NEASC
Founded in 1885
NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS & COLLEGES, INC.
COMMISSION ON PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Director PAMELA GRAY-BENNETT. Ed.D. pgraybennett@neasc.org	Associate Director JANET D. ALLISON jallison@neasc.org
Secretary to the Director ROBERTA E. KNIGHT rknight@neasc.org	Associate Director JOSEPH M. DAISY jdaisy@neasc.org

October 27, 1997

Christopher Cairns
Principal
Oyster River High School
55 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

Dear Ms. Cairns:

The Commission on Public Secondary Schools, at its September 28-29, 1997 meeting, reviewed the report of the recent evaluation of Oyster River High School and continued the school's accreditation in the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Commission was impressed with many of the programs and services at Oyster River High School, specifically citing the school's strengths related to the Standards on Curriculum and Instruction; Student Support Services; Library Technology and Media Services; Administration, Faculty and Support Staff; Community Support and Involvement; Financial Support, and School Climate.

However, the Commission expressed concern regarding deficiencies related to the school's adherence to the Standard for Accreditation on School Facilities as identified in the cited Standard section of the accreditation report. These include, but are not limited to, the following: the lack of sufficient and appropriate space to support the effective delivery of educational programs and services to the number of students served by the school, the expressed concern that the continued increase in the student enrollment of an already overcrowded facility will further impede student learning, the limited amount of space to support innovative teaching techniques, the numerous areas of the facility which are not handicapped accessible, the insufficient number of handicapped accessible restrooms, the limited opportunities for students to take science lab classes, overcrowding in the hallways between classes, the insufficient number of student lockers, insufficient number of parking spaces, the lack of adequate storage space.

Additional facility concerns noted by the Commission relate to health and safety problems, specifically that: the public address system is inaudible in classrooms, no intercom communication can occur between classrooms and the office or between the classrooms and the nurse in the event of an emergency, the heat and air ventilation throughout the building is poor, the hot water system does not provide an adequate source of hot water to most areas of the building, including student lavatories and for showers in the locker rooms, and the lack of sufficient sinks and privacy doors in student lavatories.

Given these problems and restrictions, the Commission voted to place the school on warning for the Commission's Standard for Accreditation on School Facilities.

The Commission requests that school officials submit a Special Progress Report by August 1, 1998 indicating how the following recommendations have been addressed:

• continue the development of and implement a plan to alleviate space needs in the following areas: instructional areas, conference areas, special service areas, teacher preparation areas, stage, playing fields, student lockers, locker rooms, locker room showers, parking, gymnasium, library, cafeteria, and kitchen facilities
• ensure the even and adequate distribution of heat and air ventilation throughout all areas of the facility
• replace or repair the intercom and public address system to ensure two-way communication between the office and all areas of the facility
• install privacy doors for all lavatory stalls
• replace or repair inoperable water fountains
• repair or replace the hot water system to ensure the availability of hot water to student lavatories and for showers in the locker rooms
• ensure that the school facility is fully accessible to the handicapped
• actively involve teachers and building administrators in building the budget
• ensure an adequate and dependable level of funding to address all short- and long-range facility needs
• develop and implement a plan to address issues of overcrowding which adversely impact student learning

Consistent with Commission guidelines, the school's warning status will not be removed until the school can demonstrate that it has satisfactorily completed these and other evaluation report recommendations in the School Facilities section of the accreditation report.

Although the Commission is concerned with some aspects of the school, it does wish to commend

