Office of Accreditation
The Office
of Accreditation is
a regulatory office charged with the primary responsibility of administering
the state's performance-based accreditation system for public schools and
the accreditation system for nonpublic schools electing to seek accreditation
from the State Board of Education.
The Office of Accreditation operates under the umbrella of the Mississippi
State Board of Education and the Commission
on School Accreditation.
The major objectives of the office are the following:
1) To verify and report to the Commission on School Accreditation
and the State Board of Education the extent to which public school districts
comply with the accreditation standards recommended by the Commission and
approved by the Board, and
2) To verify and report to the State Board of Education the extent
to which nonpublic schools accredited by the Board comply with the accreditation
standards established by the Board.
Both the responsibilities and objectives of the office can be traced
to information in two official publications of the Mississippi Department
of Education: Mississippi
Public School Accountability Standards, 2009 and Mississippi
Nonpublic School Accountability Standards, 2004. Each publication contains the laws, history, policies, and standards
applicable to each system.
Staff members in the Office
of Accreditation continuously monitor
school districts to verify compliance with applicable accreditation requirements
through (1) investigative evaluations (complaints against school districts),
(2) annual personnel data reports, and (3) reports from other state or
federal programs.
The Office of Accreditation strives to help promote parental involvement in Mississippi public schools. The office also answers questions and provides direction to parents or guardians of students who request assistance from the Mississippi Department of Education. For more information, visit the Parent Relations page.
 Return
to Mississippi Department of Education Home Page
Paula Vanderford, Director
Central High School
359 North West Street
Jackson, MS 39202
(601) 359-3764
Fax: (601) 359-1979 |
