As a part of SGA, I was asked to participate in a meeting with the CIS/MSA team. In the morning I guided the team around the school together with 2 other students one in primary and one in middle school. We took them around the campus and did the brief tour we give to new families in OSC so this wasn’t difficult for me and felt more like a routine.

After dropping them off at the administrative office I went to resume classes like normal before going to the SMPR during x block to meet with them once more. During this meeting they mentioned how important it is to get feedback from the students and how they see the goals of the school being met in their education. They also raised the very important point that no school is perfect, so when we raised points about school that were a bit negative they assured us that all of this is put into the best interest of the school. They assume that OSC will work towards this once their report is given. I think this is a great way to tackle education since students come and go and so do their needs. Not every group of students is going to learn in the same way so this accreditation helps us understand the students and their learning.

During the meeting we were asked to write down on a piece of paper our answer to some questions, one of them being ‘how would you describe your learning at OSC’. These questions really got us to think as they aren’t things you would point out to yourself. As a member of the SGA I was also speaking on behalf of the secondary school so I tried to think like my peers and put down what I think they would answer to these questions. This exercise took a lot of reflection as we had to evaluate what the school was doing in terms of our education from our perspective. I think this pushed us to focus more on how we feel about the school, and collaborate on bringing forth our ideas instead of placing ourselves in the shoes of the school and the people managing it.

This is an new experience that aids we well in the professional world as I now know how these accreditation processes work and what they are looking for. So if I end up working for an accreditation agency or in an institution looking for an accreditation I know how to tackle it.

Featured Image Credit: Eloise Golding