There were cheers and tears last Wednesday among the school board members and administrators gathered at the Wilkes County Board of Education when it was announced that the entire county school system had attained district accreditation.

“The district and all its schools are granted a five-year term of accreditation. You are, at this moment, accredited,” said SACS Chairman Mont Bush after presenting the findings of an evaluation team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools that had toured school facilities, observed classrooms, and interviewed teachers, students, administrators, and parents last week.

“Thank you for validating what we’ve worked so hard to achieve,” said Superintendent Dr. Rosemary Caddell. “It’s a wonderful feeling that you recognize all the hard work and the years of staying at it. We’re so proud of our system and our children.”

While Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School had long been accredited, the effort to attain full district accreditation began in 2008.

During the on-site Quality Assurance Review, team members visited all four schools and interviewed the superintendent; four Wilkes Board of Education members; nine administrators; 101 teachers; six support staff members; 30 parents, community, and business partners; and 34 students.

The review team’s findings outlined the system’s strengths, commendations, challenges, and required actions. The team found the system’s strengths to include “the leadership of the school board and the superintendent, the collegiality among staff and their compassion for all students as demonstrated through the work of the District Change Team and local school staffs.”

Other strengths noted were the fact that all teachers are highly qualified by AYP standards, that all data-driven decisions are made in regard to instruction and student performance based on the collection of school data. In addition, the district has met expected requirements for Annual Yearly Progress and is on target for meeting its expectations on the Balanced Scorecard.

The team found much to commend in the district. “You’re to be commended for helping all students,” SACS Chairman Bush said. “Closing the achievement gap is a major challenge, and you’re meeting that challenge.”

The Quality Assurance Review Team also commended the district for the leadership displayed by the school board, superintendent, principals, teachers, and support staff in addressing the academic needs of students. They also commended the support displayed by the parents and the community for the education of their children and the achievement of all students as demonstrated by test results.

The team also singled out for commendation the district’s efforts to close the achievement gap among sub-groups, the compassion and care for all students by stakeholders, and the opening of a state-of-the-art facility for high and middle school students.

Among the district’s challenges, the SACS team noted the decline in revenue to fund the district’s schools, along with the decline in student population that affects state funding and school programs. The team also cited challenges in funding programs that have proven successful and the difficulty of funding and maintaining technology support for schools.

The accreditation team found only two areas where the district needed improvement: more training in instructional technology was needed for teachers, and the district needed to brag more about its achievements on the system’s website.

“I told Dr. Caddell about the need to brag about yourselves on the web site just a couple of hours ago,” Bush said, “and now, it’s already done. I have to say, that’s impressive.”

Once reviewed and approved by the accreditation commission, he said, the district and all its schools are granted a 5-year term accreditation. A written report of the accreditation team’s findings is expected to be submitted to the Wilkes Board of Education within 30 days.