CIS ACCREDITATION WORKSHOP - THE TEAM VISIT

BASED ON THE SEVENTH EDITION OF THE
CIS “GUIDE TO SCHOOL EVALUATION AND ACCREDITATION”

Hosted by the International School of Lausanne, Switzerland
In conjunction with the Swiss Group of International Schools Conference

Thursday 11 March 2010
Presented by Andy Hill, CIS Accreditation Officer

The Council of International Schools (CIS) Accreditation Programme now encompasses over 300 schools world-wide, and the number continues to grow. There is therefore an increasing need for administrators and teachers to be trained to serve as members of Accreditation Visiting Teams.

Participation in an Accreditation Team Visit is a valuable, demanding and highly satisfying experience. This workshop is designed for administrators, teachers, and school business managers who wish to be considered for membership of Visiting Teams for the first time, as well as for experienced visitors who wish to become familiar with the current Seventh Edition of the accreditation guide. This is a full-day sign-up event and places will be limited. Places will be allocated in order of receipt, so prompt action is required for reservations.

The aims of the workshop are to accomplish the following outcomes:

Participants will:

• develop an understanding of the philosophy, purposes, principles and practices of the accreditation process under the Seventh Edition, with a particular focus on the significance of the Team Visit.

• gain practice in analysing a self-study to obtain key information.

• become familiar with the required format and style for Visiting Team Reports and gain experience in writing these reports.

• gain practice at working well under the pressure of deadlines and appreciate that this is part of the 'Visiting Team Experience'.

• gain experience of working in teams and reaching consensus.

• gain a sense of what constitutes an 'effective' visit i.e. responding appropriately to sensitive or controversial issues or events, conducting classroom visits in a constructive way, and establishing positive relationships between the Team and the school.

• develop the ability to discriminate between major issues and relatively minor ones, in order to be able to identify major commendations and recommendations.

• to understand the options available when making a decision on the Team's recommendation regarding Accreditation, and the means by which Teams reach consensus on this recommendation.

Prior to the workshop each participant will be sent relevant materials so that preparatory work can be completed.