MINNESOTA NONPUBLIC SCHOOL ACCREDITING ASSOCIATION

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         THE SELF-STUDY REPORT  

        MNSAA Standards & Performance Indicators                   

   INTRODUCTION

The primary purpose of the MNSAA Self-Study Report is to provide the necessary reflection for the development of a School Strategic Plan, while also demonstrating compliance with accreditation criteria of MNSAA. There are nine sections to the MNSAA Self-Study Report:

  1. School Profile

  2. Standard 1 - Mission Statement and Philosophy                   

  3. Standard 2 - Curriculum and Instruction                              

  4. Standard 3 - Learner Performance

  5. Standard 4 - School Climate and Facilities

  6. Standard 5 - Community Relations

  7. Standard 6 - Personnel

  8. Standard 7 - Leadership and Governance

  9. Standard 8 - The School Strategic Plan

   SCHOOL PROFILE 1

 In order for a school to evaluate their educational program, it must have an understanding of its history, student and family populations, and the broader community in which it serves.  The school must also have a clear sense of stakeholder perceptions and attitudes.  This section provides objective data on the school population and the surrounding community.  It is of benefit for both the school as they begin to evaluate the various components of their educational program – while also providing an overview for the onsite visitation team of the school community.  In addition to accessing local resources for information related to the school, a survey will need to be conducted within the school community.

   STANDARDS DOCUMENTATION 2-8

Schools are required to demonstrate compliance with the educational standards and criteria of MNSAA.  Concise narrations identifying how the school complies with the stated criteria will need to be written.  Schools will also need to provide documented evidence onsite (indicators) that supports compliance with the criteria.  A summary of strengths and challenges will need to be created for each of the eight standards.  As a result of documenting compliance quality standards, the school will now be at a place to develop a School Strategic Plan.

   SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN 9

The end product for the school in the accreditation process is the development of a long-range strategic plan for the school – the School Strategic Plan.  Schools will need to develop measurable, end-result objectives; strategies for achieving the objectives; and time-specific action steps for fulfilling the strategies.  The plan must meet the Quality Expectations of the association.

   DEFINITIONS

Narrations of Compliance - Within the self-study report, most criteria require that a Narration of Compliance be written. It is recommended that his narration be a concise statement (generally 3-9 sentences in length) that describes how the school complies with the particular criteria. A quality narration should be substantive, honest, thoughtful and direct. Be mindful that documented evidence will be necessary during your onsite visit to verify compliance.

 Indicators of Compliance - For each criteria there are identified Indicators of Compliance. These indicators are examples of possible documented evidence for a school to demonstrate compliance with the accreditation criteria. A listing of these indicators can be found separate from the self-study in the Indicators of Compliance section. Within the self-study itself, you will often find Narration of Compliance stated below the criteria, inferring that a narration will need to be included in your report.  Particular indicators are also notated in italics below the criteria; these would be considered essential indicators, which imply that they must be present in order to document compliance - all others simply provide direction for both the school and team in practically identifying documented evidence for demonstrating compliance with the stated criteria. Schools are not responsible for demonstrating documentation for all of the indicators, nor are schools limited to the indicators listed as means of documenting compliance. Schools are required, though, to demonstrate compliance with each of the criteria in some manner.

Legal Requirements (“LR”) - Several of the MNSAA standards are designated "LR" for Legal Requirement. Federal, state and local levels of government enact laws (ordinances, rules and regulations, statutes) that directly or indirectly apply to nonpublic schools. While compliance with these laws is the responsibility of individual schools, and enforcement the responsibility of the government agencies, MNSAA expects individual schools to be in compliance with these laws. On an annual basis, MNSAA requires schools to sign off on a Compliance with Legal Requirements form indicating that the school meets the various legal requirements. 

Several of the MNSAA criteria have references to particular legal requirements applicable to nonpublic schools. These criteria have been notated with an “LR” prior to the actual requirement.  These criteria in no way provide the specificity and detail found within the actual legal requirements – but rather provide a summary or generalization of the legal standards. Nor should it be concluded that these criteria are a complete list of all legal requirements applicable to nonpublic schools. The school is advised to always consult with federal, state and local governance authorities, or legal counsel, for the most current and comprehensive legal requirements pertaining to nonpublic schools.

Click here for a pdf file of MNSAA's Standards & Performance Indicators