NEASC visit is pivotal to the accreditation of Winthrop High

Winthrop school officials are working overtime this week to re-schedule a visit to Winthrop High School by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), after the scheduled visit was cancelled.

If the accreditation visit cannot be re-scheduled, the high school could lose its accreditation from NEASC effective on December 31, of this year.

Interim Superintendent Joseph S. Lisi said this week that he has been working with NEASC Executive Director Janet Allison, to re-scheduled the visit “for some time in November, but we don’t have the dates confirmed yet.”

Lisi said the scheduled visit, which was to have taken place this week from Sunday, October 3 through Friday, October 8 was cancelled by NEASC.

“This came out of a situation where the Winthrop Teacher’s Association (WTA) was not going to participate in the Sunday activities,” said Lisi. “They were planning to follow their contractual guidelines, and the director (Allison) felt she wanted full participation, in order to have a successful visit.” The Winthrop Teacher’s Association is currently engaged in contract negotiations with the school administration for a new contract and are currently working without a contract.

Lisi said that he knows of no other issues in Winthrop’s application for renewal of their accreditation, which would cause the school to lose its accreditation.

“Normally, what happens is the (accreditation) committee reviews our self-study, they tour the facility, review different aspects of the school and report their findings,” said Lisi. “Accreditation would include recommendations, but there was nothing else that we know of,” that would put the accreditation in jeopardy.

Lisi acknowledged that if for some reason they are unable to re-schedule the visit, the accreditation would lapse on December 31, and the district would have to wait a full year to re-apply for accreditation and start the process all over again.