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Date: 9/20/2023
PALMER— The Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical School Committee learned the school had received its decennial accreditation at its Sept. 13 meeting.
Pathfinder Tech hosted the New England Association of School and Colleges May 1-4 as part of the accreditation process.
Pathfinder Tech Superintendent Eric Duda added that the NEASC accreditation process is an 18 month endeavor, requiring “all hands on deck” from every faculty and staff member.
“Collectively, a team of talented faculty, staff and administrators self-assessed, reported,and were ultimately reviewed. I could not be more proud of the talented faculty and staff that we have at Pathfinder Tech. Our teachers and support staff and administrators are second to none. The final report and commendations give much deserved recognition to their efforts and hard work,” he added.
The Commission on Public Schools Committee on Technical and Career Institutions met on June 23 to review the Decennial Accreditation report from the May 1-4 visit and voted to award the school continued accreditation.
The NEASC is a regional accreditation association that provides educational accreditation in six New England states.
According to the NEASC, accreditation is a respected, effective, and time-tested methodology for school improvement and growth. It is not a single event, but rather an ongoing, voluntary cycle of comprehensive internal and external assessments, short- and long-term strategic planning, and periodic reporting sustained by professional partnership and support.
It is also intended to serve as a framework for schools to meet their own unique goals for student learning while maintaining alignment with research-based standards for accreditation that define the characteristics.
Duda said he was pleased to receive the accreditation.
He added, “Having worked at Pathfinder Tech for 17 years and having graduated from the school after attending in the late ’90s, I feel an extra sense of ownership and pride. I’m entering my third year as superintendent and served as principal prior to this role.”
According to the accreditation letter, some of the items the committee was impressed with include the school’s commitment to provide a well-rounded education through fine art offerings, AP courses, clubs and athletics, the expanded trade offerings align with the communities the school serves and the strong sense of commitment and accountability is cultivated through the Instructional Leadership Team’s inclusive approach to effective feedback and decision-making.
Since Duda began working with Pathfinder Tech, the school has begun offering AP courses, professional skills classes, music, art and added two new technical programs — plumbing and hospitality management.
He said, “We had no AP offerings the last time they were here and now we have 11 offerings. Combined with honors courses we have over 30 of those offerings. We’ve put two new courses in place over that time. We have 16 technical programs now.”
“These are just a few of the accomplishments in recent years and they have been made possible through an incredibly supportive School Committee and supportive member towns. I was pleased that the NEASC accreditation team recognized many of these accomplishments and positive moves forward in recent years,” Duda added.
Some recommendations included in the letter were to create a standard format for curriculum and a process for revising the curriculum to ensure all students practice and achieve the school’s learning expectations, begin an inclusive process to develop core values, beliefs and learning expectations and communicate these to all stakeholders and the community, increase collaboration time for data driven decision-making.
Duda said the school has been working on achieving these goals before the accreditation process began.
“The recommendations were anticipated, and I feel they were mostly accurate and appropriate. Much of the work that was recommended, if not all of it, has already begun. This includes newly adopted learning expectations, updated school improvement plan and reviewing/updating curriculum in key areas which occurred this summer, and is work that is continuing,” Duda added.