D-Day!

Once every seven years, religious and independent schools in the state of Wisconsin are visited by a team of professionals who are charged with validating findings of an intensive self-study, recommending goals for continuous improvement, and (hopefully!) recommending the school for accreditation to the board of Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation.

After a full year of self-study and preparation, our hour of reckoning has nearly arrived!  At 7:15 on Wednesday morning, a team of ten principals and teachers from throughout the Archdiocese will arrive to begin an intensive two-day review of our findings.   The review will include examination of collected artifacts and evidence, observation of classes and other environments in the school, and interviews with teachers, non-instructional staff, students, administration, volunteer leaders, and parents selected randomly from our directory.

The evaluation process used by Catholic Schools in the State of Wisconsin is derived from the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools.  It is based on identified best practices and is rigorous, comprehensive, and objective (rubric-scored).  It is also viewed through the lens of nine defining characteristics of Catholic schools.

The Benchmarks are divided into four domains (Mission and Identity, Leadership and Governance, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality), thirteen standards, and about 70 individual benchmarks.  These were studied by teams of teachers and School Advisory Board members from August of 2016 through June of 2017, with the final touches put on our digital collection of evidence artifacts just last week.

Final preparations will include putting a shine on our spaces with some thoughtful tidying and displays - and of course planning hospitality for the visiting team.

Your children are the best evidence of a St. Robert education.  You can join our effort to showcase our excellence by reminding them to employ their very best manners, effort, and engagement during the visit.

I am proud of the work we completed and the collaborative nature of the study process we undertook; I'm pleased with our findings relative to rigorous standards; and I look forward with anticipation to the guidance of peers in defining next steps in the growth of our school.

Plan to join us for our annual State of the School meeting on November 7th for a brief summary of the visit, summary impressions of our reviewers, and next steps.