The last week of September we had the privilege of hosting the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) representative, who came to check us out to see if we will be ready for the team accreditation visit in December. As Tim met with different staff members, both individually and in different meetings, he was able to get a very good overview of ECA as a school. His firm declaration that we are right on track for our planned visit was encouraging, but his repeated words of affirmation regarding the quality of our team and of our program overall was even more motivating.
This accreditation process is definitely rigorous, time-consuming, and challenging. But each time we have gone through the cycle of self-studies, documentation, and outside evaluation I am convinced of the value of ACSI’s process to help us be an even better school. As we wrestle with indicators and standards in every area of the school (from governance to student services, from strategic planning to personnel), we find areas to improve, and our team responds by creating procedures and documents or changing current processes. We see new ways of doing things and we strive to complete unfinished goals. The accreditation process pulls all of our team together to seek ways to better serve and challenge our students.
Knowing we have something special to offer our students and parents is one thing, but having that affirmed from the outside is another. We have lots of work to do in October and November to finish up loose ends before the international accreditation team arrives. But I am so thankful for our Board and staff support for this healthy process of growing more into the school we believe God wants us to be!
