THE WOODLANDS THE WOODLANDS
C H R I S T I AACADEMY N CHRISTIAN A C A D E M Y JANUARY 17, 2014
Woodlands Christian Accreditation -- by Julie Ambler At The Woodlands Christian Academy, we are committed to offering our students an exceptional education. To validate the quality of our programs and verify that we are striving for optimal student learning, we obtained and possess dual accreditation from two of the nation’s premier accrediting agencies: AdvancEd (formerly the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or SACS) and the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a high level of educational standards. Every five years, representatives from these agencies visit our school campus. We are enthusiastically looking forward to their next joint visit to Woodlands Christian on February 23rd – 25th. For the past year, we have been diligently preparing for this visit. Our senior leadership team (Mr. Zeal, Mrs. Allen, Dr. Hunter, Coach Hollas and I) has served as the Steering Committee. We have undergone an in-depth selfassessment under the broad categories of 1) Purpose and Direction, 2) Governance and Leadership, 3) Teaching and Assessing for Learning, and 4) Resources and Support Systems. This effort involves following a set of rigorous protocols, standards and research-based processes for evaluating an institution’s organizational effectiveness. We have analyzed extensive feedback from parents, faculty/staff, students and
third-party experts obtained through various surveys, meetings, test scores, and other measurements. The evaluation process has been very encouraging, especially when we consider the tremendous progress that has been made at our school over the past five years. We have begun to identify key areas of continued focus for the next five years, including the progressive development of our campus master-plan, deeper integration of a Christian worldview into our core subjects, opportunities and programs to develop student leaders, enhancement of all of our academic programs, further integration of technology into the curriculum, and helping our students to become better critical thinkers and writers. Ultimately, we will use our selfassessment and the feedback from our accreditors to develop our Continuous School Improvement Plan to help us achieve individual goals and guide us forward. The accreditation team will include seven highly esteemed educators. While they are here, we will give them access to our campus, classrooms, and operations. Don’t be surprised if you are interviewed while on campus! We look forward to impressing our guests with our unique school community and affirming that Woodlands Christian is on track to ultimately becoming one of the world’s premier Christ-centered college preparatory schools.
In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Woodlands Christian will be closed Monday, January 20
5800 ACADEMY WAY . THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS 77384 . 936-273-2555 . WWW.TWCA.NET