PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) announced today that Academy of Allied Health and Science, in Neptune, N.J. has earned reaccreditation, the gold standard for measuring and advancing school improvement.
Academy of Allied Health and Science 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 Allied on its reaccreditation, and for striving each and every day to raise the bar for their students and the entire school community.”
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.
Academy of Allied Health and Science is focusing its action research initiative on incorporating visual arts observation skills into the existing curriculum to demonstrate to students how those skills are transferable to the medical field for the purpose of visual diagnostic skills. Research studies from the Yale School of Medicine have affirmed this theory.
“The Middle States Sustaining Excellence protocol challenges schools to take the accreditation process to the next level,” said Principal Paul Mucciarone. “At Allied, we recognize the importance of cultivating an appreciation for art and are finding that formal observation of classical art sharpens students’ observational skills.”
MSA-CESS voted earlier this month to accredit or reaccredit 151 schools and school systems, including Academy of Allied Health and Science, 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.
