Be here now. Stay on task. No surfing the web, checking/responding to email messages,

sending text messages during meetings. The Team functions most efficiently when this is

consistently honored and enforced. The above norms come from Meeting Wise- making the most of collaborative time for educators (2014) by Kathryn Parker Boudett and

Elizabeth City.

Responsibilities of the Teacher-Chair of the AdvancED Accreditation Team

The Teacher-Chair of the AdvancED Accreditation Team is responsible for the following:

Serving as the key point of contact between the Office of Catholic School’s Director of School

Improvement and Catholic School Accreditation (Dr. Jorge Peña) and the school. Note: the

Principal is to be included in all pertinent topic/discussions related to a school’s AdvancED

Internal Review;

Along with the Principal, oversees the accreditation and continuous school improvement

process;

Organizes and facilitates the School AdvancED Accreditation Team meetings;

Along with the Principal, supports stakeholders throughout the accreditation and continuous

school improvement process by answering questions and providing guidance;

Along with the Principal, ensures that requirements of the accreditation and continuous school

improvement process are met; and

Manages the logistics and schedule for the External Review visit.

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Responsibilities of the Principal

The principal is responsible for the following:

Support Teacher-Chair and leads the Accreditation and Internal Review;

Supervise the school’s continuous improvements efforts;

Participate in School AdvancED Accreditation Team meetings;

Approves the following written reports submitted by the school as part of the Internal Review

process:

o Student Performance Diagnostic,

o Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic,

o Self Assessment Diagnostic,

o Continuous School Improvement Plan, and

o Executive Summary.

Chapter 3. The Internal Review in 2015-2016

In the Internal Review schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago are to undergo the steps

marked with the letter ‘X’ as listed in the following table. The timeline with due dates and the

training dates for the steps are posted on the Accreditation page of the OCS Resource Portal. The

steps are described below the table.

Internal Review Steps 2014-2015 2015-2016

Review/Revise Demographics & Profile Yes Yes

Student Performance Diagnostic Yes No

Create the Catholic Identity Stakeholder Feedback

Diagnostic No Yes

Self Assessment Diagnostic No No

Update the Artifact Management Tool Yes Yes

Implement and evaluate the Continuous School

Improvement Plan Yes Yes

Answer the Archdiocese of Chicago Assurances Yes Yes

Update the Executive Summary Yes Yes

Review/Revise School Demographics and Profile Information in ASSIST

The AdvancED ASSIST on-line platform will be used to manage and facilitate the Systems

Accreditation process. The Teacher-Chair reviews and/or updates the school’s demographic and

profile in ASSIST. The school’s principal reviews and approves any changes to the profile before

it is uploaded to ASSIST. The profile is the name of the head of school (Principal), name of

primary contact (Teacher-Chair), school website, and religious denomination. Use the Update

School Profile in ASSIST Checklist in Appendix 1 for the steps on updating the school profile.

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Create the Catholic Identity Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic

The Catholic Identity Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic is intended to summarize the

school’s stakeholder feedback results by facilitating the process of analyzing stakeholder feedback

data in order to identify areas of achievement as well as areas in need of improvement. AdvancED

Catholic identity surveys are for the following stakeholder groups: parents, students in K-12, and

teachers. Use the Catholic Identity Stakeholder Feedback Checklist in Appendix 2 for the steps

on creating this diagnostic.

Update the Artifact Management Tool

The evidence to support Indicators for the Standards is organized in the Artifact

Management Tool (AMT). The evidence in the AMT is designed to help the School AdvancED

Accreditation Team think about the practices and/or processes being implemented that support

their responses to the Levels in each Indicator. The evidence helps school stakeholders to engage

in a discussion about how the school knows it is adhering to the Standards and Indicators. The

AMT is used to provide structure for evidence gathering by providing hyperlinks within this

document. The Office of Catholic Schools (OCS) has a folder in the cloud-based platform

Google Drive for each school to manage their AMT. OCS provides the electronic hyperlink to

access the AMT.

