Good news for FCHS
Good News for Franklin County High School
Photo of Review Team and FCHS Committee. Front Row: L-R, Sara Shaver, Karla Barnhizer (Union County HS), Peggy Higgins (Switzerland County HS), Mary Mickelson (AdvancED), April Isaacs, Kim Lang. Second Row: L-R, Dan Gartenman, Keith Isaacs, Dustin Riley, Alan Hughes (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel MS), Gary Bradburn, Jeff Thompson, Adam Hofer. Not Pictured: Jeff Franklin (Mooresville HS), Nancy Hawkins, Diane Slaven, and Mary Spurlock.
The good news came as no surprise to Franklin County High School (FCHS) staff and administration, but it was rewarding to have their hard work recognized. “We’re here to validate you’re already doing what you need to do,” said Alan Hughes of the review team that announced the school’s continued accreditation by the AdvancED Accreditation Commission.
Under the direction of Principal Keith Isaacs, all of the FCHS staff have been getting ready for the accreditation review, which took place last week. A committee of teachers volunteered to prepare the school for the review. The review was actually conducted by five current or retired teachers from other Indiana school districts.
FCHS received high marks for student involvement. Regarding the staff’s interactions with students, Mr. Hughes commented, “You go to great lengths to meet the needs of all students across the spectrum.” He described a “dedicated staff” who are “the right people, in the right places, for the right reasons.”
The review team came to those conclusions by observing portions of 45 classes, checking data and interviewing 129 individuals including 50 students. Overall, the team examined 31 different criteria under three major categories: impact of teaching and learning, leadership as well as the use of resources.
The team also complimented FCHS for an “ingrained attitude of continuously working on improvement.” They added that FCHS “scored well in using technology in a beneficial manner.”
The review team gave FCHS two action items to focus on for the next two years: increase parental involvement and share the best examples of student learning with other students.
The final overall score was 284.62, which is above the average score of 278.94. The highest possible score is 400. The team will issue its final report in about a month and Franklin County will continue its current status as an accredited high school.
About the review, Mr. Isaacs said, “It demonstrates that we are a school that uses the best practices to help our students be college and career ready.”
AdvancED is not a federal or state agency. According to its website, “AdvancED is the largest community of education professionals in the world. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts rigorous, on-site external reviews of Pre-K- 12 schools and school systems to ensure that all learners realize their full potential.”
Reported by
Sara Duffy