​GaDOE partners with AdvancED for common continuous improvement framework to reduce duplication of school improvement services, maximize capacity and promote equity across Georgia.

February 20, 2018 — AdvancED has formed a partnership with the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to reduce duplication of school improvement processes for Georgia schools, focus continuous improvement efforts statewide and facilitate equity for all Georgia learners. Through the partnership, AdvancED and GaDOE will provide Georgia learners, educators, and institutions with improvement tools, resource guidance, and support services that are aligned with a common continuous improvement framework.

“This partnership with AdvancED will help us serve districts more effectively and more efficiently, reducing duplication between schools’ accreditation processes and GaDOE’s school improvement work,” said Richard Woods, State School Superintendent. “This is a request we’ve heard from districts and we’re so grateful for the continued partnership of AdvancED. Together we will create, implement, and sustain a common framework for continuous improvement that is supported and enabled by common terminology, shared communications, training, and aligned tools, resources, and support systems.”

AdvancED and GaDOE have previously worked together to strengthen the quality and reduce the duplication of school improvement planning, training and related activities. This new partnership is an opportunity to further reduce duplication for schools and districts, create a shared understanding of data collection systems, and assess opportunities for improved collective data gathering, reporting, analysis and utilization.

“Our partnership with the Georgia Department of Education now formalizes a working relationship we have had for some time,” said Dr. Mark Elgart, President and CEO of AdvancED. “AdvancED already accredits most of the schools and systems in Georgia. This collaboration will greatly benefit the shared set of schools and systems that we serve and support.”

AdvancED informally partnered with the GaDOE to assess the needs of the Charter Schools Division and developed a common framework aligned to both the GaDOE’s requirements for Charter System charter renewals and the AdvancED External Review protocol. That process led to the renewal of approximately nine Charter System charters within the context of each system’s continuous improvement process and the External Review. AdvancED also worked in collaboration with various GaDOE offices, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and other Georgia education organizations to ensure that the professional learning and services provided are relevant and meaningful for Georgia schools and districts.

For more than 100 years, AdvancED, through its accreditation division of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), has served as the primary accreditor of public schools and districts in Georgia. Through this work, AdvancED has provided the vast majority of Georgia schools and districts with a research-based framework for continuous improvement that incorporates third-party evaluative feedback through external engagement.

About the Georgia Department of Education

Led by State School Superintendent Richard Woods, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) is the state agency serving Georgia’s K-12 school districts, schools, and students. GaDOE’s strategic plan emphasizes transforming the agency into one that provides meaningful support to schools and districts. The agency has developed a common, continuous improvement framework to ensure that these efforts are aligned across all divisions, departments, and programs. Through the Georgia’s Systems of Continuous Improvement framework, GaDOE is focusing on the systems and structures that must be in place for sustained improvement in student outcomes. The framework also utilizes a problem-solving model to provide a clear process for identifying improvement needs, planning for improvement, and implementing, monitoring, and evaluating improvement efforts.

About AdvancED

AdvancED is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts rigorous, on-site school quality reviews of Pre-K through 12 schools and school systems to help educators and their communities ensure that all learners realize their full potential. While their expertise is grounded in more than a hundred years of work in accreditation, AdvancED is also committed to help schools improve. Combining the knowledge and expertise of a research institute, the skills of a management consulting firm and the passion of a grassroots movement for educational change, we serve as a trusted partner to over 34,000 schools and school systems— employing more than four million educators and enrolling more than 20 million students— across the United States and 70 other nations.