Fulton schools get nod for 5-year accreditation renewal

Reviewers recommended Wednesday that Fulton County schools be awarded another five years of systemwide accreditation.

The systemwide designation signals exceptional performance, with strong leadership in the central office, good governance, and pursuit of high standards and best practices for students and staff. It is considered a step up from the typical accreditation of individual schools.

"Our system is fully accredited at the highest level," Fulton schools Superintendent Cindy Loe said after the reviewers -- including school officials from Georgia and other states -- spent three and a half days in the county. They went over documents and interviewed 703 people, including teachers, parents and students.

Fulton and Cobb County were two of the nation’s first 10 systems to earn systemwide accreditation in 2004.

The designation is good for five years. It was launched cooperatively nationwide in 2004 by the six regional accrediting agencies, including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which watches over systems in metro Atlanta. The reviewers were acting on behalf of SACS and its parent organization, AdvancED.

Local officials had to document extensively how the system typically operates, such as using data to track student learning. The recommendation for renewal was made without reservation although, as is typical, Fulton also received recommendations for improvement. Among those are ongoing professional development work by the system, including an overhaul of how the system evaluates educators, as well as more unified communication efforts.

Cobb received its renewed systemwide accreditation in January. The Fulton recommendation is expected to be approved at AdvancED's next accreditation meeting in June.