During the April 15 Hudson School Board meeting, the Board was presented with a letter from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Public Schools.
“The Commission on Public Schools, at its March 3-4, 2024, meeting, reviewed the report from the recent Collaborative Conference Visit to Alvirne High School and voted to award the school continued Accreditation in the New England Association of Schools and Colleges,” the letter stated.
In the letter it outlined some of the successes of the school.
“The Commission was impressed with many of the programs and services and wishes to commend the following:
- The strong sense of pride in Alvirne High School among the students, staff, and community
- The caring relationships that are present between students and staff
- The dedication to meeting the individual needs of students by all members of the school community.
- The school community’s receptiveness to the needs of the school and willingness to make adjustments based on input from stakeholders.
- The variety of academic programs reflecting the manner in which the school and district have worked to meet the needs of diverse learners.
- The vast array of co-curricular programs that provide students with a voice, an outlet, and opportunities for growth
- The students’ and staff members’ feelings of emotional, intellectual, and physical safety
- The involvement of educators, students, and families in decision-making that promotes responsibility and ownership and the making of decisions with student learning at the core – the wide range of opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning through common assessments.
- The focus on equity and increased opportunities for students to enroll in heterogeneously leveled courses.
- The efforts to develop a capstone project that fully incorporates the learning standards outlined in the portrait of a graduate to allow students to exhibit these standards in a personalized way – the incorporation and growth of a CTE program that utilizes outside stakeholders and provides students with real-world experiences.
- The extensive range of interventions available to support each student’s success and well-being.
- The strong relationship between local emergency services and the school
- The generous funding of the Alvirne Trust that supports numerous opportunities at the school.
- The commitment and responsiveness of the district and School Board to meet the needs of the school.
In the letter, it noted that the Commission “was pleased” to say “that the school has met all of the six Foundational Elements in the Standards for Accreditation.”
“The Commission was also pleased to see that the Collaborative Conference visiting team confirmed the following Priority Areas for Growth,” the letter stated.
It was explained that Alvirne High School “should use these Priority Areas for Growth as the basis for its School Growth/Improvement Plan.”
Those included the following:
- Examine and revise the school’s curriculum documents across all departments to target and assess the transferable skills and dispositions outlined in the portrait of a graduate (2.2).
- Develop and implement practices in student management, counseling, intervention, advisory, and co-curricular programming to ensure a positive, respectful school climate and culture that supports student attainment of the transferable skills and dispositions outlined in the portrait of a graduate (1.2 and 2.1).
- Foster and deepen the school’s shared understanding of learning through the development of competency-based assessment practices that promote active learning and consistently measure the depth of understanding, inquiry, and problem-solving (2.5, 2.7, and 3.3).
“The Commission congratulates the school administration and faculty for completing the first phases of the Accreditation program: the Self-Reflection and the Collaborative Conference Visit,” the letter stated. “The next step will be the development, submission, and implementation of the School Growth/ Improvement Plan.”
In a brief discussion, School Board member, Gary Gasdia, said he was happy with the results in the letter.
“That letter is fantastic,” he said.