Saugus Middle High School will host Accreditation team

(Editor’s Note: Saugus Middle High School Principal Carla Scuzzarella submitted the following press release this week.)

After three years of planning and preparation, Saugus Middle High School (SMHS) will welcome a visiting team from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) from March 29 through April 1. The team will consist of seven educators from public school districts in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The purpose of the visit is to evaluate how well Saugus Middle High School aligns with the NEASC Standards for Accreditation, a research-based set of practices that guide schools in providing high-quality academic, civic, and social learning experiences for students. SMHS fully expects to remain an accredited institution following the review.

The NEASC accreditation process typically occurs on a ten-year cycle, with the last accreditation review for Saugus High School taking place in 2011. The cycle for SMHS was extended in order to accommodate the construction of the new school facility, the combining of the high school and middle school, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This visit represents the final step in the accreditation cycle, known as the Decennial Accreditation Visit. During the visit, the NEASC team will review school programs, practices, and systems and determine the extent to which the school aligns with the Standards for Accreditation. The team will also assess the school’s progress on priority areas for growth and improvement identified during the 2023 NEASC Collaborative Conference Visit.

The visiting team will convene on Sunday evening to prepare and will spend three full days at SMHS from Monday, March 30 through Wednesday, April 1. At the conclusion of the visit, the team will meet with the faculty after school on Wednesday to share initial observations.

Saugus Middle High School will not receive its official accreditation determination until Fall 2026, when the visiting team’s final report is completed and submitted to NEASC.

For more information about the NEASC accreditation process, please visit the NEASC website.