We are excited to announce that the CSI Accreditation Commission recently renewed and approved accreditation status for 110 CSI member schools in the US.
Over the course of two days in July, two members of our Accreditation team and six Commission members gathered in Denver, Colorado to pour over reports from schools requesting renewal of their accreditation status and schools seeking accreditation status for the first time. During a five-year CSI accreditation cycle, schools are required to submit annual reports for review by the Commission. These reports demonstrate the school’s continued progress on specific school improvement goals. Schools going through the accreditation process for the first time are also considered for accreditation status based upon recommendations made in their school’s accreditation site visit reports.
The CSI Accreditation Commission includes six volunteer members from regions around the US, who serve for six-year terms. The Commissioners give their time and energy for this important work because they demonstrate a passion for Christian education and a strong desire to see Christian education grow, remain, and be dynamic.
“I very much appreciated the productive, collaborative, and supportive nature of the meeting in addition to accomplishing the work necessary to approve all these great schools for accreditation,” said Sheryl Jo, director of accreditation, describing the two-day meeting with the Commission. “All of the people on the Commission come with rich, diverse experience, which comes alive when we’re talking about issues relating to accreditation—and that is just one of the pieces of the meeting that excites me and brings me back to the office with renewed energy and excitement to do my work.”
Mary Patterson, current Commission member and the principal of the accredited Newton Christian School in Newton, Iowa, describes the CSI accreditation process as a healthy one where schools can assess their mission, effectiveness, and validity.
“We were able to devise school improvement goals that created clear steps toward meeting objectives, defining roles, and building strategic plans,” said Patterson. “As compared to other accreditation processes that we have encountered, we soon realized that CSI was more than checking boxes and going through the motions. Instead, though rigorous in nature, we received the affirmation and drive to be the best school we can be for God’s kids through CSI accreditation.”
After the Commission meeting in July, Jo and her team sent communications to each school, which included their accreditation decision from the Commission, the dates of renewed accreditation or new accreditation status, and excerpts from the schools’ Commission reports. These excerpts are detailed affirmations and encouragements for each school to review as they continue to move through their accreditation cycles. Schools also receive accreditation certificates, which many schools will proudly post on their websites and walls to celebrate the continued work they do in teaching students to know God and to carry out His work.
Thrilled to receive their certificate, the staff at Oaktree Academy is honored to be working at an accredited Christian school.
“Schools put a great deal of work into the accreditation process. At its foundation, CSI accreditation is a tool by which a school can measure and evaluate the continued work it is doing to accomplish and engage in its mission. I am amazed and grateful to God when I read the information provided to us by schools who are going through our accreditation,” said Jo. “Our accredited schools are located all over the map, literally and figuratively, and yet each unique school is diligently focused on what it can do to further God’s Kingdom here on earth. There is such power in that. God is faithfully and powerfully at work in our schools!”
Interested in learning more about the accreditation process? Find out more.
Oaktree Academy Staff with their CSI Accrediation Certificate