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WRISA Accreditation Process

A. Procedures For Membership

  1. A school community reviews the WRISA Pre-Accreditation Criteria and submits an application for candidate status to the WRISA or jurisdictional office. A candidate school has three years to complete the candidacy required activities and present its documentation to WRISA for membership. Application fees are $200.
  2. A school community takes an in-depth look at itself through a WRISA approved self study. This comprehensive study will require a minimum of one year to complete.
  3. A visiting team of professional educators visits the schools and conducts a comprehensive review of the school, validates the finding of the self study, and determines if the school is in substantial compliance with the WRISA standard quality indicators.
  4. The visiting team submits a report of its findings to the school and jurisdiction. The school then creates a visionary plan for the future that merges the recommendations of the school with those from the visiting team. This plan becomes the centerpiece of the review process for the remainder of the seven year, self study and visiting team cycle.
  5. The school submits all review documentation and the long range plan to the jurisdiction's office. These documents are reviewed by the WRISA Board of Directors at the September meeting of the Board of Directors. Schools are notified of their status prior to October 31st.
  6. Accreditation is granted on an annual basis. Annual Report information is conveyed to schools prior to September 1st each year. A school reports its compliance with the WRISA standards and its progress on its long range plan goals. The school submits its completed Annual Report to its jurisdictional representative prior to September 30th. A school not belonging to a jurisdiction, sends its report directly to the representative for non-jurisdiction schools.
  7. Each school must conduct a self-study, host a visiting team, and submit a new Visiting Team Report and Long Range Plan every seven years.
Click here to download the Candidate Application Form.

B. Accreditation Determination

The granting of accreditation to a candidate school is based upon:

  • Review of the documentation submitted
  • Substantial compliance with WRISA standards
  • Compliance with all WRISA quality indicators identified as 'Essential'
  • Development of a comprehensive Long Range Plan
  • A favorable recommendation of the visiting team
  • The WRISA Board of Directors is the sole authority in determining the accreditation status of a school.

    C. Accreditation Categories

    Schools will be accepted as members in one of the following categories:

  • Candidacy Status: a school has made its initial application but as yet has not completed the accreditation process.
  • Accredited Status: a school satisfactorily meets the requirements of all policies and standards and any deficiency does not detract from the school's total educational program.
  • Accredited with Provision: a school is accredited, however, the Board of Directors has identified certain areas of improvement which must be acted upon within a defined time period. Failure to act upon the recommendations of the Board may result in the school losing its accreditation.

    D. Continuing Accreditation

    The WRISA Board of Directors is the sole authority in determining the accreditation status of a school. Schools are accredited for one year. In order to maintain accreditation an Annual Report must be submitted each year. Schools receive information regarding the filing of their annual reports prior to September 1st. Schools must return their forms to their jurisdiction's office by September 30th or the date specified by the jurisdiction. Schools without jurisdictions must send their reports to the representative for non-jurisdiction schools prior to September 30th. Schools are notified of the accreditation decision following the November meeting of the Board of Directors. Once the school remits its annual membership fee, it receives documentation confirming its membership in WRISA.

    Annual Report Fees:
    $130 plus 75¢ per student.

  • Enrollment is based on student count on the 3rd Friday in September.
  • An on-site visit by a visitation team must occur once every seven years.

    For complete information please refer to the WRISA Policy Handbook

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