For about two years, Boothbay Region High School has been preparing for its Decennial (about every 10 years) Accreditation. Finally, beginning on Oct. 30, BRHS will welcome thirteen committee members from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Parents, teachers, students and administration have worked hard to prepare for the visit, and Principal Dan Welch said they are ready for the evaluation. “I’m comfortable having people here,” Welch said. “We’re happy to show the school off.”

Welch has cause to be proud of BRHS and its accomplishments. Last spring, the school ranked ninth among the top ten high schools in Maine, according to “U.S. News & World Report” http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maine. The report determines several factors when considering a ranking — one of them being student-to-teacher ratio, which at BRHS is currently at 14:1, according to Welch. “We have fantastic teachers,” he said. “Our class sizes are small and students get one-on-one attention. We now send 85 percent of our students to colleges and institutions of higher learning.” Recently, BRHS received an Apple Distinguished School Award for its creative use of technology.

All good news, but still, the road to accreditation is intense. Preparation begins at the school level with a year of BRHS faculty working together to scrutinize every aspect of NEASC’s seven-standard matrix: core values, beliefs, and learning expectations; curriculum; instruction; assessment of and for student learning; school culture and leadership; school resources for learning; and community resources for learning. Any problem areas are identified and an improvement process is put into play.

The second phase begins when committees are assembled from the community, including a mix of parents, students, members of the public, staff and faculty, with one committee formed for each standard. The purpose of this second phase is to evaluate the extent the school meets the standards, and to gather evidence to support those findings.

The third phase of accreditation is the on-site evaluation visit from a team of NEASC members. This team goes over the committees’ reports and makes decisions on which of the seven standards receive accreditation. The team also reports on what needs improvement.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, BRHS will be holding a ‘Decennial Accreditation’ day to kick of the NEASC’s arrival. “The panel is made up of students, teachers, and myself, presenting to the NEAS&C committee. We’ll have a light reception after the panel, and NEAS&C will be talking to the school board, to parents, and to students,” said Welch. The event begins at 1 p.m. in the BRHS library. 

While part of the evaluation is examining the details of the committee reports, NEASC members will also be present throughout the school during the following week. They will be observing in classrooms, talking to parents and members of the school community,  and shadowing students with diverse learning styles.  \

“They will be everywhere,” said Welch.