DEMOPOIS-The Demopolis City School System, Dr. Wesley Hill, Superintendent of Demopolis City Schools and Gina Johnston, SACS coordinator, were recently notified by the Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Accreditation and Schools Improvement (CASI) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) of receiving special recognition as a school district that has all eligible elementary, middle and secondary schools accredited.

For doing so the district is considered a “2004-2005 Super System for Quality Schools” and was congratulated for its schools’ accreditation accomplishments and continued success in improving educational opportunities for the young people it serves.

Demopolis was one of few systems able to get every school in the system accredited. Johnston said this was a great accomplishment and showed they are doing everything they can to give students as many opportunities as possible.

“We were able to have all four schools accredited which is a requirement,” Johnston said. “It shows that we are looking at student performance and improving our teaching and learning opportunities for students.”

The accreditation process can be a long, stressful one. Johnston said the committee looks at every aspect of the school before approving them.

“When they do their evaluation they look at everything,” Johnston said. “They look at the number of teachers, degrees to instructors and buildings.”

The status of “Super System” speaks volumes for the system. It also says a great deal about the commitment the individual schools have made to be the best they could be. Johnston said they were very proud of their schools for putting forth the effort to make up a super system.

“When you achieve this it says a lot about the system,” Johnston said. “We are so proud of our schools. This is a great achievement and we are very proud of them.”

For 2004-2005 there were 521 school districts in the 11 state SACS CASI regions that qualified for this recognition. The number by state was Alabama, 51, Florida, 38, Georgia, 73, Kentucky, 51, Louisiana, 10, Mississippi, 49, North Carolina, 52, South Carolina, 53, Tennessee, 81, Texas, 9 and Virginia, 54.

Accreditation by SACS CASI is voluntary because it is not a government agency. This accreditation helps schools improve teaching and student learning through a systematic process of self-analysis in terms of standards. Accreditation assures not only that an institution meets standards, but also that it demonstrates a commitment to continuously providing quality educational programs.