Implement and evaluate the Continuous School Improvement Plan

A learning organization is one where educators continually expand their capacity to create

the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where

collective aspiration is set free and where educators and students are continually learning how to

learn together (P. Senge, 2006, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization). This is the

spirit of the five elements of the Continuous School Improvement Plan: School Profile Data,

Measurable Improvement Goal, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation.

Step 1- School Profile Data. The School AdvancED Accreditation documents

comprehensive TerraNova and Explore test data on school performance.

Step 2- Measurable Improvement Goals. Each

school is assigned two improvement goals: goal one-

students in grades three to eight are to meet or exceed the

Aspire summative assessment benchmarks in reading; goal

two- students in grades three to eight are to meet or exceed

the Aspire summative assessment benchmarks in

mathematics.

Step 3- Planning. The planning process identifies

measurable objectives, strategies, activities, resources, and a

timeline for achieving an improvement goal. a. Measurable

objectives: a written statement that describes something that

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is to be measured and achieved to determine the effectiveness of the educational program. b.

Strategies: plans of action designed to achieve the measurable objective, professional development

to support the measurable objectives. c. Activities: specific actions that involves student

experiences, includes formative and summative assessments. d. Resources: specify resources and

support systems to accomplish the strategies and activities, such as instructional time, material

resources, fiscal resources, and/or support services. e. Timeline: a timetable for the strategies,

activities, and the benchmark of deliverables for Quarters 1, 2, and 3 or Trimester 1 and 2. An

example of a Continuous School Improvement Plan is posted on the OCS Resource Portal.

Step 4- Implementation. The faculty and administration are to hold one another

accountable for the overall quality of the implementation of all measurable objectives and

strategies. The Student On-Track Record is a tool to monitor the assessment of the measurable

objectives by documenting when the objective was assessed, identifying the students who are

proficient, and targeting students for re-teaching who may not demonstrate proficiency after

formative assessments. The School AdvancED Accreditation Team monitors the documentation

of the Student On-Track Record.

Step 5- Evaluation. The Evaluation process allows the School AdvancED Accreditation

Team to reflect on the improvement efforts and make the necessary changes to sustain continuous

improvement efforts. The School AdvancED Accreditation Team analyzes the School Profile

and the documentation on the implementation process to evaluate the Measurable Improvement

Goals, the Planning, and Implementation to evaluate successes and make adjustments in areas

needing improvement. The answers to the diagnostic questions in the Continuous School

Improvement Plan guides the School AdvancED Accreditation Team in evaluating school

improvement efforts. Use the Continuous School Improvement Plan Checklist in Appendix 3 to

guide the School AdvancED Accreditation Team in creating the Continuous School Improvement

Plan.

Answer the list of Archdiocese of Chicago Assurances

The assurances are policy statements that are answered with a “yes” or “no.” The Principal

of the School answers the three policy assurances: 1. Archdiocese of Chicago Assurances, 2.

AdvancED Assurances, 3. Early Learning Assurances (schools with a Pre-K program). Each policy

assurance has a text box for comments that is used when a policy assurance is answered as a “no.”

For each assurance answered “no,” the Principal is to write in the text box an explanation as to why

the policy assurance is a “no,” and what the school is doing to make the policy assurance a “yes.”

The Continuous School Improvement Plan is uploaded through the Archdiocese of Chicago

Assurances. Refer to the Policy Assurances Checklist in Appendix 4 when the Principal answers

the policy assurances.

Update the Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is a narrative that captures the school’s story, providing context

for the Self-Assessment. The Executive Summary contains the vision and cultural context of the

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institution, a summary of student performance, key information about how the school provides

teaching and learning, and a discussion of challenges and opportunities are highlighted in the

document. There are guiding questions that assist the school in crafting and updating each section

of the Executive Summary. Refer to the Executive Summary Checklist in Appendix 5 before

updating the Executive Summary.

