After a week of meetings, evaluations, interviews, and examinations, the Middle States Association Validation Team unanimously agreed to grant Middletown North “full and unconditional re-accreditation” for the next seven years.
The announcement was made by the chairman of the five-person team on Friday in the library after school with a packed crowd made up mostly of MHSN faculty members. “You got something going here,” the chairman said, “well done High School North.”
The team said the school had “a very positive school environment where parents, teachers, and administrators respect each other.” The chairman took his time to recognize principal Dr. Patricia Vari-Cartier using quotes that students described her as being “passionate”, “a cheerleader”, and even said that she was “a good dancer.”
The Middle States team said that they felt welcomed and safe at Middletown North. The chairman described the school as being a “family” and said that they were immediately welcomed into that family. The chairman also remarked on the security and environment of the school saying “I would, without any hesitation, send my children here.”
After review the Middle States surveys answered by North students, faculty, and parents online throughout the past year, the team remarked on the unusual trend that parents scored the school the highest out of the three groups saying that the school provides students with the opportunity for success. The chairman noted that parents typically score the school the lowest out of the three polled groups, “its very very strange to get high scores from parents… that’s a very high praise,” the chairman said. The chairman continued saying, “High School North properly connects all the elements of education: the parents, the school, the community; and it does it well.”
“The work isn’t over once I walk out of that door, in a matter of fact, its just starting,” said the chairman when he read the list of some of the recommendations the team made to the school. The recommendations include:
- Greater parental involvement in school activities
- Further discussions between students and teachers over the quarterly exams
- Better regulation of traffic along Tindal Road before and after school
- Placement of outdoor security cameras
- Expanding the vocational school program saying “America must become a manufacturing nation once again”
After the announcement, an emotional Cartier thanked the faculty for their hard work and dedication. “Our heart and souls are in this place,” Cartier said, “its a big accomplishment.”
Staff members that worked on organizing the week felt satisfied after the week was over. “As we did the research, we knew we were a good school already,” said Dorothy Bagley, technology teacher, “it was nice getting to know the faculty members I never really get to talk to before.”When math teacher John Kerrigan was asked how he felt after the process he said, “to sum it up in one word: great.”
The Middle States Association accredits schools in the Mid-Atlantic United States in an effort to “provide the highest quality accreditation through peer evaluation.”
The complete report on the evaluation of North will be released in the next 4-6 weeks.
