NEASC report commends Burrillville High School for culture, improvements

BURRILLVILLE – A team of experts in education from an organization that provides school accreditation recently evaluated Burrillville High School and offered numerous commendations in a final report, pointing to a positive culture and improvements to the learning environment.

The New England Association of Schools & Colleges’s decennial report on BHS was presented to the Burrillville School Committee last week and is now available on the school website.

An accrediting body that evaluates and recognizes schools and higher education institutions that meet specific quality standards, NEASC completes a report on the school every ten years.

“They do a really rigorous visit,” explained Supt. Michael Sollitto. “It’s very tedious and long, with lots of boxes to check off and lots of preparation. You get a detailed report of the different standards and where we stand as a school in regards to our progress in each of those areas according to the NEASC standards.””Overall, it was a fantastic report,” Principal Michael Lazzareschi told committee members at their meeting on Tuesday, Sept 9.

The team from the Commission on Public Schools found that the BHS met standards in all but one category: student learning. Sollitto explained that the high school fell short on the standard due to curriculum that is currently in the process of changing, with some elements awaiting approval from the Rhode Island Department of Education.

“It’s really because there’s curriculum measures that are not fully implemented yet,” Sollitto said.

According to the report, “The curriculum has yet to be entirely written for all courses that include a scope and sequence or curriculum map with units of study that contain expected course outcomes for each student, guiding/essential questions, concepts, content and skills, formative assessments, assessments aligned with expected course outcomes, instructional strategies and connections to the school’s vision of a graduate.”

Commendations for the school, meanwhile, were extensive, citing student relationships with each other and with teachers.

“We know that’s an important component of student success,” said Lazzareschi. “Students articulated to the group that they felt safe in schools physically and emotionally.”

NEASC also commended Burrillville High School for providing post-secondary exposure, noting that students had access to increased college and career information. The team noted a variety of course offerings, increased student enrollment in AP courses and physical improvements such as renovation of the media center.

The visit included feedback from students, and many reportedly expressed that they felt career-ready.

“They were moving in a pathway that they wanted to go,” said Lazzareschi.

“They also identified our involvement with Special Olympics and our Unified Champion School status as something that was also outstanding,” he said. “We also received accolades for our community service requirement.”

A process meant to spurn ongoing improvements, the NEASC evaluation also included recommendations and follow up responsibilities such as, “ensure all students are active learners who have opportunities to lead their learning.”

The report, “provides a blueprint for the faculty, administrators and other officials to use to improve the quality of programs and services for the students in this school,” NEASC noted.

“We take that feedback seriously and we use it to make improvements,” Lazzareschi said. “It’s a continuous cycle, as painful as that sounds.”

School Committee Chairperson Terri Lacey congratulated the administrative team, the teachers and the students on the re-accreditation and positive report.

“This is wonderful,” Lacey said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better, really.”

The principal must now submit reports on the school’s progress on the feedback leading up to the next evaluation.

“Accreditation is a mark of quality and integrity,” Lazzareschi said. “It validates the work that our community has done to ensure high standards for our school. I think when we look at this report it’s really a reflection of the amount of collaboration and work that takes place here every day.”