Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team

1
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team

• General Information
• Arrange date of visit
• Prospects for visiting team roster
• Organization of the team
• Self-study progress
• Communication with team members
• Preliminary visit to school
• Sunday meetings (hints for success)
• Technology (friend or foe)

2
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 2)

• Conducting the Preliminary Visit
• Arrange 2-3 months prior to team visit
• Become familiar with self-study and chair
• Consider logistics
• Schedule group meetings
• Arrange a preliminary schedule with head
• Insure availability of materials needed by team
• Tour facilities, including team meeting room

3
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 3)

• Making the Most of the 3½ Days
• Sunday Afternoon
• Welcome and Introductions
• How to do best possible job for school
• What we are not asked to do
• Revised Assignments
• Tour of School
• Sunday Evening
• Remarks at Reception or Dinner
• Evening Team Meeting (730 p.m.)
• Impressions from reception/dinner
• Review Schedule

4
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 4)

• Sunday Evening (cont.)
• Conducting a classroom visit
• Report writing guidelines
• Oral reports for Monday evening
• How to plan Mondays schedule
• Communicating with each other during day
• Seeing everybody!
• Monday Evening
• Comparing what you saw with expectations
• Most impressive, least impressive
• Issues discovered?
• Reading of non-academic reports
• Oral reports for Tuesday evening

5
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 5)

• Tuesday Evening
• New issues?
• Changing impressions?
• Conclude reading of non-academic reports
• Reading of subject area reports (combine division
  level similar subjects)
• Brainstorm major commendations/major
  recommendations
• Any issues preventing full accreditation?
• Online evaluations
• Final days work
• Impressions to check/re-check
• People yet to be visited
• Report writing
• Reimbursements

6
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 6)

• Wednesday
• Reading of left over reports
• Collect teams written reports (diskette and hard
  copy)
• Finalize major commendations and recommendations
• Vote on accreditation recommendations (must be
  unanimous and confidential)
• Chair meets with head of school to share majors
• Delivery of exit report
• Leave or stay?

7
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 7)

• Writing the Visiting Team Report
• Components
• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Disclaimer
• Profile
• VTM List w/assignments
• Mission/Philosophy Statement
• Introduction and brief history
• Reports on general areas
• Reports on academic areas
• Listing of major commendations (w/rationale)
• Listing of major recommendations (w/rationale?)
• Conclusion

8
Preparing to Lead a Visiting Team (slide 8)

• Writing the Visiting Team Report (cont.)
• Submit electronic draft
• Head of school may edit factual inaccuracies
• Accreditation Director may edit content
• Final copy
• Electronic copy to ISACS
• Received by ISACS office and accreditation
  director
• ISACS President reads all reports
• Printed and bound copies go to school
• Approval by ERC and ISACS board
• Communication of status by ISACS central office