| Accreditation |
AccreditationCCS is accredited by the National Christian Schools Association. Now in its 30th year of existence, NCSA represents more than 130 schools in 30states associated with the churches of Christ. It is an educational, fraternal, and accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Non-Public Education and by the National Council for Private School Accreditation. Being accredited by these highly respected organizations, CCS and its constituents (students, parents, grandparents, friends, etc.) benefit in two significant ways:- Students and their parents are assured of quality education- As a donor and financial supporter, you may approach your company with the concept of matching your yearly or one-time gift to CCS. What a viable and exciting way to enhance your support of Coventry Christian Schools! If you wish to know more about the National Christian School Association, visit their web site at www.NationalChristian.org. NCSA HistoryThe current NCSA began in 1982 when Dr. Don Gardner started a fraternal organization for schools associated with the churches of Christ called the Christian School Association of America. In 1989 the name of the organization was changed to the National Christian School Association. Dr. Gardner headed the organization until his death in the fall of 1996. In the spring of 1997, Dr. Philip Patterson was named as the second president of the NCSA. Dr. Patterson is a professor at Oklahoma Christian University and is the author of several college textbooks in mass communication and books on family issues for the religious market. The National Christian School Association is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of administrators from member schools. In the 1990s the student population in NCSA schools grew more than 27 percent and the number of schools increased as well. The typical NCSA school is accredited by one or more state, regional or private accrediting agencies. In addition to the stateside schools, there are also more than 25 schools in Canada and around the world which are also associated with the NCSA. Several NCSA schools have celebrated their 50th year of operations and a few date back to the turn of the Twentieth Century. In 1988 the Association took on a major new role when it began accrediting its member schools. Today schools in five states are accredited by the National Christian School Association with candidate schools in four more states. The accreditation process is led by a Board of Commissioners comprised of administrators from accredited schools, university educators and public school administrators. Since 1996 the NCSA has been a member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation. The NCPSA is a consortium of several private school organizations dedicated to preserving the integrity of the accreditation process for thousands of private schools across the nation. The NCSA is recognized by the Office of Non-Public Education in the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. The NCSA’s Lamplighter Award for outstanding children’s literature has been recognized by the Accelerated Reader corporation which makes a diskette of questions from books on the Lamplighter list available to all public and private schools each year. National Christian School Association member schools average, as a whole, between the 70th and 90th percentiles in standardized tests such as the Stanford 9 Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. In the past decade, NCSA member schools have earned the “Blue Ribbon School” designation from the U.S. Department of Education on four occasions. The honor goes to less than one percent of the schools in the nation. In recent years, NCSA member schools have won state athletic, music and forensics titles against both public and private schools in several states. The NCSA holds its annual convention the first weekend in March each year. Nearly two-thirds of the member schools are represented annually. Recent speakers at NCSA conventions have included former secretary of education and author William Bennett, Secretary of Education for the Clinton administration Richard Riley and publisher Knight Kiplinger of the Kiplinger Newsletter. NCSA PurposeIn Joshua chapter four as the children of Israel are about to cross into the Promised Land, we come across a command from God to build an altar to Him. After the people walked miraculously across on dry ground, twelve stones were taken from the bed of the Jordan River for the memorial. In verse six, the reason for the memorial is given when God says “In the future when your children ask you ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.” Notice that the natural curiosity of a child is assumed. God does not say “If your children ask,” he says, “When your children ask.” Institutions of Christian education exist to be ready with a Biblical answer when our children ask about the world around them. Christian education is much more than just a Bible class added to the state’s curriculum or daily chapel added to an otherwise secular environment. Christian education is about the intersection of faith with every part of the curriculum and each activity that the school sponsors. Christian schools are uniquely able to handle the questions about the nature of God, his creation and what he expects of us in return that can come naturally out of any class. Taking a cue from Joshua chapter four, our Christian schools will be ready when our children ask about:
Even our extra-curricular activities are vehicles to teach. In our sports programs we tell them that physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things (1 Tim. 4:8). In art, in music, in debate, and in every other area in which our students seek to excel, we teach them to do everything to the glory of God. It is this interweaving of the spiritual with the secular that the Christian school is uniquely designed to do. Working with a Christian home, a Christian school can change the direction of a child’s life through the Christian classroom. Here’s what one alumnus wrote to a visiting accrediting team about his time at an NCSA member school: “My school means more to me than people may understand. The wonderful teachers have taught me so much more that just the basics of school. They have taught me integrity, encouragement, unconditional love, humbleness and they have given me self-confidence. The friendships I made here are different from those I had in public schools. The friends I have now are as close as brothers and sisters and the love I have shared with them will stay forever. It would be impossible for me to repay my Christian school and the teachers for what they taught me and gave to me." An increasing number of parents and communities are seeking the difference found in Christian education. Enrollments increase every year. In addition, several new schools are beginning each year. For more information about the National Christian School Association write: National Christian School Association, Box 11000, Oklahoma City, OK 73136 |
