Accreditation
Background
Is it possible that accreditation is to blame for the dramatic change in independent school priorities over the past decade? Many schools have “overcorrected” and made DEI their greatest priority, except it hasn’t included viewpoint diversity. Why have so many schools strayed from their missions to accommodate these values?
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What is accreditation?
Accreditation is a credentialing process meant to verify that schools meet certain academic and institutional standards. It is intended to ensure independent schools fulfill their unique missions and offer public schools a way to highlight their distinct strengths. To get and remain credentialed, schools undergo a detailed self-study every ten years. Schools are assessed by their peers on the accrediting team against their missions, which are vague and ambiguous.
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Who are the accreditors?
There are many accrediting agencies in the United States, and schools may be accredited by one or multiple agencies. The landscape recently changed when the NAIS Commission on Accreditation disbanded in 2018. The successor organization, the International Council Advancing Independent School Accreditation (ICAISA), began formal operations in 2018.
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ICAISA
ICAISA was launched as a non-profit in response to "emerging national and state accreditation issues." Formerly the NAIS Commission on Accreditation, ICAISA provides quality assurance and accountability for accreditation programs of its 20 member associations. Their mission is to have “a transformative impact on the independent school landscape by advancing accreditation globally.” As part of its core values, ICAISA believes “that accreditation is a lever for change to foster inclusive communities that uplift diversity, equity, and justice for all.”
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AISNE - Association Of Independent Schools In New England
"With an ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion, the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) shapes the educational landscape for independent schools through leadership, education, service, and strategic advocacy." - AISNE Mission
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NEASC - New England Association Of Schools And Colleges
"As an organization, NEASC will work to implement inclusive and equitable practices, and each commission will identify specific action steps to advance inclusion and equity in schools." - NEASC Equity Mission
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What's happening?
Accreditation is failing the schools, students, and families it was designed to serve. It’s a flawed process with blatant conflicts of interest and lacking transparency. Rather than working to help schools meet certain academic standards and uphold their unique missions, accreditation has become a tool used to coerce schools into becoming agents of social change. This is largely due to accreditor leadership, which is composed of current/former heads of schools, school board members, and other school administrators. This inherently creates a conflict of interest, and the resulting echo chamber sows ideological homogeneity.
The actual accreditation process results in “recommendations” from the accrediting team to augment Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. This means that schools that did not have DEI objectives in their mission feel compelled to prioritize social justice activism within their school programs in order to obtain or maintain their accredited status.
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Why is it bad?
Accreditors are in conflict with their own missions and are failing to ensure that each school, as AISNE describes, “is meeting rigorous standards in all aspects of its operations and that it is operating in alignment with its mission.” Rather, these agencies have created a culture that encourages schools to produce conformist social justice activists rather than independent-thinking truth seekers. Students only learn one negative and divisive worldview.
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This is in stark contrast to ICAISA’s Core Values, which state that schools should uphold the “principles of academic scholarship, permitting and encouraging freedom of inquiry, diversity of viewpoints, and independent and critical thinking." Unfortunately, under the influence of the NAIS, this is not happening. Instead, accreditors use their power to coerce schools to become agents of social change. They do this by influencing independent school culture instead of monitoring the quality of the academic programs and student outcomes.
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Where does NAIS fit in?
As described by Paul Rossi, “NAIS is the driving force behind the radical racial and gender programming that has captured most K-12 private schools (called “independent” schools) across the country, particularly the elite schools that feed higher education, journalism, politics, and government." The NAIS and other accreditor sites clearly prioritize DEI to all its member schools with respect to professional development, conferences, speakers, and other resources. They even provide schools with resources to fight “insubordinate parents.” Member schools are granted access to easily accessible resources that many schools depend upon; these include professional development, curriculum, events/conferences, job postings, and more. Unfortunately, these resources have been carefully curated and do not represent viewpoint diversity.
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Who does NAIS claim to be?
NAIS is a "nonprofit membership association that provides services to more than 1,900 schools and associations of schools in the United States and abroad, including more than 1,600 independent private K-12 schools in the U.S."[4] On their website, the mission statement reads, "As the largest association of independent schools, NAIS co-creates the future of education by uniting and empowering [its] community. They do this through thought leadership, research, creation and curation of resources, and direct collaboration with education leaders."
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NAIS also "provide[s] quality assurance and accountability for the accreditation programs of its independent school member associations" through ICAISA. Accreditation is a credentialing process by which schools verify they meet certain academic and institutional standards.
Who are they really?
Compelling dependency
Independent Schools are actually dependent schools​. There is no independent thinking or operating, particularly as it relates to DEI. These schools depend on insecure parents, horrible public-school alternatives, the college placement lottery, whims and dollars of donors, and most damaging, the harmful accreditation system and the NAIS echo chamber.
Negative and divisive
NAIS has used its position to set a highly politicized social justice agenda and uses the accreditation process to distribute the content to all the “independent” schools. These schools then administer the social justice “plan” through the DEI offices.
Unintellectual
NAIS doesn’t hold the content they deliver or those that “teach” it to any measurable standards — facts and scholarship are blatantly missing, and qualifications/expertise to develop others largely rests on “lived experiences." In many schools, this has resulted in curriculum changes, declining standards, and homogenization of previously unique independent schools.
Imposing political agendas
NAIS's objectives are clear: to tear down the schools and install social justice activists in leadership positions that can influence and drive school decisions and strategy.
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What this means for schools
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Reconsider membership
Schools are not required to be NAIS members. If schools are to get back on track, one of the first steps may be to defect from NAIS (not renew membership). How do I know if my school is a member of NAIS? Visit the NAIS Directories page to find out more.
The duty of trustees
Many Trustees are unaware (or in denial) of the broad trends in education and the changes at their own schools. There must be accountability for bad governance.
Questionable standards
Schools have prioritized social justice “plans” over training teachers to help students develop and excel at the core skills needed to succeed. This leads to lowered standards. DEI offices are “hammers looking for nails.” Eliminating DEI offices would free up resources to ensure all students reach their potential.
Encourage viewpoint diversity
Schools (and accreditors) need to take a principled stand in favor of free speech and encourage diversity of thought. One way to accomplish this is by adopting a free speech policy. Schools must create, promote, and honor their own versions of the Chicago Statement, which will compel institutions to protect the free expression rights of students, faculty, staff, and parents. The Chicago Statement is a free speech policy statement produced by the Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University of Chicago in January 2015.
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Student workshops and professional development
Schools must commit to engaging presenters who represent diverse viewpoints to speak to faculty, parents, and students. Students and educators need to hear from a variety of voices to provide much-needed balance. Schools need to prioritize professional development in this area so teachers have the tools to facilitate class discussions and promote thinking, civility, humility, and intellectual honesty.
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Accreditation Resources
Paul Rossi | Legal Insurrection
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