St. Thomas’s Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School will be recommended for re-accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 2012, according to the Education Department.
A five-member validation team from Middle States evaluated Boschulte Middle School last month, and recently met with school representatives to deliver their impressions about the visit. During the Dec. 1 meeting, validation team chairman Stanley Katzman spoke of Boschulte Middle School’s teaching environment, and described the faculty and staff as “family, collaborative, caring, supportive, dedicated, loyal and warm,” according to a statement from Education Monday.
“A written report was forwarded to us on Dec. 5, 2011, with the commendations and recommendations,” Boschulte Middle School Principal Carver Farrow said early Monday. “We are happy to announce that all 12 standards were met, and we will be recommended for continued accreditation.”
The recommendation will be forwarded to the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools, which will make a final decision at their spring meeting.
In preparation for last month’s site visit, Boschulte Middle School spent the past year in self-study, which includes a thorough internal review of all policies, procedures, facilities, student needs, and academic content.
During the review process, Middle States looks at how each school meets its 12 “standards of quality,” and the self-study is conducted to highlight strengths and pinpoint areas in need of improvement. An action plan, which lays out new goals and objectives, is then generated and presented to the Association’s representatives for review.
The last site visit to Boschulte Middle School was in 2007, and resulted in the school being accredited for the first time a few months later. Boschulte Middle School has since continued to build on its successful foundation and invest in everything from facilities improvements to academic achievement, Farrow said recently.