• the extensive dissemination of the narrative portion of the statement of purpose
• the alignment of the school's statement of purpose to the district's Vision of Education
• the wide range of course offerings on site with options at three vocational schools and at the University of New Hampshire, including use of the university's libraries
• the across-grade heterogeneity of classes
• the faculty's commitment both to the school district's policy of individualized instruction and to the school's goal of high academic and social/personal expectations for all students
• the commitment of the continual development of a proactive student support services program
• the strong supportive working relationship between faculty and the student support services staff
• the evidence of a schoolwide commitment to an inclusive atmosphere in which diversity is celebrated
• the library staff's initiative of recruiting community volunteers to assist with collection maintenance and shelving
• the integration of technology into the media center's resources
• the grade 9 orientation program and the follow-up services
• the administration, faculty, and support staff for their respect, commitment, and accessibility to students and the community
• the faculty involvement in cocurricular activities
• the principal's authority and autonomy to provide effective leadership
• the start of a voluntary peer evaluation process
• the faculty and administration's initiative for the empowerment of students within the school senate
• the administration and faculty's initiative for the empowerment of teachers in general decision-making and in the Bobcat Leadership Team
• the enthusiastic high level of parent and community participation in the high school's restructuring, planning, and classroom programs
• the University of New Hampshire educational opportunities and partnerships for faculty and students
• the trust and responsibility that is fostered by the faculty and administration and accepted by the student body
• faculty involvement in school activities that fosters a positive improvement in the school climate
• the wide variety of extracurricular activities and the large participation of students and faculty
• the recognition by faculty and administration of students honors and achievements
• use of a variety of assessment strategies by classroom teachers to assess student performance on course goals and objectives
• the degree of latitude given to the individual faculty members by the administration to try a variety of assessment techniques and to evaluate those assessment methods for effectiveness in meeting individual student learning needs
• utilization of alternative assessment methods that provide more varied opportunities for students to demonstrate their skills and knowledge

All accredited schools must submit a routine Two-Year Progress Report, which in the case of Oyster River High School is due on October 1, 1999. In that report school officials should indicate the status of all recommendations by classifying each in one of five categories: Completed, In Progress, Planned for the Future, Rejected or No Action. In addition, they should provide a brief description of the action that has been taken on each valid recommendation in the evaluation report and include anticipated dates of completion where applicable. Special care should be taken to include appropriate information to justify the Rejected or No Action status of any recommendation.

The Two-Year Progress Report should also provide detailed explanations regarding the manner in which each of the following highlighted recommendations has been addressed:

• involve more community members and students in the regular revision of the statement of purpose and expectations for student learning
• develop and implement a plan to utilize student assessment data to review and revise curriculum
• provide adequate time and funding for curriculum review and development
• develop and implement a comprehensive technology plan to support student learning
• develop and implement a plan to use teacher evaluation to improve instructional strategies and practices
• provide additional financial resources to ensure that technology and the print and nonprint collections continue to meet the needs of the curriculum and the increased student population
• clarify the appropriate roles of the superintendent and school board
• provide necessary funding to ensure an adequate level of professional and support staff to meet the educational and program needs of all students
• provide staff development in dealing with a comprehensive assessment plan and with assessment methods that will serve the school's statement of purpose and efforts to improve student learning through curriculum and instructional changes

Further, the Commission requests that school officials submit the following information related to the use and impact of the school's assessment data on teaching and learning and the statement of purpose in its Two-Year Progress Report. Accordingly, the report should include responses to the following:

• report progress on the development of criteria with appropriate benchmarks to determine desired levels of student performance in academic and social areas
• report progress on the development of criteria with appropriate benchmarks to determine the school's attainment of expectations for school performance
• provide examples of how the school's statement of purpose and expectations have been used to guide decision making related to such things as curriculum, instruction, professional development, assessment, and services

The Commission congratulates the school administration and faculty for completing the first two phases of the accreditation program: the self-study and the evaluation. The next step will be the follow-up process during which the school will implement valid recommendations of the self-study and the evaluation report. The Commission's Follow-Up Seminars should help you and your faculty develop a schedule for implementing valid recommendations. In addition, the Commission's Accreditation Handbook provides information on follow-up procedures.

The school's accreditation and its warning status will be reviewed when the Commission considers the Special Progress Report. Consistent with the Commission's follow-up procedures, the Special Progress Report should be signed by the principal and chair of the Follow-Up Committee and sent to the Commission office by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Sincerely,
PGB/cjd
Pamela Gray-Bennett

cc:	John H. Powers, Superintendent, Oyster River Cooperative School District #5 Joan Valentine, Chairperson, Oyster River School Board Frank Diamond, Chair of the Visiting Committee Alan B. Bookman, Chair, Commission on Public Secondary Schools

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Last update on 29-Mar-99 at 9:29 PM.

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