In the final act of their April 28-29 visit, the four-member accreditation visiting team reported their unanimous recommendation of full accreditation for WRCS pre-school, elementary and middle school programs. The word goes to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the peer review team’s appointing body, who will make an official determination later this year. While not bound by the recommendation, it would be highly unusual for SACS to do anything but confirm their representatives’ view.

So after almost 62 productive years without accreditation by an outside evaluator, Warwick River Christian School has attained formal recognition of its educational program. While non-accreditation has never been a barrier to admission of former students into other schools, WRCS administrators and board have felt an increasing desire to hold an official “seal of approval” in promoting the school.

The visiting team was highly complimentary regarding the WRCS program, especially the extensive enrichment classes available to students, from kindergarten through Grade 8.

They affirmed the self-study materials prepared via the Validating the Vision protocol from Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). Guided by the protocol over the past 15 months, faculty-staff-community committees created or updated five “Foundation Documents” and assembled ten “State of the School” studies. The foundation documents include statements on (1) Beliefs, (2) Mission, (3) Philosophy of Education, (4) Parameters, and (5) Graduate Profile.
State of the School materials focused on (6) Community Demographics, (7) Administration, Faculty, Staff, (8) Culture and Environment, (9) Curriculum and Instruction, (10) Student Services, (11) Student Activities, (12) Professional Development, (13) Governance and Accountability, (14) Finance, Advancement, and Facilities, and (15) School and Community Relations.

And the visiting evaluators appreciated the documentation of compliance with the SACS Nonpublic School Standards for Accreditation. The SACS standards include 101 sub-points divided among 12 categories of school performance, from governance to curriculum. Warwick River’s planning team had assembled a dozen loose-leaf notebooks to collect evidence for each sub-point, and the visitors plan to commend this procedure for other schools preparing for review.

The Visiting Team found that WRCS met all but one of the 101 prescribed standards. The deficiency has to do with follow-up studies of former students to test how well graduates are doing after leaving WRCS. While there is considerable informal and anecdotal feedback available, SACS standards expect a more systematic survey of alumni to help in determining the effectiveness of school programs.

Visiting Team members were Chairman Keith Hall, headmaster at Atlantic Shores Christian School, Chesapeake; Rachael Belmonte, math teacher at Southampton Academy, Courtland; Debbie White, on the administrative staff of Isle of Wight Academy; and John Weber, principal of Kraybill Mennonite School, Mt. Joy PA. In addition to checking standards, during their two-day visit, the team met with 20 teachers, 14 middle school students, 8 alumni, 14 parents, 4 members of the administrative team, 4 board members, and 8 members of the Accreditation Planning Team.

The accreditors also affirmed three program objectives to be pursued during the next five years until a similar visit will be scheduled to renew accreditation. Meanwhile, the school needs to submit annual progress reports on ongoing school improvement.

Following the Visiting Team report, the WRCS Accreditation Planning Team (APT) Co-Chairs, Jenny Mahone and Deborah VanBuskirk, were recognized for their outstanding leadership. They received a basket of personal goodies, including dining cards for Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants.

Other members of APT include Principal Mabel Nelson and Administrator Gordon Zook, board member Shannon Pipkin, parent Daniel Reed, pre-school teacher Michelle Watrous, and community representative Susan Ackerman.

SACS-appointed Facilitator Elaine Moyer was also present during the Review Team visit. Moyer is principal of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale PA and a key architect in shaping the Mennonite Version of Validating the Vision, MEA’s protocol for accreditation.