Educational reviewers visiting Los Alamos from left, Dr. Clete Lipetzky, Karen Dondelinger – Assistant Lead, Claudia Coughran – Lead, Teresa Rowlison and Ron Williams. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
A five-member team of educators from New Mexico, California and Minnesota are visiting the district to conduct an educational review of Los Alamos Public Schools.
The purpose of the visit is to provide an external and objective validation of the quality of Los Alamos’ educational system.
Over the next three days, the team will meet with School Board members, staff, students and parents to discuss five standards of excellence including:
- Purpose and Direction;
- Governance and Leadership;
- Teaching and Assessing Learning;
- Resources and Support Systems; and
- Using Results for Continuous Improvement.
The educational review is a very thorough examination of a school system. Meeting or exceeding the AdvancEd Accreditation Standards demonstrates that a district has the significant achievement of meeting global standards.
In effect, the district is benchmarked against the quality of schools throughout the world.
Should Los Alamos meet this standard, the district will be one of a few in the state with this system-wide accreditation.
Because the accreditation process is rigorous, lessons learned will help drive the district’s course on its journey to excellence.
Information gleaned from this review could shape future educational policies and improve learning practices.
Similarly, students and parents stand to benefit from the accreditation process because it assures them that the schools in the district are high quality.
The exit report will be presented to the Los Alamos School Board at a Special Meeting at 2:45 p.m. at the Topper Theater at Los Alamos High School Wednesday, Oct. 31. The community is invited.
