Principal Sean T. Kelly of Cranston High School East has announced the names of Steering Committee members who will direct the school’s efforts during its self-study and the accreditation by the Committee on Public Secondary Schools of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

The Visiting Committee will be chaired by Andrea DiCicco, who is an English teacher. The other members of the committee include Heidi Blais, Robert LaBanca, Leslie Conley, Rhonda Mitchell, Victoria Conte, Diana Petrosinelli, Blake Danforth, Chris Richard, Colleen Hart, and Isa Tejada.

NEASC membership requires that a school undergo a self-study and formal evaluation at least once every 10 years. The Steering Committee’s responsibilities will include coordinating a schedule of events for the school’s self-study, collecting reports from various subcommittees, and making necessary preparations for the evaluation committee’s visit.

“The self-study will include the completion of a comprehensive assessment of teaching and learning and the support of teaching and learning,” DiCicco said. “The focus of the accreditation visit will be to determine the extent to which our programs and services carry out the school’s core values and beliefs about student learning and meet the Committee on Public Secondary Schools Standards for Accreditation.”

Cranston East was last accredited in 2006 and has maintained continued accreditation since it was awarded NEASC membership in 1935. The next accreditation by a Committee on Public Secondary Schools visiting committee will be conducted in March 2017.

Kelly has additionally invited parents of students and other interested community residents to assist in the self-study.

He noted that all aspects of the school will be evaluated during the self-study. Volunteers are most urgently needed, however, to serve on committees that will evaluate the areas of Core Values, Beliefs, Instruction; Assessment of the Student Learning; School Culture and Leadership; School Resources for Learning; and Community Resources for Learning.

Anyone interested in volunteering time or in learning more about the self-study should contact DiCicco 401-270-8126 during school hours.