GAINESVILLE - Challenged Child & Friends has reaffirmed its accreditation from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), and was awarded a 2 out of 3 Star rating from Georgia’s Quality Rating and Improvement System.
Challenged Child & Friends has been accredited by SACS CASI, an accreditation division of AdvanceEd since 2004. Quality Rated is a system to evaluate, improve and communicate the quality of early education and school-age care programs to parents and the community.
“Students are the ultimate beneficiaries of the accreditation process,” said Amy Gates, Challenged Child & Friends Executive Director/CEO. “We have an active School Improvement Plan, and will incorporate strategies of the Quality Rated system into ongoing operations, planning and evaluation. When the entire school is aligned and focused on a shared vision for student learning, students and families win.”
A SACS External Review Team visited Challenged Child & Friends earlier this year to evaluate the school in five standards for quality Early Learning Schools. In preparation for the visit, the CCAF staff completed a comprehensive internal review of 378 criteria in the five standards, which included Purpose and Direction, Governance and Leadership, Teaching and Assessing for Learning, Resources and Support Systems, and Using Results for Continuous Improvement.
The SACS review team found that Challenged Child & Friends achieved 100 percent of all required criteria and 96 percent of the remaining 368 criteria, which far exceeded the minimum score of 80 percent that is required to maintain accreditation.
Established in 1895, SACS is a non-governmental, voluntary organization that accredits more than 13,000 public and non-public institutions from early-childhood to university level. It is the largest accrediting agency in the world.
Georgia’s Quality Rating and Improvement System assigns a rating to programs that meet certain standards beyond the state’s minimum licensing requirements. In QR’s 3-Star rating system, CCAF was awarded a 2-star rating. An assessment team reviewed selected classrooms, reviewed documents and evidence and evaluated a comprehensive portfolio that addressed a wide range of criteria such as, but not limited to, adult to child ratios, professional development, staff qualifications and credentials, family partnerships, intentional teaching, health, safety, nutrition and physical activity.
“Challenged Child & Friends, having achieved the Quality Rating of two stars, assures parents and the community that this institution is striving for excellence and delivering high-quality results for its students,” Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said. “I congratulate Challenged Child & Friends and encourage all involved to keep up the good work.”
