DISTRICT ACCREDITATION

In 2007, Cartersville City Schools became one of the first school districts in the nation to receive District Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). Cartersville City Schools was one of the first 100 school systems in the nation to achieve this distinction as a Quality School System. In a follow up accreditation on-site Quality Review visit held October 23-26, 2011, to the school system, Cartersville City Schools was recommended for continued accreditation with Advanc-ED (the parent company of SACS).

Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance developed with the goal of evaluating, verifying and improving educational institutions.  Founded in 1895, SACS is a voluntary, nongovernmental agency that is an accreditation division of AdvancED, the world’s largest accreditation, school improvement, and research agency representing over 23,000 public and private schools and districts in 30 states and 65 countries and serving over 15 million students.

In order for a district to be accredited through AdvancED, the school system must:

1. Meet the Advanc-ED Accreditation Standards for Quality School Systems and ensure that each school within the district meets the Standards for Quality Schools.  The standards require the district to have clear vision & purpose; have effective & responsive leadership; have a rigorous curriculum; collect, report & use performance results; provide adequate resources & support for educational programs; and value & communicate with stakeholders.
2. Engage in continuous improvement by implementing an improvement plan based on student performance and school/community data that includes clear goals for raising achievement of all students.
3. Demonstrate quality assurance through an external review.  Districts must be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the district on a five-year basis.  The team validates that the district meets the standards for accreditation and provides feedback and makes recommendations for future efforts of improvement.