Every five years South Lakes undergoes accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which is a way to improve the quality of the school. A team of three people will do a comprehensive review Feb. 26-27.
“Advanc-ED is the organization that conducts the five-year review,” Principal Kim Retzer said. “They will look at our mission, vision, and goal.”
According to the South Lakes site, the mission is to “educate in a learning environment where student achievement is a priority and a right for all students” and the vision is to “develop a community of learners who strive for academic excellence and value diversity, intellectual curiosity, social  responsibility, and an international understanding for all students.”
“[The team is] an objective third party who looks at our entire school, test scores, etc., and provides feedback and makes suggestions for continued improvement,” assistant principal for the Class of 2017 Jeanene Sims said.
The school will be evaluated on five standards. Standard one will establish that the purpose and direction are committed to high expectations for learning, and that they are maintained and communicated to the school.
Standard two will review governance and leadership to ensure they promote and support student performance.
The third standard looks at teaching and assessing, which encompasses the school’s curriculum, instructional design, assessment practices guide, and teacher effectiveness.
Standard four looks at the school’s resources and support system to ensure that there are services to support its purpose and direction for the success of all students.
The final standard is to use the results from the review for continuous improvement.
“They will review our School Improvement Plan and talk with teachers, staff, parents and students,” Retzer said. “The group will visit classes too. The team looks at data, finance records, security plans and use of staffing resources.”