The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education paid Park University’s Parkville campus a visit Oct. 26-29 for an extensive review that will determine the accreditation future of Park’s School of Education.

After members from both teams arrived on Oct. 25 to review documentation and to make final preparations for the official site visit, the nearly two days of meetings were finally underway.

“It was by choice that we wanted to seek accreditation,” said Dr. Michelle “Shellie” Myers, dean of the School of Education.

“Our faculty believes in excellence and providing the highest excellence in education for our students.”

Preparing for the visit by NCATE, which was recently consolidated to CAEP, or Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, involved extensive preparation and work was required of members of the School of Education.

“It’s a very data-driven process,” said Linda Seybert, associate professor of education and NCATE coordinator. “You have to have multiple semesters of data and provide lots of evidence.”

Dr. Myers agreed, commenting on all that went into the weeks of preparation for the visit.

“It was a lot of interpreting, making changes, just a continuous process of making sure we had everything we needed to give to them,” she said. “We wanted to be as thorough as possible, to make sure no stone was left unturned, that we had everything we needed.”

That preparation was not just left to the School of Education but as to the NCATE team as well. Myers said she estimated NCATE’s preparation of their visit ranged between 40 and 80 hours.

Myers also announced the School for Education programs for teachers and other school professionals, which includes all the undergraduate and graduate PK-12 programs, has been re-accredited by Missouri DESE.

It was also reported that the undergraduate programs met all six NCATE standards for accreditation and a return visit has been recommended within two years for the graduate programs.

While the visit has provided positive results so far, the visit was not without drawback.

“There was definitely a heightened level of energy and some anxiety while the accreditation team was here,” said Myers.

“But the whole visit was just a matter of answering questions and putting forth our best efforts, making sure all the work was turned in. But there was definitely heightened awareness.”

While the Accreditation Council will not be meeting until late April 2015 and official results and announcements will not be made until mid-May 2015, Myers said she was happy with how the visit turned out.

“I feel a great sense of accomplishment,” said Myers.

“We had great support from the institution, we had a dedicated group of people in the School of Education who showed what we are truly about: we’re here for the kids, for the students.”

Melanie Kinney, data analyst and technical specialist, was also a part of the preparation team for this heightened visit.

“Yes, there was a lot of preparation and hard work going into this,” she said, “but we received so much help from faculty and staff who all make up this university.”

Students were also a major help during the teams’ visit, by working as escorts for team members while they were on campus.

“It was really a camaraderie, especially among the students and staff,” said Seybert. “They would ask about how things are going and what all was going on.”

Myers said the visit went beyond just seeking accreditation for the School of Education.

“This was an institutional process not just the School of Education,” said Myers.

“We worked with the institution very closely along with our outside community partners including our PK-12 programs. We owe them a lot of gratitude and our thanks for their help and support.”