On Sunday, March 4, 2018, Sister Camille Panich, Chair of the Middle States Visiting Team assigned to Elizabeth Seton, brought her teammates with her to conduct visit for the seven-year accreditation process.
Over the course of the past two years, the Elizabeth Seton High School community conducted a self-study to assess our program based on the twelve Middle States standards. Data was gathered from students, staff, parents, Board members, and select members of the surrounding community. Of particular importance was input gathered from an electronic survey from these important stakeholders. The Excellence by Design protocol was chosen as a model for evaluation, which uses strategic planning as a vehicle for growth and improvement in student performance and organizational capacity.
In addition to Sister Camille, the Middle States team members included Mr. Charles Dean from Saints Peter and Paul High School, Sr. Teresa Mary Lukaszewski, CSFN from Nazareth Academy High School and Mr. Ryan Penalver from Saint Frances Academy, who spent the week observing classes and meeting and engaging with groups of students and staff to ask questions and learn about Seton. In her final report to the staff, Sister Camille iterated that the Visiting Team is a group of "professional friends and colleagues who are here to leave you in a better place to achieve your goals." Indeed, the work and guidance of the Visiting Team is a critical part of the process and we thank them for their time and effort in conducting a thorough review of our documents and in speaking with our School community, as well as delivering their report and recommendation.
Also in her final report to staff, she commended Internal Coordinators Maureen McDonough and Natalie St. Louis for leading a process that was a "true collaborative effort" and for setting goals that are "attainable, sensible and achievable." She thanked the School Board for their "exemplary involvement," our "polished, well spoken, confident" students for their input and our community for our "marvelous" hospitality.
Finally, Sister Camille delivered the news we all hoped to hear, that the Visiting Team will recommend to the Middle States Commission that Elizabeth Seton be granted accreditation for the next seven years. Thank you, again, to each and every member of our community who contributed to this process. We strive to continue to fulfill our mission and create an enriched and rigorous academic program for our students. The Middle States Commission will follow up with a written report and final decision for accreditation.