Chapter 4. The Archdiocese of Chicago School Review Visit

The AdvancED accreditation process requires the Archdiocese of Chicago create and

implement an internal process whereby 20% of schools are visited each academic year.

Each year during the five-year accreditation term, about 20% of schools will be visited by an

Office of Catholic Schools Accreditation Review Team consisting of Principals, Assistant

Principals, schools’ AdvancED Accreditation Team-Chairs, and leadership from the Office of

Catholic Schools. The School Improvement Review schedule is posted on the accreditation page

of the OCS Resource Portal.

Chapter 5. A note on checklists

The checklists in the appendices are not intended to be comprehensive. The steps listed

in the checklists are the minimum necessary steps to complete the task; additions and

modifications to fit local practice are encouraged. The checklists identify for the school’s

AdvancED Accreditation Team any pre-work to perform prior to meeting, steps to perform during

group work when the Team assembles to create a diagnostic, and post group work for the Teacher-

Chair or Principal to perform. There are instructions above each checklist for the School

AdvancED Accreditation Team to follow. The pre-work are activities performed by individual

Team members that are designed to prepare them for the group work when Team members meet.

The group work are activities performed by the Team to create a diagnostic. The post group work

are activities performed by the Teacher-Chair or Principal after the Team group meeting; the post

group work generally consists of clerical tasks in ASSIST.

The purpose of the checklists is to give the School AdvancED Accreditation Team

opportunities to adapt according to their expertise and experience. The checklists are designed for

Team members to talk to one another for collaborative work and prompt the school’s AdvancED

Accreditation Team to function better as a team.

Principal performs these

steps.

1a. If Principal is new

to the school: Use the

Access Code to create

an account and log

into ASSIST.

1b. If Principal is

returning: log into

ASSIST.

2. Click on the Profile

tab.

3. Review the

Demographics tab.

If the demographics need to

be updated, then Principal

performs these steps.

1. In the Profile tab, in

Demographics, click

on Update

Demographics.

2. Click on blue

Manage

Demographics link

and make any

changes to the

demographics.

3. Click on the Save

button at the bottom

of the page.

4. Close the window.

5. Refresh

Demographics page in

ASSIST to view

changes.

Appendix 1: Update School Profile in ASSIST Checklist. Deadline- September 14, 2015

Review Demographics Update Demographics

AdvancED Accreditation Team

Members or entire faculty

prepare for collaborative work.

1. Generate the

Response Count

Summary Report in

Assist.

2. Answer the prompt

in Questionnaire

Administration in the

Data Document

3. Enter the values for

survey items in the

tables in the Data

Document

4. Identify the three

survey items with the

highest values.

5. Identify the three

survey items with the

lowest values.

6. Reflect on the

implications of these

findings.

AdvancED Accreditation Team or

entire faculty creates the

Catholic Identity Stakeholder

Feedback Diagnostic.

1. Review the

populated Data

Document.

2. Answer the

Diagnostic Questions

3. Reflect on the

answers to the

Diagnostic Questions

and discuss the

implications of these

findings.

4. Answer the

Evaluative Criteria

Teacher-Chair and Principal

performs these steps.

1. Principal reviews and

approves the

diagnostic.

2. Create the

Stakeholder Feedback

Diagnostic in ASSIST.

3. Upload the data

document

4. Transfer Evaluative

Criteria

5. Copy and paste the

answers to Diagnostic

Questions.

6. Click on the blue

complete button.

7. Download the

diagnostic as a PDF

and email it to the

principal.

Appendix 2: Catholic Identity Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic. Deadline- February 1, 2016

Group work Post group work Individual Pre-work

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AdvancED Accreditation Team

Members or entire faculty o

prepare for collaborative work.

1. Review the 2015-16

CSIP.

2. Analyze Aspire

Summative data

reports in grades 3-8:

Subject Proficiency by

Grade, Subject

Proficiency by Group.

