PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) announced today that Parkland High School in Allentown, Pa. has earned reaccreditation, the gold standard for measuring and advancing school improvement.
Parkland High School achieved reaccreditation through the Middle States Association’s new Sustaining Excellence protocol, which helps high performing schools continue to excel.
“The hallmark of the best schools around the world is that no matter how well they may be doing, their goal is to outperform their previous best,” said Henry G. Cram, Ed.D., president of the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. “I congratulate Parkland High School on its reaccreditation, and for striving each and every day to raise the bar for their students and the entire school community.”
MSA-CESS accredits preK-12 public, private, parochial, and charter schools. In addition, MSA-CESS accredits non-degree granting career and technical post-secondary institutions, special purpose schools, supplementary education centers, learning services providers, and distance education institutions.
Under the Sustaining Excellence protocol, high achieving schools are required to identify an aspect of their program they would like to improve in order to realize even greater levels of student performance. Schools must develop and implement an action research plan for achieving their goals, and are required to hold a colloquium to share the results with the broader education community with the goal of improving education on a wider scale.
Parkland High School is focusing its action research initiative on student workforce readiness skills and identifying opportunities to infuse workplace readiness skill across the curriculum. The ultimate goal is to determine whether students who graduate in 2019 and later are more prepared to enter the workforce than current graduates because of the interventions researched, developed and implemented.
“We are pleased that Middle States accepted our plan and approved our reaccreditation,” said Principal James A. Moniz II. “At Parkland High School, we are committed to ensuring our graduates have the tools they need to succeed in the classroom and in the workforce. We hope our action research allows us to serve as a model for how other schools can incorporate workforce readiness into their academic curriculum.”
MSA-CESS voted earlier this month to accredit or reaccredit 152 schools and school systems, including Parkland High School, in 14 states as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 19 other countries. A full list of schools and school systems that earned accreditation or reaccreditation is available here.
About Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS)
Based in Philadelphia, the Middle States Association is the worldwide leader in accreditation and school improvement. For over 125 years, Middle States has been helping school leaders establish and reach their goals, develop strategic plans, promote staff development and advance student achievement. With more than 2,700 accredited schools and school systems in 34 states and nearly 100 countries, MSA-CESS is proud of its continuing legacy and its ongoing innovations to meet the challenges of improving education in the 21st century. For more information visit www.msa-cess.com.
