School Under Evaluation

WINSTED — Northwestern Regional Middle School hosted a team from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) this week to complete the second step of a three-phase process to earn accreditation from the association.

NEASC is the nation’s oldest regional accrediting association. The organization’s mission is to establish and maintain high standards of education at all grade levels in six New England states. The group has also accredited schools in more than 70 nations.

"We believe that we are a good school," said Principal Candy Perez. "We’re going through the process to look at strengths and areas we need to improve on."

Over the course of four days, 15 educators from throughout New England visited to evaluate the middle school on seven standards, providing feedback as to how the school is preparing students for high school. The team will also offer recommendations on what the school should do to better educate the student population in the final phase of the accreditation process.

For middle schools, the accreditation process is not necessary, but can be done on a voluntary basis.

"We get the accreditation to affirm what we are doing," said Perez, "and also because we want to stay ahead of the curve."

The accreditation process is particularly important for high schools because colleges take accreditation into consideration for applicants.

Northwestern Regional Middle School will be the 16th school in the state to receive accreditation once the process is complete. The high school has already earned accreditation and recently passed a five-year evaluation.