Email: "Westfield Maintains Middle States Accreditation"
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WESTFIELD –It’s been a tough year for school districts, especially with a bleak economy, declining enrollment and the possibility of state aid cuts half way through the school year.


But at least Westfield Academy and Central School officials have something they can be happy about.


On Thursday, November 19, Frank Radzievich, a representative of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, announced to faculty, staff and administrators that the district would continue to be an accredited school in the association. Having the distinction of belonging to the organization will help students from the district in being admitted into upper echelon colleges and ivy league schools, Radzievich said, adding many notable colleges prefer having schools accredited.


“Hopefully this is the continuance of a beautiful relationship,” Radzievich said.


As part of the accreditation process, a group of Middle States representatives examined school facilities, interviewed teachers, students and staff, and looked over the district’s academics, according to Heath Forster, the district’s CSE chair and coordinator of the process.


“It was a very long, hardworking experience,” Forster said. “You have to work real hard to get it done.”


After changing the district’s mission statement, Forster said the faculty formed teams to tackle the association’s standards, and school officials calculated demographic information regarding the school.


“Once we got all that together, we put together a well over 200 page report that we have to submit to them,” Forster said. “That report is what they go off of and then they come in here and do their evaluation for three and a half days. They look at everything.’


And Radzievich’s team did look over everything, from the lighting in the hallways to the condition of the school’s track.


“Despite the population of the school, our team was overwhelmed by the academic, sports, extra-curricular and service activities available to Westfield students,” Radzievich said. “For your small size, your curriculum matches up with anybody.”


Radzievich also praised the work and attitudes of the teachers and staff in the school.


“The visiting team observed staff and student interaction to be fair, respectful and collaborative,” he said. “The team found the level of instruction in all the classrooms we observed to be impressive. We were overwhelmed by the music and art departments for their sterling efforts and to everybody the great use of technology, as well as to whoever came up with the idea to partner together with the Jamestown Community College course option.”


The district is also helped by hiring a veteran teacher from the school to serve as principal, Radzievich said. The appointment of Ivana Hite to the position, Radzievich said, should help to ease any tension from the period of time where the district had high administrative turnover.


“The school district is to be commended for the choice of a veteran staff member to serve as a building principal,” Radzievich said. “The tumultuous period of time when the administration was constantly changing was detrimental to the staff, student morale and long-term academic planning. The wounds caused by this upheaval will be reduced by administrative stability.


“Your new principal is a whirling dervish around these buildings,” he continued. “The validation team believes she possesses a willingness to learn, objectivity, will research initiatives and communicate a vision that will result in a high achieving school for all students.”


Radzievich and his team also met with groups of students to discuss their opinions regarding the district.


“We are moved by their honesty, openness, a desire to improve themselves and a willingness to share information,” Radzievich said. “We met with two groups of students. One group was selected by the school, and another group was selected by team. I told them to go out and get a cross-section. Surprisingly, their comments were basically the same, and that’s good. But one thing that was very noticeable was that they mentioned that rather tumultuous turnover period affected them, too.”


The students, Radzievich said, were also upset because promised programs were not started due to a number of reasons, including a teacher leaving the district.


“I think that’s a good reflection on the closeness between the staff and students,” Radzievich said. “In most schools, especially bigger ones, you’re lucky if the students know the name of the superintendent, and they don’t care who the principal is in most cases.”


However, the team did note some improvements which the district could make. Radzievich said bathrooms, the school’s track and the district’s weight room need to be renovated. He also said the school should install cameras in the cafeteria and in stairwells to cut down on any blind spots where problems could arise and improve lighting in hallways.


Radzievich’s team also questioned the principal’s workload, adding the district should re-examine the dean of students position and potentially make it an administrative position. The school must also equally encourage vocational and trade careers, as well as college after graduation.


Even with the suggestions and noted improvements, Radzievich said the district appears to be on solid ground even with an uncertain future.


“Buses will always pull up to your door, kids will get out and you will have the opportunity to educate them,” he said. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Approach it positively.”


District Superintendent Mark Sissel said he was pleased with the results of the process.


“It’s a great honor,” he said. “We have some very positive things going on here and we know that we need to grow. We’re not only producing students that are good citizens, but we’re also producing students that can meet the standard in the state or globally.”


Forester said few schools in Western New York are Middle States accredited.


“Our school is very unique in that we maintain it,” he said. “I think it shows a lot in that we keep it going, because we don’t have to do it. We want to do it, because we want to show off the school. It’s a wonderful school, and I’m glad we were able to show it off to other people.”

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