Everett High School Accredited for the Next Ten Years

Everett High School has received accreditation for the next ten years following a thorough review by the New England Association of  Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

The announcement was made Monday evening at the School Committee meeting by Everett High School Principal Louis Baldi, Vice Principal Nicholas Venezia and Classmaster Jennifer Yebba.

They informed the School Committee that Everett High School had passed all tests and met all its NEASC obligations.

“We have successfully completed the first two phases of the accreditation program,” said Superintendent Foresteire.

“Everett High School passed with flying colors!” he added.

Foresteire and his colleagues were extremely pleased with the outcome of what had been a very long and exacting process.

“Accreditation is the gold standard used by educators across the nation to assess the quality of education a city or town offers its high school students,” Foresteire said.

“We’ve just had our High School’s 24 karat stamp renewed!”  He said he was delighted with the review outcome and that it represented the efforts of nearly everyone having anything whatsoever to do with the administration of the high school.

Foresteire said that when Everett High School’s accreditation is renewed, students, their families, and the general public are assured that clearly stated academic standards have been met, and that there are reasonable grounds to believe the high school will continue to meet those standards in the following ten years.

“Accreditation is a statement about where we have been and of where we are headed,” he said. “It is the clearest and strongest indication that the administration of the high school is working to meet the firm criteria of operating standards which the NEASC upholds.

Last fall, the administration, teachers and students hosted a Visiting Team from the NEAC for a week-long evaluation of the High School as part of the lengthy and complicated process to renew its accreditation status.

Besides assessing Everett High School’s education and extra curricula programs, NEASC staff evaluated the institution as a whole; financial stability, governance and administration, physical resources, library and technology, and student services all come under the NEASC Visiting Committee’s scrutiny.

‘Itr doesn’t hurt that we have about the finest high school facility of its kind in the Commonwealth,” Foresteire said. “What is far more important to note,” he added, “is that what really counts is not so much the facility but what is going on inside.”

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six regional accrediting institutions and is a voluntary, non-profit, self-governing organization with the primary purpose of providing public assurance about the educational quality of its member schools.

“I have been through this rigorous evaluation process now three times as superintendent, and with a tremendous amount of hard work by staff and students alike, the High School’s accreditation has been renewed each time,” he said.  He pointed out that losing the High School’s accreditation would affect scholarship money and admission to institutions of higher learning for graduating students, and would also negatively impact the amount of grant money now received by Everett Public Schools for all grade levels.

“Having the High School’s accreditation renewed is never an easy accomplishment for an inner-city like Everett,” Foresteire continued. “It takes unwavering commitment from our faculty, our School Committee members, our Mayor, our city government, and our Everett citizens to make it happen, especially in the tough economic climate we’ve had.”

The next and final step is to complete the follow-up process during which the Committee’s recommendations in their evaluation will be implemented and a Two-Year Progress Report submitted to NEASC in October of 2013.