The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) shall conduct an On-campus Standards Review (OSR) of each school district no less than one (1) time every four (4) years as mandated by Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-202 (e)(1). ADE may visit any school campus for an OSR at other times as determined necessary by the Commissioner of Education or the State Board of Education.
Monitoring reviews for the 2008-2009 school year will occur between October 2008 and April 2009. Please refer to the attachment indicating the school year in which school districts are scheduled for the four (4) year monitoring. Team leaders from the Standards Assurance Unit (SAU) will contact district superintendents by telephone in advance of the OSR to outline the monitoring review procedures and to confirm date and time. Following contact, the team leader will send the superintendent a packet with details to assist districts and school officials in preparing for the monitoring review.
An OSR Checklist (see attachment) will be used during the monitoring review. For each item on the checklist, support documentation should be prepared by the district for the OSR team. Checklist documentation for review should be organized by item number to facilitate the monitoring review process. An administrative staff member or other licensed district personnel familiar with the process must be available for questions during OSR.
ADE Rules Governing Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts, Standard XVIII, Section 23.03, require the ADE to annually review all reports and investigate suspected deficiencies in meeting standards. Each year ADE shall conduct an OSR of a selected number of school districts and review those schools for compliance with the standards. The ADE shall notify all schools not meeting the Standards for Accreditation of deficiencies by May 15 of each year. In the year of the OSR, the assignment of the annual accreditation status will result from the Cycle 2 data submission and the OSR.
To assist school districts in preparing for the 2008-2009 OSR, the Standards Assurance Unit will conduct a training session via videoconference hosted by local education service cooperatives. The session is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, 2008, from 9:00 to 12:00 p.m. Roll call will begin at 8:30 a.m. Coordinators for this training are: Dr. Alice Barnes Rose, Assistant Commissioner, Learning Services; Annette Barnes, Coordinator, School Improvement; and Frank Wimer, Standards Assurance Unit Leader.
Districts scheduled for a 2008-2009 OSR visit are encouraged to attend. Pre-registration is required as seating may be limited. Participants should include one district administrator and a principal or designated leader from each building. Participants are responsible for bringing a copy of the OSR Checklist attached to this memo for the training session.
To pre-register, please contact your local education service cooperative.