Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 18 – Dr. Howard Liebman, Superintendent of Schools, announced today that Smart Horizons Career Online Education (SHCOE), the world’s first private online school district, has been recommended for AdvancED 5-year re-accreditation. Cited for creating a “culture of hope” for so many individuals who have been disengaged from our educational system, the AdvancED administrative lead Dr. Darrell Barringer said he will “forever forward remain an evangelist for this program.”
SHCOE achieved accreditation under the AdvancED System Accreditation Process, which means that the SHCOE school district and its schools—Smart Horizons Career Online High School and Career Online High School—are accredited, and that SHCOE is recognized across the nation as a quality education system. They are also accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the Southern Association Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), all of which are accreditation divisions of AdvancED.
The re-accreditation process involved three ongoing components: (1) meeting high quality standards, (2) implementing a continuous process of improvement, and (3) engaging in quality assurance through internal and external review. The accreditation is for a five-year term with regular monitoring of progress and reporting occurring during the term.
“AdvancED accreditation provides SHCOE a nationally-recognized mark of quality for the entire school district,” shared Dr. Howard Liebman, SHCOE’s Superintendent of Schools. “It demonstrates to our students and education partners our commitment to excellence, our openness to external review and feedback, and our desire to be the best we can be on behalf of the students we serve.”
About AdvancED
Dedicated to advancing excellence in education through accreditation, research and professional services, AdvancED is the world’s largest education community, serving and engaging 30,000 public and private schools and school systems in more than 70 countries and serving over 16 million students. AdvancED is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
Accreditation is a process of helping institutions improve through a systematic program of evaluation, assuring that an institution not only meets quality standards, but also that it demonstrates a continuous commitment to providing quality education programs that are aimed at improving student performance.
For more information, please visit www.advanc-ed.org.