AUGUSTA -- Cony High School's accreditation has been placed on "warning" status, despite a long list of commendations from the organization that conducted the review.

Overall, a letter from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges' Commission on Secondary Schools lists 22 things about Cony the commission deemed worthy of praise.

However, six listed shortcomings in how the high school measures and tracks student academic performance got Cony a warning on its accreditation status.

Concerns stated in a commission report include:

* Absence of a process to assess individual and school-wide progress in achieving academic expectations;

* Failure of teachers to consistently clarify to students, for each learning activity, the relevant schoolwide academic expectations and learning goals being assessed;

* Lack of professional development focused on a broader range of assessment practices;

* Lack of a plan for reporting individual student progress in achieving schoolwide academic expectations to students and their families; and

* Lack of a plan for reporting the school's progress in achieving schoolwide expectations to the school community.

"We don't want to dismiss their concerns -- they're quite important," said Superintendent Cornelia Brown. "We want to make sure we have high expectations for all kids.

"This is a status report. The commission, I believe, had a very favorable impression of the school and they're looking to take Cony High School to the next level. And they've given us some well-written recommendations on what to shoot for, for targets," Brown said.

This is the first accreditation to take place since the new Cony High School building opened last school year.

In the schools' previous accreditation, completed in 1998, Cony was given probationary accreditation, due in large part to concerns about the former Cony school building.

Cony was removed from probationary status in 2004.

Probationary status, for a school, is worse than warning status.

To get Cony off warning status, officials must submit a special progress report by Nov. 1 indicating how Cony has addressed commission concerns.

"The school's warning status will not be removed until the school can demonstrate that it has satisfactorily completed these and other evaluation report recommendations related to the cited... areas of concern," Pamela Gray-Bennett, director of the accrediting organization, said in a letter to Cony Principal James Anastasio.

Anastasio could not be reached for comment Monday.

The accreditation letter goes to the school board at their meeting Wednesday, though that doesn't necessarily mean board members will discuss the letter.

The item is on the agenda of the 7 p.m. meeting at Capital Area Technical Center to at least acknowledge the board received the letter.

Brown said a special school board workshop is planned May 28 to discuss the results as well as other educational data relating to Cony High School.

"We'll take all that, put it together, and chart a course for Cony for the foreseeable future," Brown said.

Brown said that warning status should not give concern to parents as their children go through the college application process.

The numerous aspects of Cony which won praise in the report included: manifestation of the community's values in the school's mission and expectations, such as the community-service graduation requirement and annual Cony Day of Caring; numerous examples of curriculums that provide opportunities for students to engage in inquiry, problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills; the adoption of a districtwide literacy initiative; use of technology by some teachers to enhance instruction; Anastasio's leadership in facilitating the transition to a new building; faculty and staff's leadership roles in the new building; and the fostering of a climate wherein all members of the school community feel safe, respected and supported.

Accreditations are generally done every 10 years. The accreditation process is voluntary.

The accreditation process has been under way at Cony for about two year, as staff, students, parents and community members were asked to do a self-assessment of Cony. A team of educators then visited the school and issued a report that went to commissioners, who ultimately voted to issue the warning to Cony.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com