The Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) Accreditation and Design (AD) team hosted a Kansas Educational Systems Accreditation (KESA) Monthly Update via Zoom from 9-9:45 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12.  

During the meeting, Dr. Jay Scott, director of the AD team, discussed the shift from KESA to KESA 2.0, emphasizing a move from a process-oriented approach to one that focuses on the Four Fundamental areas, while maintaining the same outcomes, aspirations and level of accreditation. 

Myron Melton, assistant director of the AD team, highlighted the importance of KESA check-ins and peer review, stressing the need for personalized support; carrying forward the current action plan; and discussing its execution and sustainability. He also emphasized the importance of conducting a needs assessment to understand a system’s strengths and needs, aligning these with the system’s goals and adjusting them if necessary. 

Dr. Amber Miller, a public service executive on the AD team, discussed the transition from a four-region to a three-region system. Miller will handle the west region, Scott and Melton will handle the east region, and the central region position will be filled by January 2024. Miller also mentioned the creation of two new cohorts – the urban and suburban cohorts – and the private systems cohort. The regions were adjusted to better serve geographical needs, with each region consisting of 87 to 88 systems.  

AD team members also discussed the adaptation of the KESA model for cohort groups and vice versa. Scott clarified that the accreditation process is based on the Four Fundamentals, Kansas vision outcomes and compliance factors, with leading indicator data also considered. 

Scott also outlined the plan to create groupings for service centers and systems across the state, with the aim of releasing this information in the spring.  

The team confirmed the creation of a common template for the action plan, which likely will be ready by mid-March to mid-April. Scott also emphasized the importance for continuous improvement and the evaluation of KESA 1.0. 

Meeting attendees also were reminded to fill out the KESA check-in peer review survey and about the upcoming updates to the KESA guidance document. 

The KESA Monthly Update slides can be found here. 

If you have any questions, contact the Accreditation and Design team at accreditation@ksde.org.