CIS/NEASC Re-accreditation status with immediate effect!

Our school has achieved outcome A based on the report's findings, thorough in-situ observations/visits, and the evidence presented via the report. We are delighted with this result, which brings an unbiased endorsement of consistent, dedicated, and child-centred work to our school. Of course, with any report, there is much to rejoice and celebrate, but it also creates a five-year mandate that will inform our strategic plan and future aspirations for years to come. The report contains commendations and recommendations however, we would like to leave you with the final overall evaluation of the report written by the evaluators:

"Rotterdam International Secondary School's approach to the accreditation process was honest, thorough, and demonstrated a clear understanding of the benefits of the self-reflective process. The transparency of information provided, and the willingness to explain the culture and context of operations and educational practice to the team, is natural and a clear extension of how the school operates. The success of the visit comes down to the community as a whole participating in the self-study and accreditation visit honestly. The narratives of the different domains in the self-study were completed with a lot of evidence to support the hard work occurring in RISS. Since the Preparatory Evaluation Visit nearly two years ago, the school has already done an enormous amount of work on school improvement. This is evidenced by clear developments in global citizenship, professional development programmes, curriculum development, facilities, and resourcing etc. This is a connection to the four drivers. The guiding statements for RISS have been developed through a thorough process that aimed to find the core mission and vision for the school. The language used and the intent of the guiding statements are a testament to the school's understanding of its identity and ensuring that the language is accessible to all the stakeholders and the wider community. It was also clear that these guiding statements were not tokenistic, but in fact, appeared through the school's operations and educational platforms. The mission and vision are embedded throughout the school and used in decision-making. Strategic planning in RISS is constantly forward-thinking. There are annual improvement plans that have approved, published, and transparent goals that the school works toward. These come from a larger strategic plan that incorporates the Wolfert Group. As an organisation, RISS, with its parent group, works together to ensure that governors of the school are trained and understand educational trends and best practices so that decisions being made are made with data, educational philosophies, and the support of the educational leaders of the school. The school has future aspirations and plans to do many ambitious projects to ensure the stability, sustainability, and viability of RISS. The school culture shows a powerful and engaged community of members where the sole motivation is the successful learning environment for the teachers and students. While talking with different members of the community, the respect, trust, and appreciation shown by the different community members is evidence that the strength of the school lies in its members as well as a clear direction for the school. CIS and NEASC would like to thank the governors from Wolfert, the principal, and heads of sections as well as the support and teaching community of RISS for welcoming the evaluation team to the school. The visiting team felt supported and taken care of over the week. Through many productive meetings, and hearing from staff, students, and parents, the team was able to get a clear and accurate impression of the strong and effective work happening in RISS to support student learning."