Thank you.
Because of the work you do each day we had a very successful AdvancEd Engagement Review earlier this week. Many people - staff, students, parents, and board members worked hard to satisfy all of the requirements of this visit.
I could not be prouder. We created a school district, hired over 800 staff, we are currently serving over 1500 students, and we helped start a whole new school called Coastal Plains. They are now serving 700 students. You are part of a very significant effort for students across Georgia.
Earning the AdvancEd accreditation is an indicator of our collective good work. We are focused on students and their needs. It is easy to get distracted. But we are not.
The exit report power point is HERE. We will get the final report and our official standing in about 30 days. (I cannot wait to add the AdvancEd accreditation logo on our website.)
The two areas that were noted that needed attention are areas that we noted as well. The implementation grant we received this fall is helping us to tighten our curriculum and better define our blended classroom model of instruction. We are working hard in the very areas that were mentioned. In fact, we are developmentally appropriate
in our current delivery. As we streamline our curriculum and better define best instructional practices our EOC scores will improve. They already are showing growth after each test administration.
I would like to give a special shout-out to our AdvancEd data gathering and writing team: Scott Gordon, Camille
Murner, Sherrie Gibney-Sherman, Rachael Parr-Bedingfield, Mandy Sailors. Each team member, in turn, had another team to help gather feedback and prepare for the visit.
We had help from Brittan Ayers, Celeste Cannon, Mark Channell, Angel Edwards, Kelly Girtz, Dale Simpson, Victoria Stroud, Glenn Toney. Many others - including every site director and their staff, the central office staff, business operations staff, our board, and more were part of the team pulling together our documents and planning our visit.
Mandy Sailors was able to assemble all of our work, write each of the seven required essays, and select appropriate evidence to support our case. Mandy delivered a quality product for Foothills.
Scott Gordon was our point person for the entire review process. We started the journey over a year ago when we submitted our intent to apply for accreditation. Scott slept good the last couple of nights.
We did it! Now we need to get to work and address the two noted areas. We can do this.
You are appreciated.
Sherrie