SOUTH PARIS — Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School will host a team of 25 visiting educators from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges on Sunday, Nov. 14. The team will spend four days meeting with students, parents, community members and staff to evaluate the high school’s and technical school’s bid to be re-accredited by NEASC.

Accreditation by NEASC is a voluntary process that is often seen as the stamp of excellence. Over 650 secondary schools in New England are currently accredited by NEASC. Accreditation lasts for 10 years. OHCHS is currently accredited and is looking to continue.

In order to be accredited, schools must meet seven standards in the areas of mission, curriculum, instruction, assessment, leadership, school resources and community resources. OHCHS and Oxford Hills Technical School staff have been examining and reporting the extent to which they are meeting those standards. The visiting team’s job is to scrutinize the school to determine whether the staff’s conclusions are accurate.

The team will then report their findings to NEASC which will then decide whether the school should be reaccredited.

According to OHCHS Principal Ted Moccia, the visit is the culmination of two years of work for the staff. “We started this process over 24 months ago and we’re anxious to show this team of colleagues the quality education we provide to our students.”

Because the high school and the technical school are separate institutions, two separate groups from different divisions of NEASC will visit. Since the schools operate together, the two teams will function as one.

The chairperson of the high school team will be Paul Daigle, a high school principal in Massachusetts. The chairperson of the technical school team will be John Murphy, an administrator of career and technical education in Connecticut. Most of the remaining members of the two groups are from Maine schools.

For more information, contact Moccia at 743-8914, ext. 9512.