The school board voted unanimously Aug. 31 to create a temporary district accreditation coordinator position as the schools begin preparations for an upcoming formal review.

The Alaska Department of Education requires public schools to maintain recognized accreditation, ensuring institutions meet instructional standards and that graduating students earn diplomas accepted by colleges and employers nationwide. The Wrangell district is scheduled to begin its next formal review cycle in February 2027.

The part-time position is an extra-duty contract for this year only and will pay $4,000. The duties will run from when the position is filled until February.

“The accreditation coordinator will serve as our point person throughout the process, working closely with both the district office and our school sites to coordinate meetings, gather information and keep everyone connected as we move through each step,” said Superintendent Joshua Garrett.

“We’re opening this opportunity first to our current staff, because the ideal candidate already understands our schools and our community.”

Garrett noted that the district will widen the hiring pool if necessary. “If we don’t have a staff member step forward, we’ll open the search to the public.”

The school district has maintained continuous accredited status, Garrett said, emphasizing that the upcoming evaluation serves purposes beyond state compliance.

“I want to be clear that Wrangell has never had difficulty meeting accreditation, and we don’t anticipate that changing,” he said. “But accreditation isn’t just a compliance exercise for us. It’s a genuine opportunity to pause, take an honest look at ourselves and ask how we can keep getting better for our students.”

The review will evaluate operations against 31 benchmark standards set by Cognia, a global nonprofit accreditation organization used widely across Alaska school districts.

“It asks our staff, our families and our community to reflect together on where we are and where we want to go,” Garrett said of the Cognia standards.

Information gathered during the evaluation will also steer internal district goals. The findings will feed directly into the board’s long-term road map.

“The self-study and the theory of action that come out of this process will directly inform how the district and the board refine our strategic plan this spring,” he said. “If I had to guess at the most impactful piece, it’s that accreditation gives us an evidence base, real data and real reflection, rather than assumptions, to build our next strategic plan on.”