LISBON

The Lisbon School Committee heard an annual report Monday night from the principal of Lisbon High School on where the school stands with its accreditation through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Principal Ken Healey also took the opportunity to prepare the committee for a return visit by the NEASC Commission on Public Secondary Schools in 2015 — likely in May but possibly as early as March — as part of the regular 10- year review cycle.

“We will be evaluated by a group of peers to determine whether we meet … the seven accreditation standards,” Healey told the school board.

A NEASC evaluation team in 2005 cited numerous problems with the high school’s facilities, prompting a warning from the regional association that the school could lose its accreditation.

Since that evaluation in 2005, Healey said, the school has communicated with NEASC 11 times, and has made significant progress. In fact, all of the initial 46 recommendations have been completed — projects such as new siding, windows and insulation in two school wings, a new insulated and painted gym roof and ceiling; a new fully accessible main entrance and, relocation of the guidance, teachers lounge and main office; conversion of the heating system from oil to natural gas; and new student lockers.

Healey said support from the Lisbon Facilities Committee and the School Committee made it possible to complete the upgrades.

However, when NEASC reviewers returned for a visit, they made additional recommendations. School officials still have to address concerns about the school’s gym, heating, electricity and plumping deficiencies, and replacement of windows in a third wing, Healey said.

Healey said NEASC representatives asked for information about how much of the 2012- 13 school department budget would be allocated to address those concerns. NEASC also wants the school department to reinstate the senior project and electives at the high school.

A faculty team is creating a plan on how to reinstate some form of the senior project, formerly known as the senior exhibition, which would incorporate a community service element as well as an educational component, Healey said. The group aims to present a plan by the end of this school year for a phasedin implementation, he said.

Regarding reinstating electives, Healey said an effort is under way to create a schedule that can accommodate Standards-Based Learning, and to explore opportunities to increase electives. In a worst-case scenario, Healey said the high school won’t lose any electives next year.

As it does annually, the NEASC Commission will meet March 26 and 27 to reconsider the status of the high school — and all schools — although Healey said it is unlikely Lisbon’s status will change until the facility issues are resolved. The high school is still accredited.

Meanwhile the school department must plan for the next visit of NEASC. Healey said the school department needs to develop a viable, long-range plan documenting funding for the facilities issues. Having a viable plan to present to NEASC, Healey said, is the only way Lisbon High School will be able to retain its accreditation status.

There are three separate parts that make up the NEASC program, Healey said. The first involves a selfstudy, which engages educators, students, parents and other community members. Typically, such a study takes anywhere from 18 to 24 months to complete, he said.

Next is a four-day-long visit by a 16-member visiting team to evaluate each of the seven standards NEASC applies to the accreditation process. The team will visit classrooms, work with students and interview parents and faculty.

The next phase is a followup, which is approximately eight years long and is the phase Lisbon High School is in now. Healey said a typical NEASC accreditation process usually requires a minimum of two reports — a two-year report and a five-year report. The school has to report to NEASC when it has completed actions in response to recommendations or findings made by the review team. It usually takes as much as five years to fulfill all of the recommendations, Healey said.

“The problem with our situation is that we had some substantial facilities needs, and we still do,” he said. “I just want to let you know, that as a reminder to everybody, we are fully accredited under the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.”

There are three levels of accreditation. One is accreditation without qualification, meaning no significant improvements must be made in any of the seven standard areas.

A second level is accreditation on warning, meaning two or more of the standards need significant or substantial work, which is where Lisbon High School was when NEASC initially finished its process after the 2005 visit. Then NEASC returned and flagged some additional facilities needs.

The third level is accreditation with probation, which is the high school’s current level of accreditation.

“ Probation essentially is for findings or recommendations that could not be completed in the time frame that we’ve been provided, whether that’s two, five or 10 years, and that’s really where we fall right now,” Healey said. “We have some significant facilities issues that we still need to accomplish or improve at the high school, and we’ll probably stay on probation until we are able to do that.”

Healey noted NEASC’s mission statement has changed to a set of core beliefs, so Lisbon High School’s mission statement will be changed to align with the new NEASC guidelines — and what the community believes the school’s core values are. The goal is to send a proposal for revised core beliefs to the School Committee next year for approval.