District No. 2 Self-Assessment today

TEN SLEEP – Washakie County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees are holding an all-day AdvancED District Self-Assessment today at the Ten Sleep School. The Self-Assessment will begin at 8 a.m., and conclude at 5 p.m. in the school conference room.

Ten Sleep Principal Russ Budmayr explained that Washakie District No. 2 has invited the community, staff, and board of trustees to help rank the school according to AdvancED’s standards. “This is just a chance for us to identify and set our improvement goals,” Budmayr said.

According to materials provided by AdvancED, a non-profit accrediting agency, Self-Assessment is a critical component of the AdvancED accreditation process. “The AdvancED Self-Assessment is designed to serve as a valuable tool that will assist schools in reflecting upon their effectiveness as well as prepare them for an External Review. In order to earn and maintain accreditation, schools must meet the five AdvancED Standards for Quality, engage in a process of continuous improvement and host an External Review at least once every five years,” as noted in AdvancED’s Self-Assessment guidebook.

The Self-Assessment has been designed to engage schools in an in-depth evaluation of each of the five AdvancED Standards for Quality by creating a set of questions that enable a school to most accurately describe its continuous improvement progress. In completing the report, a school identifies the evidence, data, information and documented results that validate that it is meeting each standard. This Self-Assessment helps a school identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement by reflecting upon questions posed in the indicators.

The assessment also serves as the primary resource for the External Review Team, which uses the report to prepare for the External Review. The team uses insights gathered from the report and information obtained during the on-site review to provide feedback to the school and to make an accreditation recommendation.

In addition to the assessment process, students and parents are given surveys that are included in the AdvancED packet. All of the available information is then verified and compared to conclusions developed by the AdvancED accreditation team. The findings of the Self-Assessment will be submitted to AdvancED.

The AdvancED External Review Team is scheduled to visit Washakie County District No. 2 on Oct. 26-27.