Dexter parents asked to take school survey

DEXTER – As part of its accreditation process, Dexter Regional High School will survey teachers, parents and students next month.

The parent surveys will be distributed Wednesday, Nov. 12, during the annual open house.

Principal Stephen Bell said the survey is part of the self-study required for the high school to become accredited by the Commission on Public Secondary Schools of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

The association is a voluntary membership organization of more than 2,000 public schools, colleges and universities, independent schools, and vocational, technical and career institutions. Of these, about 650 have been accredited through the Commission on Public Secondary Schools. The commission works with individual institutions to improve the quality of education at all levels through a continuous process of evaluation and accreditation.

Parents completing the survey will be eligible for a drawing for two season tickets to all of the high school’s sporting events. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete, according to Bell.

Association membership requires that a school undergo a self-study and formal evaluation at least once every 10 years. The survey questionnaires will provide essential information to complete the self-study and formal evaluation.

“The self-study will include the completion of a school and community profile, which will provide information about SAD 46, as well as the school and the students it serves, and a comprehensive assessment of teaching and learning and the support of teaching and learning,” Bell said recently.

The focus of the evaluation visit is to determine the extent to which the programs and services carry out the school’s mission and expectations for student learning and to what extent it meets the Commissioner’s Standards for Accreditation, he said.

The high school was last accredited in 2000 and it has maintained continued accreditation since it received association membership in 1980. The next visit by a committee representing the commission will be in April 2010.