Area schools receive accreditation from national commission
Sister Corrine Giel summed up the feelings for all the principals from Fayette County’s five Catholic elementary schools when announcing they have all received accreditation from the Middles States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Elementary Schools. “There’s so much reported that’s negative about education. People need to see that educators are working hard to improve education, to see standards are being met,’ said Sister Giel, principal at Holy Rosary School in Republic. “Our whole purpose is to let the general public know that people in education are concerned.’
The five schools and their principals include Sister Giel at Holy Rosary, which offers education to pre-school through eighth grade; Sister Catherine Meinert at Conn-Area Catholic in Connellsville, which has classes in kindergarten through eighth grade as well as an after-school program; Paul Polink at All Saints in Masontown, which offers classes from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and after-school care; Chris Roskovensky at St. John the Evangelist in Uniontown, which has pre-school through eighth grade and after-school care; and Melvyn Sepic at St. Mary School in Uniontown, which has classes for pre-school through eighth grade.
During a recent interview, the principals explained the prestige behind the accreditation, which is a standard being met by all the elementary schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg to which these schools belong.
Accreditation, explained Roskovensky, “validates your school.’
“You go above and beyond state standards,’ noted Sister Giel.
According to a brochure from the commission, the Middles States Association was established by the academic profession in 1887 to set standards for American education. It is a non-profit corporation. The Commission on Elementary Schools serves Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and certain regions overseas. The Commission is a member of the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation Inc. (CITA).
The brochure explained accredited schools define appropriate educational goals and provided programs to achieve them, maintain a qualified faculty and an effective school organization, assess the outcomes of school experiences and control the quality of educational programs, respond to concerns of parents and needs of the school community, provide for the continuity of its programs and plans for their future and describe with accuracy the content of its services and programs.
As can be imagined, none of this is achieved lightly.
Roskovensky said, “It is a very grueling process for the faculty and staff. You have to take a hard look at yourself – both positive and negative.’
For the process, each of the schools, which were first accredited 10 years ago after doing self-studies, established a Middle States steering committee with faculty to cover such areas as a philosophy, community, student services, organization, resources and programs. They also placed people in charge of action plans and decided whether to pursue a project or do another self-study.
Polink noted, “This process is not controlled by the principal or the pastor.’
“The teachers deserve a lot of credit. They worked hard,’ noted Sister Giel.
“They were harder on themselves than any administrator would be,’ said Sister Meinert.
While all the schools listed basic information about themselves, St. Mary School underwent another extensive self-study for the accreditation.
That means taking a look at every academic area, facilities, safety, cleanliness, the cafeteria, field trips, health care, storage of records, government-funded services, etc.
“It gives you a constant evaluation of yourself,’ said Sepic, explaining the steering committee’s reasons for choosing the self-study. “It enhances your continuing efforts to meet your milestones.’
For an example, look at this passage from the student services study of the self-study when school officials were asked to list in priority order, aspects of the health services area that require action. The school recommended, “If it is possible, a school nurse could be present in the building more than half a day per week. Any parent who has a medical background could volunteer to help in this area and provide additional medical care to the students. Basic First Aid and CPR training for all adult individuals who work with the students could be offered through in-service.’
Sepic said that some of the recommendations in the self-study have already been completed. For instance, the staff has already been trained in CPR and has Act 164 and 34 clearances. The school is also looking into acquiring defibulators and is planning training. More work will continue.
The other four schools undertook projects. Both St. John and Holy Rosary carried out projects on character development.
Sister Giel explained, “We were seeing a lack of respect, a lack of responsibility, not taking the blame.’
Roskovensky noted the project goals were written into every grade level.
Both schools focused on respect, responsibility, caring/sharing, honesty, fairness/justice.
From St. John’s project report: “Using Christ as an example, we call up the inherent attributes of respect for all life through the development of the guiding principles of character, responsibility, compassion, honesty and justice. … We accept the challenge of cultivating good moral choices and accountability in each individual. We recognize the importance of a partnership of all those who influence our children.’
From Holy Rosary’s project report: “The teaching of character development will always be an important part of the curriculum of our school and an extension of four philosophy. We realize that we need to strengthen and intensify our understanding the and practice of the values of respect, responsibility, honesty, caring/sharing and fairness/justice.’
Conn-Area Catholic emphasized programs on writing.
Sister Meinert said, “We spent a lot of time deciding what our project would be. We chose writing across the curriculum areas in a step-by-step process.’
From Conn-Area Catholic’s project report: “As the administration and faculty consistently focused on the needs of our students with a futuristic lens, it became clear that the central necessary skill for the 21st century work force would be communication. Communication is and will be the central necessary skill to enable students to compete and excel among and with their peers. In particular, written communication will be one of the most fundamental key components in a service-driven economy.’
And “students will become more proficient writers as they utilize various types of writing.’
All Saints undertook a project of integrating the religious leaders, parents, business leaders and general public into the school community.
“We had parents and the community working together to produce a good school,’ said Polink. “We went to town meetings. We worked with people in the community. We showed involvement and the history of the school. The community has a high opinion of the school and we try to keep it there.’
All projects had to be approved and related to education. Next, a team of outside evaluators came into the school. “They interviewed parents, students, faculty. They pick them at random,’ explained Sister Meinert.
The teams stayed three days, looking at all aspects of the school, including safety, and looking at all forms of communication, including newsletters and the school newspaper.
“They look at the climate of the school. Is it friendly? How the students are treated,’ explained Sepic.
“Those are nerve-racking days when those teams are here,’ said Sister Giel.
“You surrender your school to them,’ said Roskovensky.
And they had some nice things to say about Fayette County schools.
“One comment of our school is how friendly everybody is. It’s a nice evaluation,’ Sepic said.
Sister Giel said, “It was neat to hear them say continue what you’re doing.’
She added, “When an outsider comes in and supports you, it really validates what you’re doing.’
When the final Middle States Association accreditation is awarded, it’s because there’s been a lot of hard work involved.
As a result, these Fayette County principals are proud of the achievements of their schools.
But the work continues as the projects and evaluations are carried out. Follow-up reports are due in the third and sixth year and then the school begins in the ninth year to apply for re-accreditation.
“”It’s a good experience,’ said Polink. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.’
Sister Meinert commented, “It gives you a lot of pride, a sense of accomplishment and a vision for 10 years.’