An A+ for Lamar

This past week Lamar participated in the visit portion of the SAIS Accreditation process. Before and after this visit, I sat down with Mrs. Dye, the accreditation coordinator for Lamar School, to talk with her about the thorough accreditation process and its favorable outcome.

First things first, though: What exactly is accreditation? According to Mrs. Dye, it is a process in which the school is reviewed by three entities – Cognia (formerly AdvancED and SACS), MAIS, and SAIS – through a team of academic professionals to determine the quality of Lamar School, including its atmosphere, educational standards, and extracurricular opportunities, among other aspects. Basically, “they are checking to see if we are who we say we are based on our mission statement,” explains Mrs. Dye. Much preparation and behind-the-scenes work was done before the accreditation team even arrived on campus. Since students’ diplomas don’t hold any value if they come from schools that aren’t accredited, there is naturally a great deal of thoroughness and importance given to this entire process. However, there were not many doubts that Lamar would meet its expectations. 

“After having examined Lamar School from top to bottom and interviewing many stakeholders in the process, I am confident that we will receive our accreditation from all three entities,” Mrs. Dye told me the Friday before the team’s visit. 

The team that came to assess Lamar consisted of six different people from various schools and states such as Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. During their visit, they immersed themselves in the school for three days, looking at snapshots of Lamar’s student body, community, and the school as a whole. They had standards and indicators for examining the school, such as whether or not there is effective communication with parents. They toured the campus and interviewed teachers, students, alumni, parents, and board members. They were able to hear about Lamar’s opportunities beyond the classroom, which include the school’s many different sports and clubs. Before leaving, the team provided an exit report that consisted of what they felt Lamar was doing right, suggestions for improvement, and whether or not the school received its accreditation. When I asked Mrs. Dye what they had to say, she happily told me, “The verdict was… we passed!”

“But, we didn’t just pass; we passed with flying colors,” she continued. “Going into the visit, we were optimistic about the outcome and really excited about showing off our school. Everyone from teachers to students to parents played a vital role in this process. Dr. Phillips and his team were very complimentary of our school as a whole.” She also told me that Lamar gained more than one thing from the accreditation process. “The benefits of the visit were twofold – the team made sure we were where we needed to be now and going forward as a school, and we learned so much from them, as well!” 

The team gave the school some goals for the future. These are ways for Lamar to improve or things for it to accomplish before the next visit in five years, at which time the accreditation process will need to be completed yet again. But for now, Lamar can be proud of its achievements while looking forward to new opportunities and expansions for the coming years, and the students can rest easy knowing their diplomas are quite safe.

Mrs. Dye and students Josie Hanegan and Sam Garrett brave the elements to give the accreditation team a tour around campus.