Aviano schools evaluated for accreditation

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Carole Steele
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Aviano’s Department of Defense Dependents’ School will be put to the test April 24-28. A team of five evaluators from the North Central Association’s Commission on Schools will visit here to assess the school for accreditation.

All DoDDS schools are reviewed every five years and this will be the first NCA evaluation for the new school here since it opened five years ago.

“When we opened, all the teachers came together and set a goal area,” said Vicki Paxson, a 5th grade teacher who has taught in the DoDDS system for 22 years in the European and Pacific theatres.

The target goal the teachers created was ‘All students will improve communication across the curriculum.’ This was paired with their mission statement ‘We are a community of learners who strive for excellence.’

“Just like the Air Force, which is used to mission statements, we have a mission statement that we work towards, too,” said Ms. Paxson. “The NCA will have specific questions that are tied to our mission statement and our goal.”

The evaluators will assess all aspects of the school by observing teachers and students in their everyday classroom environment, looking at curriculum and test scores, holding forums for parents and students, reviewing each teacher’s file and credentials, and talking one-on-one with each teacher.

During the first two days of the evaluation, the NCA team will be ‘flies on the wall’ of the school.

“They want to walk into classrooms, watch the interaction and see the things we do on a daily basis; they don’t want them to stop what they’re doing or put on a show,” said Janyne Roers, a 2nd grade teacher who recently served on an accreditation team for a DoDDS school in Spain.

The evaluators will also talk with people randomly throughout the school, even asking questions of students in the hallway.

Ms. Roers has suggested ways that parents can help their children prepare for the event.

“Get them talking about what they’re doing in school. Have them communicate what they’re studying and what they’ve learned,” she said. “Parents should be seeing their kids doing things like oral presentations and written explanations.”

Then on April 26, the evaluation team will meet with selected parents in an open forum. Those parents will receive invitations in the mail and will be chosen at random from different grade levels to ensure they cover a broad spectrum of the school.

“I’m sure if a parent [who didn’t get an invitation] wants to come, they wouldn’t be told they couldn’t,” said Ms. Paxson. “The invitations are just to ensure they have a good representation across the board.”

The NCA team will also hold the same type of open forum with students that they will randomly select.

The evaluators then write a final pass/fail report and also give Aviano suggestions for improvement that they call ‘Next Steps.’ An outbriefing will be given April 27 for the Aviano community and commanders.

“I think we’re going to do very well. We have a good school, a good staff, good kids and the parents are supportive,” said Ms. Paxson. “Like I tell the kids, it’s just like when we give them tests – this is for us to see where we can make improvements in what and how we teach them to make their education better.”