Accreditation Self Study ONE OF OUR MAJOR UNDERTAKINGS FOR 2016-2017 WILL BE PREPARING FOR THE SCHOOL’S 10 YEAR ACCREDITATION VISIT BY PAIS (Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools) in the spring of 2017. Two members of the St. Peter’s faculty will serve as Co-Chairs for our Self Study. The entire school community – faculty, staff, administration, families, and the Board of Trustees – will be involved in gathering information to address the PAIS 26 Standards of Accreditation. The Self Study will take approximately one year from the time the school begins the process to the compilation of the final document that will be presented to the Visiting Team, who will make a report of their visit to the Commission on Accreditation of PAIS. PAIS will inform the School of their decision regarding our accreditation status based on the report.
Areas Addressed by PAIS Evaluative Standards • Organization and Administration • Program • Personnel • Health and Safety ST. PETER’S SCHOOL • Physical Plant ANNUAL FUND 2015-2016 Don’t forget to give! st-peters-school.org/giving
What is a Self Study? As adapted from the PAIS website (paispa.org): The fundamental principle underlying the PAIS accreditation process is that a school should be evaluated by the Association’s standards in light of the school’s own mission and philosophy. PAIS requires each school to conduct an extensive SELF STUDY. Accreditation ensures the public that member schools meet and maintain articulated standards of educational excellence. The process of thorough and honest self-study followed by a review and on-site visit by a committee of peers provides schools with a fuller understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses and, therefore, enables them to become stronger.
Writing at St. Peter’s School LUCY CAULKINS, NOTED PROFESSOR AT TEACHERS COLLEGE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, HAS SPOKEN AT LENGTH ABOUT WRITING AND THE STEPS IT TAKES TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER. She often speaks about how important it is to honor your writing. This may sound simple, but in the hustle of daily classes the value of honoring a child’s work can be lost. Our responsibility needs to remain focused on helping our students improve while valuing the process each student will undertake to make those improvements. We must create a culture of good writing by encouraging our students and our teachers to value the written word and make writing a priority. Not just writing, but good writing. We need to make time for the writing process to unfold and for our students to collaborate on each phase: the creating, the editing, and the publishing. We must give our teachers the tools to help students find their voice, on paper and in the classrooms. We must encourage risks and allow students’ writing to be good enough at first, so it can become great. We will devote time and energy to this endeavor with the goal of developing good writers throughout our community. During this year, we will embark on the writing process together; writing at each grade level with each student. We will create imaginative stories, write persuasive essays, craft thoughtful poems, and argue salient points about history. Together we will engage the young voices in our community and give them an audience, thus honoring their hard work and the craft of writing.