Anne Marie Schar
Director of Technology, Mid-Peninsula High School
Statement on Serving on a CAIS Accreditation Team

The opportunity to work on CAIS accreditation committees has been one of the most worthwhile professional experiences of my career. I have done this twice. Each experience was unique and both were exceptional learning experiences.

The most obvious benefit is to see how other professionals work together doing what they do best; be it teaching, counseling, administrating. It is a pleasure to see them working and to see the interactions with their students. Both schools had exceptional teachers and administrators as well as support staff. All seemed eager to put their best foot forward. It was also a learning experience to discuss how challenges were handled within the institutions. The benefit to me was a new perspective and a new way of looking at how my own school handles daily challenges.

I was also excited about the classroom observations. As a Technology Director I am not in the classroom, but I do work with classroom teachers to integrate technology. It’s amazing the ideas that one can get from watching other teachers teach. Not just using their ideas directly but also using their ideas as a starting point to move forward into new areas for curriculum development. Invariably I have seen a technology that we haven’t yet bought that is in use and being used regularly and with spectacular results. It’s a great selling point when moving ideas forward to have seen new technology being used in a worthwhile manner.

There is a great benefit to working with a group of professionals from other schools. The report writing is a great experience. First, writing for such a specific purpose and the need for precision is a real challenge for me. It has been a boon to me professionally to work with others who have learned or are naturally gifted at this type of writing. I enjoy the process and learning this new skill and hope that I continue to improve. It’s also a great experience to work with people that are so different from my daily colleagues. The time is limited but there is a very regular and intense exchange of ideas during the process. Working with the team has also enabled me to learn about a wide variety of schools and how they do things, not just the school for which I am on the team.

The final benefit to spending time at other schools is to gain a new perspective about my own school and a new appreciation for what we do. At Mid-Pen we believe we do what we do well. Spending time away gives me a new appreciation for Mid-Pen and renews my school spirit in a unique way.