High school receives accreditation warnings
Published on June 13th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - The results of the high school accreditation process are in, and according to Stoneham High School Principal Tom Ryan at last week's School Committee meeting, “Stoneham High School has done a good job in most areas.”
However, as expected, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges found a couple of areas of concern during their visit and lengthy analysis of the state of Stoneham High School, specifically in the areas of curriculum and community resources. In these areas, SHS has been placed on warning status.
Ryan pointed out however, that despite the warning status in these two areas, Stoneham High School does have continued accredited status.
The findings require Stoneham High School to submit a report of changes to improve the two areas by January 2008. The date for this report was originally slated for this coming November, but Ryan was successful in delaying the due date by two months. Following that, Stoneham must demonstrate that improvements are being made in the two problem areas, as suggested by the NEASC by October 2008.
“So in a very short space of 18 months, we're really expected to have 50 percent of the recommendations completed,” Ryan advised.
Much of the deficiencies in the two areas are considered to be due to the system's lack of appropriate funding, but the biggest problem Ryan sees in getting the problems addressed and the warning status upgraded to commendable, is that there is no follow up committee to work on the project.
“No one wants to serve on it. That's what happens when you have contractual issues.”
Ryan suggested that the School Committee petition to delay the deadlines imposed by the NEASC until the issue of how to proceed with a follow up committee is resolved.
The NEASC is looking for details from Stoneham on what remedies will be made in the two problem areas, through what sources of funding, and by when. School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly stated that this would require paying 4-5 teachers working approximately 15 hours per week for two weeks during the summer.
“Once you're in warning status, you have to start proving you're doing something, Ryan said. Merely advising the NEASC that you are discussing it, is not sufficient.
“I would say that some type of 2-3 year plan needs to be put in place that shows funding for technology, classroom support, books and those types of missing things. It does not have to be done in one year.”
With regard to curriculum, the NEASC found that the system lacked curriculum guidelines for many courses. For community resources, Ryan said that the level of maintenance in the building must be picked up. Many of the problems the NEASC saw are listed as needs on the School Committee's five year capital plan, but have not yet been funded.
“There are some things we've let go over the years,” Ryan said.
According to Connelly, an action plan must be developed, followed by a funding strategy. This will need the involvement of the Finance Board and Board of Selectmen working with the School Committee.
“There is a need to have a follow up committee and that has not been met. There is a need to show some financial backing of some of these recommendations,” Ryan said. “Once you get on this radar screen, the best thing to do is to get off very quickly.”
Ryan explained that failure to follow the recommendations outlined by the NEASC could, in the worst case scenario, lead Stoneham from warning status in just these two areas to warning status for the entire accreditation, but that would be “way down the road.”
There was good news in the accreditation report too, according to School Committee Chairman Maureen Soley, including a wide variety of instructional strategies and assessments employed, resourcefulness and camaraderie of the faculty within the context of financial shortfalls, supportive school climate, valuable school-to-life learning opportunities, a significant amount of time teachers spend with students before and after school, the ability to meet the needs of a wide range of students, approachability of high school principal as well as his rapport with staff and dedication to school system, and efforts of the Superintendent, School Committee, and parents to secure dependable funding for school programs.
“We'd like to focus on some of the good, but we need to do something about the bad news,” Soley said.
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