Archbishop Molloy H.S. Earns MSCSS Accreditation

Archbishop Molloy H.S. has received accreditation through the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS). The school earned accreditation following an intensive three-year process, culminating with a three-and-ahalf day visit to the school by a volunteer validation team of educators appointed by the MSCSS.

During the visit, the Middle States team met with and interviewed stakeholders of Archbishop Molloy H.S., including teachers, students, parents and administrators as well as representatives of the city Department of Education. Team members toured the facilities, studied the district's strategic plan for improvement and other documents related to the school's work, and observed teaching and learning in classrooms.

"Archbishop Molloy High School joins a prestigious network of Middle States-accredited schools committed to a more fair and comprehensive assessment of achievement and success that goes beyond standardized test scores and students' performances to encompass programs, services and facilities," MSCSS President and Executive Director Henry Cram, Ed.D. said. "The entire school community should be commended for its commitment to becoming a model academic institution."

To become accredited through an MSCSS protocol, a school must meet the Middle States Association's standards for mission/beliefs/objectives, governance and leadership, organizational design and staff, educational programs, learning media services and technology, student services, student life and activities, facilities, health and safety, finances, assessment of student learning and planning.

According to Cram, school quality is best measured by individual student growth over time and the value added to each child by the educational experience the school provides.

"Accreditation can help a school and its community to understand better not only how it is doing, but, more important, learn what it needs to do to improve, a key element of most state assessments," Cram said.

For more information about the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools, visit www.css-msa.org.

Based in Philadelphia, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is the internationally recognized leader in the accreditation of schools, universities and colleges in the mid-Atlantic region and around the world. The association's commissions accredit more than 3,500 schools in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and overseas schools primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Subcontinent of Asia. The association consists of three commissions: Higher Education, Secondary and Elementary and a Committee on Institution- Wide Accreditation.

The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools accredits public, nonpublic and charter middle, intermediate and secondary schools as well as non-degree granting career and technical postsecondary institutions, special purpose schools, supplementary education centers, educational service units and distance education institutions. Through a Committee on Institution Wide Accreditation (CIWA), the commission offers accreditation to pre-K through 12 education institutions and through partnerships with special accreditors, offers joint accreditations to schools seeking both special purpose and CSS Gold Standard accreditation.