"Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance developed more than 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools, and designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational Standards. Today the accreditation process is used at all levels of education, and is recognized for its ability to effectively drive student performance and continuous improvement in education."  AdvancED

DeSoto County Schools is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). SACS CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED which has access to over 100 years of expertise in accreditation and school improvement.

"Governor William Winter recognized the need for education reform and initiated the accountability movement in Mississippi beginning with the Education Reform Act of 1982. This landmark legislation established a task force to study and propose a plan to establish guidelines and criteria for a permanent performance-based system of school accreditation for all public elementary and secondary schools. The legislation created and authorized the Commission on School Accreditation to establish a system for assuring the quality of school programs in Mississippi. This new system, appropriately deemed performance-based school accreditation, was based upon measures that focus on the extent to which schools help students master defined content and objectives. The law clearly shifted the emphasis in school accreditation to the outcomes of education, specifically those related to student achievement, and changed the accreditation process from voluntary to compulsory for all public elementary and secondary schools."  Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2014

DeSoto County Schools holds the status of ACCREDITED and the decision was approved by the State Board of Education.

For more information, please contact Central Services at 662.429.5271.