Three Burke County high schools are at risk of losing their accreditation, which could affect students' applications to certain colleges and universities.
Accreditation means the high schools meet internationally recognized standards for education.
School Superintendent David Burleson and Burke County Board of Education Chair Tracy Norman received identical letters, dated April 24, from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
The letter lists several specific board of education-related actions and incidents that the organization considers "disturbing."
"It's a warning," according to school board member Buddy Armour.
SACS CASI gives the school district 30 days to respond. With the district's response in hand, the organization will judge how well the Burke County district and its board of education are complying or will come back into compliance with SACS CASI's standards.
The Decatur, Ga.,-based organization's vice president for communications, Jennifer Oliver, said this morning it is premature to speculate about what may happen after SACS CASI receives the district's response.
She said it is very rare for SACS CASI to notify a board of education about its concerns about problems and complaints and even more rare for it to withdraw a school or district's accreditation.
Oliver said that in the past 40 years only one district has lost its accreditation. The Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia lost accreditation in August 2008 after an inspection team "found evidence to support a conclusion that the effectiveness of the Clayton County Board of Education is fatally flawed."
SACS CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED, the world's largest education community. AdvancED is responsible for accrediting 23,000 public and private schools in the United States and abroad.
Freedom High School earned its SACS CASI accreditation in 1973, East Burke High School in 1974 and Patton High School in 2007. The district's fourth high school, Draughn High, opened last fall and will not be considered for accreditation until after it's in operation for a full school year.
To earn accreditation, school districts must meet the SACS CASI standards, engage in continuous improvement and demonstrate quality assurance through internal and external reviews. The standards are based on research on the factors that impact student achievement. Leadership & Governance is one of seven areas of standards.
Keep watching Morganton.com for updates and see The News Herald on Friday for comprehensive coverage.
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Burke County schools at risk of losing accreditation
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Morganton News Herald
Published: April 30, 2009
Published: April 30, 2009
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