As educators, we face the challenge of equipping our students with the vital 21st century skills that must be possessed to be successful in a rapidly changing, highly competitive, technological, and global society. Fulfillment of this challenge requires providing opportunities for access to and support of teaching and learning grounded in the acquisition of 21st century skills. This challenge also includes higher expectations/standards for our students, new educational research on teaching and learning, varied instructional delivery systems and materials, accountability for educators and educational systems, and budget constraints. Our focus continues to be on teaching and learning for each individual student and the leadership and commitment to higher standards in the interest of our students as they reach their goals, realize their dreams, and utilize their acquired 21st century skills.

 
The AdvancED accreditation process for schools and districts is founded on the implementation of a research-based continuous improvement model. Use of this model will assist educational leaders in meeting the many educational challenges facing us today. The focus on high standards and indicators allows flexibility for individual schools and school systems to address their specific needs through a continuous improvement process and best practices alignment that is research-based. Quality assurance includes documentation of continuous improvement with the follow-up Quality Assurance Review (QAR) visit which provides the opportunity for schools and school systems to demonstrate adherence to the standards and the continuous improvement process. Through the completion of the continuous improvement model together with the QAR visit, AdvancED will identify areas for growth and recognize areas of excellence at both the school and district levels.

There are many resources available to assist you when you begin planning for the AdvancED accreditation process. Many of these are listed on the AdvancED Web site at www.advanc-ed.org. Included on this Web site is information related to state, regional, and national conferences which provide educators with professional development and the opportunities to exchange best practices. In addition, there are many printed and visual resources available through the AdvancED Corporate office, as well as the expertise, support, and leadership of the AdvancED Florida office. The AdvancED accreditation process is not only an accreditation process based on high standards, continuous improvement, and quality assurance, but also a network of professional educators focused on meeting the educational needs of each child and providing the resources, professional development, and educational best practices based on research.

We look forward to an exciting year as we work together to serve our students, parents, and communities in achieving state-of-the-art teaching, learning, and acquisition of 21st century skills. I wish you a successful and fulfilling school year.
 
Sincerely,