GUS Begins Yearlong Self-Study for AISNE Reaccreditation
Above: Faculty + Staff meet in committees across campus to begin the Self-Study process.
Did you know that MIT has had a reflection process called Visiting Committees ever since 1875?
Its purpose has been to center evaluation and provide recommendations to better the university. Just like higher education, both elementary and secondary independent schools engage in a formal, peer-review process to ensure that we offer the best educational experience possible.
As a member of the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) for over two decades, GUS participates in a ten-year cycle of reaccreditation. The process, a requirement of all AISNE member schools, ensures not only that a school is meeting AISNE’s rigorous standards for school operation, but also that we are in alignment with our unique mission and philosophy.
The reaccreditation process begins with a thorough self-study, which offers a chance to reflect upon our practices, celebrate our strengths, and address our challenges. This year is our “Self-Study year,” in which every member of our professional community will work together to prepare a comprehensive, narrative document that will later be used to assess our compliance with AISNE’s criteria and standards for accreditation. Faculty, staff, and administration are teamed up across thirteen separate committees to take a closer look at the following areas:
Leadership: board governance and administration
Student experience + program: curriculum, pedagogy, student life, and program resources
Institutional advancement + operations: facilities, development, enrollment management, and community partnerships, to name a few.
In September, Beth Friedman, Director of AISNE Accreditation, helped kick off our Self-Study work. Just as we ask our students to visualize their hopes and dreams for a new school year, faculty brainstormed all of the positive outcomes of a self-reflective process like this one. So far, committees have met a few times, and the joyful energy and rich discussions have been inspiring. During meetings and professional development days this year, we will examine our teaching and learning and analyze our program through the lens of our mission. Through collaboration across all departments and divisions, we’ll get to view how our school functions as a whole, rather than the sum of its parts.
In the spring of 2027, GUS will host an AISNE reaccreditation team for what’s called a site visit - a true Trust and Go Forward moment! The team, made up of educators from other independent schools, will visit GUS to review our self-study document, meet with community members, and, ultimately, submit a recommendation to the AISNE Board of Directors for accreditation.
We look forward to sharing updates and engaging our community throughout this process, so please stay tuned! We are excited to share insights about GUS, both the present-day successes and our collective hopes for the future and everything GUS can be. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about our AISNE accreditation process, please reach out to Suzy Light (slight@gus.org).