After an intensive eighteen-month process, it was exciting to complete and mail the final draft of the Self-Study to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Commission and each member of the Visiting Team a few weeks ago. Yesterday, the Visiting Team, composed of six experienced educators from a variety of schools throughout New England, arrived and attended a reception in Fitzpatrick Hall with BCD employees and Trustees. Chaired by David Sullivan, Head of School at Breakwater School in Portland, ME, and a member of the NEASC Commission, the committee will visit BCD until Wednesday.
As the central and required component of the process in seeking re-accreditation by NEASC, the Self-Study process has been a wonderful opportunity for the faculty and others to evaluate our programs and policies while setting goals for future improvement. In addition, we have assessed ourselves against an extensive series of standards to ensure that we are implementing best practices in every area.
In the section describing BCD’s process, the faculty committee wrote, “The BCD faculty and staff have done an admirable job preparing for the Spring visit. Members of the Steering Committee worked hard organizing materials so that the Standards committees had everything they needed to do a thoughtful and thorough job. Everyone has provided honest feedback regarding both the strengths of our school and our areas for improvement. Much has been learned during this process and changes have already started to happen.” I couldn’t agree more, and I am grateful for everyone’s hard work and commitment to our school.
Special thanks goes to Kathy Clausen, Eugenie Fawcett, Jenney Maloy, and Carmen Dockery Perkins, who graciously agreed to participate as BCD’s Self-Study Steering Committee during the entire process. This group guided and oversaw all aspects of the process including determining and articulating sub-committee assignments, surveying constituency groups, determining guidelines and calendars for program and standards committees, collecting and presenting records and data, writing and editing the report, establishing recommendations, and preparing for and hosting the visiting team.
The Visiting Team will submit their report to the NEASC Commission later this spring, and we will learn about the status of our re-accreditation after the full Commission meets to review the report later this year.