PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) announced today that St. Thomas More School in Allentown, Pa. has earned reaccreditation, the gold standard for measuring and advancing school improvement.
St. Thomas More School achieved reaccreditation through the Middle States Association’s new Sustaining Excellence protocol, which helps high performing schools continue to excel.
“The hallmark of the best schools around the world is that no matter how well they may be doing, their goal is to outperform their previous best,” said Henry G. Cram, Ed.D., president of the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. “I congratulate St. Thomas More School on its reaccreditation and commend the school community for embracing technology so that students are equipped to succeed in the 21st century.”
MSA-CESS accredits preK-12 public, private, parochial, and charter schools. In addition, MSA-CESS accredits non-degree granting career and technical post-secondary institutions, special purpose schools, supplementary education centers, learning services providers, and distance education institutions.
Under the Sustaining Excellence protocol, high achieving schools are required to identify an aspect of their program they would like to improve in order to realize even greater levels of student performance. Schools must develop and implement an action research plan for achieving their goals, and are required to hold a colloquium to share the results with the broader education community with the goal of improving education on a wider scale.
St. Thomas More School is focusing its action research initiative on using technology to enhance instructional effectiveness and student achievement. The school has implemented a 1:1 iPad program to provide every student an iPad to enhance their learning experience and foster creativity and critical thinking skills.
“We are committed to preparing students to be literate and responsible citizens in a 21st century world,” said Carl Weber, Ed.D., principal of the middle school. “Technology is transforming how we teach and how our students learn. The Middle States Sustaining Excellence protocol provides us an opportunity to examine the role of technology in the classroom and share our findings with other schools so that they can learn from our experience and implement programs that work.”
MSA-CESS recently voted to accredit or reaccredit 152 schools and school systems, including Parkland High School, in 14 states as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 19 other countries. A full list of schools and school systems that earned accreditation or reaccreditation is available here.
About Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS)
Based in Philadelphia, the Middle States Association is the worldwide leader in accreditation and school improvement. For over 125 years, Middle States has been helping school leaders establish and reach their goals, develop strategic plans, promote staff development and advance student achievement. With more than 2,700 accredited schools and school systems in 34 states and nearly 100 countries, MSA-CESS is proud of its continuing legacy and its ongoing innovations to meet the challenges of improving education in the 21st century. For more information visit www.msa-cess.com.
