A Statista Dossierplus on major events shaping 2021
The Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association accredit early-childhood through post-secondary, non-degree granting public, private, faith-based educational institutions including special purpose schools, and learning services providers.
Historically, MSA-CESS has operated in the mid-Atlantic region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia); with its cooperative partners, it has expanded its scope to include schools and institutions seeking accreditation throughout the United States. The Commissions also award accreditation to member institutions in more than 100 countries around the world.
In accordance with the Final Rule to Revise Accreditation and State Authorization Regulations, the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools (MSA-CSS) has providing written notice to the U.S. Secretary of Education effective July 1, 2020, MSA-CSS has received approval from its Commission to expand as follows: “The Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools is an accrediting agency for certain secondary and post-secondary non-degree granting schools located inside or outside the United States, including but not limited to its states, commonwealths, and territories” The Commission on Secondary Schools is now recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a gatekeeper for eligibility for Title IV funding for postsecondary, non-degree granting institutions and distance education throughout the United States.
The Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools are affiliated with the United States State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools and provide accreditation services to American and international style schools attended by members of the U.S. foreign service and U. S. citizens working for non-government agencies and multi-national corporations.
Middle States Accreditation Honor
The Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, our accrediting organization, received ASM’s strategic goals for their technical review in late February. The strategic plan was developed based on the data collected during the Self Study that took place during the 2020-21 school year and the input from community focus groups held in September 2021.
After looking over our goals, Middle States felt ASM had the perfect goal and situation to take advantage of a new accreditation protocol they are piloting with exemplary schools worldwide. They have invited ASM to use this additional accreditation protocol called Sustaining Excellence. This is a protocol that a number of US schools have moved to and a few international schools have requested or been invited to use. Sustaining Excellence is offered to leading schools that have a demonstrated commitment to excellence and have demonstrated that the systems and structures necessary to support the Middle States standards are securely in place. This is a mark of distinction for ASM. Sustaining Excellence has schools commit to an action research project focused on a single, overarching area of learning.
The Sustaining Excellence Protocol is an option that permits “leading schools” to earn reaccreditation by focusing their time, energy, and resources, and that of their community of stakeholders, on:
Identifying an aspect of the school's educational program, services, and/or learning environment the school and its community of stakeholders desire to grow and/or improve in order to produce even higher levels of student performance or creative ways to measure student performance;
Discovering how current research informs efforts to grow and improve the aspect of the school's educational program, services, and/or learning environment on which the school wishes to focus;
Developing a proposal for an action research project to demonstrate application of that research in the living laboratory of the school;
Implementing the research project and documenting the results of implementation; and,
Sharing what was learned from the implementation with the broader education community in the form of a colloquium
This honor is a unique and gratifying opportunity for ASM.
“The Sustaining Excellence Protocol … permits ‘leading schools’ to earn reaccreditation by focusing their time, energy, and resources and that of their community of stakeholders” to
Identify an aspect of the school's educational program to improve
Look at educational research
Develop an action research project
Implement the research project and document the results
Share with the education community in the form of a colloquium.
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