From Landing Strip to Lift-Off: What Comes After Accreditation

“Accreditation isn’t where the flight ends—it’s where momentum begins.”

We often treat accreditation like a landing. After all the stress and preparation, schools exhale, shut the binder, and move on. But what if all that work wasn’t meant for landing? What if you’ve just finished building the runway—and now it’s time to accelerate toward something greater?

Accreditation isn’t the end of your journey—it’s the start of your next one. The process gives you the concrete under your feet—a strong runway built from data, reflection, and alignment. 

Yes. You secured accreditation. You could just take the results and run, treating them like a check on a to-do list. Or you could take those results and run closer to your goals, if you’ve planned accreditation as a meaningful part of your long-term strategic plan. 

The choice is up to you, but now you have to choose: taxi to a stop, or take off.

When I was a principal, I treated accreditation like a finish line. After months of gathering evidence and preparing for the visit, I was just glad it was over. The report came in, we celebrated the results, and I moved on. What I didn’t realize was that we had just built something valuable—a detailed map of where to go next. I missed the opportunity to turn that hard-earned feedback into a clear, actionable path forward.

1. Use Accreditation Results as Your CNA

That final report is more than compliance—it's a built-in Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA). It highlights your strengths and pinpoints the specific areas where growth is most needed, giving you a solid foundation to launch your improvement efforts.

2. Co-Create the Plan with Staff

The runway isn’t just for the leadership team—your whole crew needs to be on board. Involving teachers and staff in analyzing the results and co-creating the School Improvement Plan builds investment, clarity, and shared direction. This echoes our recent post on co-creation: when the people doing the work help design the work, success takes off.

3. Break Down the Year-Long Plan into Quarterly Cycles

A year-long plan can feel like trying to take off without enough runway. Breaking it into smaller 90-day cycles gives teams achievable goals, opportunities for early wins, and the chance to adjust based on real-time data.

4. Align with the Building/District Assessment System

A runway only works if you can track your speed. Your Building or District Assessment System helps monitor whether student progress is keeping pace with your improvement strategies. It provides timely feedback that supports mid-course corrections before the stakes get high.

5. Measure What Adults Are Doing, Not Just What Students Produce

It’s not enough to know where students are—you need to know what’s changing in classrooms. Track shifts in teacher practice, collaboration, and team behaviors to get early indicators that your strategies are taking off.

6. Make the Plan a Living System

The runway doesn’t end at takeoff—and your plan shouldn’t either. Keep it alive with regular reflection, team ownership, and strategy adjustments so that momentum builds rather than fades.

Are you using your accreditation results as a landing strip—or as the runway to real school improvement?