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WCEA Accreditation News

Over the next 18 months, the entire school community will engage in the E3 process together by:

  1. Creating a robust data library by

  2. Collecting data specified by WCEA

  3. Soliciting information from students and parents via survey

  4. Collecting data specified by our work

  5. Analyzing the data

  6. Creating a 5-year plan

  7. Hosting a visiting committee of Catholic School educators who will

  8. Review data and documents

  9. Visit all classes

  10. Meet with stakeholders

  11. Verify the Catholic educational quality of the school

  12. Submit a recommendation for Accreditation Status

  13. Wait for the Accreditation Status from the WCEA Secondary Commission


According to the requirements of WCEA accreditation, there are seven overarching principles that a school is meant to observe:

  1. The Authenticity of the School’s Catholic Identity

  2. The Organizational Efficacy of the School

  3. The Excellence of Teaching and Learning

  4. The Vitality of the Co-Curricular Programs

  5. The Stewardship of Material Resources

  6. The Commitment to Improvement

  7. The Integrity of the Process of a Self-Study

Among these principles, authentic Catholic identity is considered the unifying thread and the heart of the accreditation process. In all its understandings and operations, a Catholic school should have a two-fold orientation: toward God and toward human life. This is formation in Christ and culture. Though each of the remaining six principles has inherent significance, Excellence of Teaching and Learning carries the greatest weight, because it constitutes the formation of students, followed by the Commitment to Improvement.

“Members of the O’Dowd community are eager to engage the WCEA E3 process with honesty, integrity, and inclusivity. This process of reflection will allow the school to celebrate its many and varied successes and strengths, but even more importantly, to discern and commit to mission-centered, data-informed, and innovative ways to improve the educational experience of our students,” Downs said.

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