Merry Christmas

Next week, Dalat will be welcoming nine Christian educators to campus for our accreditation visit. These people represent the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Both of these accreditation agencies are based in the U.S., but we will also have guests from Africa and Asia.

“Accreditation with ACSI engages schools in a vigorous, holistic process of organizational appraisal and improvement that engages every school constituent. Our program is a highly regarded Christian program for member schools. We have partnerships with all U.S. regional accreditation agencies and offer joint accreditation with numerous accrediting organizations. Students graduating from accredited Christian schools qualify for admission to most colleges and universities, and credits transfer between schools nationally and internationally.” (www.acsi.org)

The staff at Dalat have spent the last year working on a self-study. We evaluated our school on over 100 indicators and gathered evidence for each. Based on our findings, we have prioritized goals for school improvement over the next six-year accreditation cycle.

Next week, the visiting team will validate the results of our self-study and work with us to finalize our goals. They will read all of our documentation and meet with focus groups of students, parents, board members, and staff. They will visit classrooms and the campus, observing our school’s teaching, learning, and culture. Finally, they will write a report with their recommendations, and submit it to both ACSI and WASC. In addition to providing external validation of the quality of our school, accreditation also helps to keep us focused on continuous school improvement.

Please welcome the visiting team members next week when you see them on campus. All of them are participating as volunteers and taking time away from their own work with Christian schools to be here. We are grateful for the time they are investing in helping Dalat continue to improve.