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Re-accreditation

Wildwood Receives Unanimous Re-Accreditation Approval Dual Re-Accreditation From SAIS/SACS for 2010-2015

The Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Christian Schools has granted Wildwood Christian Academy dual Re-Accreditation for 2010-2015. The rigorous accreditation process included a Self-Study of the educational program, organizational structure and financial health. The long road to Re-Accreditation began two years ago with the first organizational meetings. A Peer Review Team from SAIS/SACS spent time on the Wildwood campus for three days in early November. The team was made up of professional educators with decades of combined experience. Their agenda included meetings with each of the stakeholder groups at Wildwood: the Administrative Team, the Faculty, the Students, the Parents and the Board of Trustees. The Self Study detailing a profile (Where is Wildwood today?), vision (Where does Wildwood plan to go?), plan (What is Wildwood’s plan to get there?) and results (How will Wildwood know when the plan is accomplished?), as well as 68 narrative responses to SAIS/SACS standards, were prepared for this group’s review. Documents, including Wildwood’s by-laws, faculty meeting agendas, standardized testing results, Wildwood News examples, admissions materials, Family Handbook, Viewbook (a history of news articles) and curriculum guide, were also provided to inform the visiting team about all aspects of the school. During the exit interview on the final day of the visit, the comments from the Peer Review Team were overwhelmingly positive: “A special atmosphere of learning,” “Committed faculty that provides a nurturing learning community,” “Wildwood is something special with an excellent instructional design that has planned for both present and future needs.” The group was impressed that all the stakeholder groups reflected the same sentiments. All shared a love for Wildwood and are helping to carry out the mission developed by Founders Larry and Pamela Ruff. In today's world of accountability in schooling, accreditation serves as a critical component of a school's demonstrated effectiveness and ability to provide successful schooling for children. A school that is able to achieve accreditation demonstrates a commitment to a process that requires the school to meet a set of rigorous, research-based standards; to engage in a program of continuous school improvement; and to demonstrate quality assurance to its stakeholders through self-evaluation and peer review. SAIS/SACS accreditation provides schools access to an integrated network of services and technical assistance that supports every school's ability to identify and meet its goals for improving student performance and the teaching and learning process. 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. Today, SACS is the largest accrediting agency in the world. The current SAIS-SACS partnership offers schools a process for accreditation. Founded in 2003 with 15 students, Wildwood Christian Academy now has 100 students from six counties enrolled in PreSchool – 9th Grades. Wildwood offers a college preparatory curriculum in a Christian environment. The school is located between Jasper and Dawsonville in Marble Hill, Georgia, nestled in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.