After a year of preparation by not only the administration but the entire staff at Varela, the wait is over and the results are in.

The approval that the school received from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) could not have come sooner for Ms. Sheila Dymond, SACS chairperson, and the other staff members that worked alongside her in the preparation for the evaluation that had been going on since the beginning of the school year.



“I feel completely blown away by the scope of greatness that encompasses this building. I’m thrilled that it’s over but I’m also thrilled that I learned so much. It just reinforced my Viper pride, to see what those people from the outside could see about us,” said Ms. Dymond. “It was something that we knew all along, but for someone from the outside to tell us how great we are and then to tell us that one of our faults is that we don’t praise ourselves enough, to me was the cake.”

All schools must meet certain standards in order to become accredited and make their diplomas worth their educational value. In Florida, the institution that regulates the accreditation is SACS. On Monday, April 21, the Quality Assurance Review Team (QART) came to visit Varela to make its evaluation and give its recommendations.

The QART was led by Dr. Alvin White who presented the team’s oral exit report on Tuesday, April 22. Asking questions to student representatives, as well as the occasional bystander in the hallways, White admitted to being impressed with the attitudes and morals that the students showed during their interviews.

“I have very personal high expectations of this school because I remember coming here five years ago with Ms. Fornell (previous principal) and now with your present principal,” said White. “The leadership that you have here, the dedicated faculty and the concerned student body, there is no way for you to do anything else but get the accreditation.”

During the oral report, it is procedure that the board members give recommendations to the administration on what they can improve on as well as suggestions on the programs that are already implemented within the curriculum.

Together, the board felt that learning communities should be developed for teachers to gather and discuss their teaching methods in a more formal setting.

The board praised the school for having "such a highly qualified staff" (16 teachers are National Board certified and 66 teachers have advanced degrees). White also acknowledged Ms. Connie Navarro as a “strong, dedicated, and knowledgeable” principal.

Once again the accreditation that was hoped for was granted by the SACS committee along with recognition by the organization as a school that met their expectations.

“It was all just a reassurance to us,” said Ms. Dymond. “Now we can all breathe easier.”