Subject Proficiency by

Student, and Skills

Proficiency by Student.

3. For reading and

math, identify the

lowest performing

strand in grades 3-8.

4. .

5. Generate preliminary

answers to the

Diagnostic Questions in

Step 5- Evaluation of

the CSIP.

6. For Teacher-Chair

only: use the CSIP

2016-17 template

found in the OCS

Resource Portal to

populate Step 1- School

Profile Data, and write

the Measurable Goals

in Step 2.

AdvancED Accreditation Team

or entire faculty creates the

Continuous School Improvement

Plan.

1. Discuss results from

the Aspire summative

assessment.

2. For reading and

math, identify the

lowest performing

strands and

benchmarks.

3. Answer the

Diagnostic Questions in

the Evaluation section

in the 2015-16 CSIP.

4. Discuss Step 1 and

Step 2 of the 2016-17

CSIP.

5. Complete Step 3-

Planning of the 2016-

17 CSIP.

6. Complete Step 4-

Implementation

Process of the 2016-

17.

Teacher-Chair and Principal

performs these steps.

1. Enter the information

in Step 3- Planning in

the 2016-17 CSIP.

2. Enter the information

in Step 4-

Implementation

Process in the 2016-17

CSIP.

3. Email an electronic

copy of the 2016-17

CSIP to the Principal for

review and approval.

Appendix 3: Continuous School Improvement Plan Checklist. Deadline- June 10, 2016

Group work Individual Pre-work Post group work

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Principal performs these steps.

1. Principal ensures the

Continuous School

Improvement Plan

(CSIP) is of high quality

and complete.

2. Principal has an

electronic copy of the

CSIP.

3. Principal has

approved the CSIP.

Principal performs these steps.

1. Log into ASSIST.

2. In the Assurances

tab, click on Start

Assurances.

3. Click on the drop-

down arrow and choose

Archdiocese of Chicago

Assurances.

4. In the Description

box, type 2016-2017

and click the blue Start

button.

5. Answer the policy

assurances.

6. Upload the CSIP

when prompted by the

assurance.

7. Click on blue

Complete button after

the last assurance is

answered.

Appendix 4: Policy Assurances Checklist. Deadline- June 10, 2016

Review CSIP Answer Assurances

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AdvancED Accreditation

Team Members or entire

faculty prepare for

collaborative work by

performing the steps below.

1. Review the latest

version of the

Executive

Summary.

2. Document any

new information for

part 1- Description

of school.

3. Document any

new information for

part 2- School

purpose.

4. Document any

new information for

part 3- Notable

Achievements and

Areas of

Improvement.

5. Document any

new information for

part 4- Additional

information.

AdvancED Accreditation

Team or entire faculty

updates the Executive

Summary.

1. Discuss the new

information for part

1- Description of

school.

2. Discuss the new

information for part

2- School purpose.

3. Discuss the new

information for part

3- Notable

Achievements and

Areas of

Improvement.

4. Discuss the new

information for part

4- Additional

information.

5. Teacher-Chair

documents all new

information for

each part of the

Executive

Summary.

Teacher-Chair or Principal

performs these steps.

1. Revise the

Executive Summary

with new

information.

2. Principal reviews

and approves

diagnostic.

3. Log into ASSIST

and Click on the

“Diagnostics &

Surveys” tab.

4. Click the “Start

Diagnostic” button.

5. Click on the

“Choose a

Template” drop-

down arrow and

select “Executive

Summary.”

6. Type a

description, such as

2016-2017.

7. Click on the blue

“Start” button.

8. Copy and paste

the responses for

each of the

Executive

Summary.

9. Click on the blue

“Complete” button

after Part 4.

10. Click on the

PDF button and

save a copy.

Post group work Group work

Appendix 5: Executive Summary Checklist. Deadline: June 10, 2016

Individual Pre-work