COAL TOWNSHIP - A year-long process for Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School has paid off, and the school has received reaccreditation from a prestigious organization.
At a Mass Thursday with teachers and students in attendance, Daniel Rufo, director of accreditation for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, presented principals Deacon Martin McCarthy and Sister Margaret Quinn with their accreditation certificate.
"This certificate shows the dedication that this staff and everyone involved with Lourdes has in this school," Rufo said Thursday. "You should all be very proud of this."
Quinn discussed how staff and administration embarked on the process, called "Excellence by Design," a year ago.
"This was a true team effort," Quinn said.
The co-chairs of the project, teachers Mary Bias and Heather Krebs, then began the process for reaccreditation, starting with their application to show that Lourdes met the MSA-CESS's 12 standards for accreditation, namely mission, governance and leadership, school improvement planning, finances, facilities, school organization and staff, health and safety, information resources, educational program, assessment and evidence of student learning, student services, student life and activities.
"There was a lot of work involved with getting the application together," Bias said. "Many, many hours spent getting it all together."
After the application process was completed, the school prepared for its toughest test, a three-day visit by a team of peer-reviewers from other institutions. It was there that Lourdes received its most glowing compliment.
"One reviewer was so impressed with what we are doing here, he called the school 'A beacon of light on the hill," McCarthy said.
The accreditation is good through 2022, but the school will continue to work on the standards and making the school better.
"The work doesn't stop here," Rufo said. "Schools conduct an annual review of their action plan, and we require a mid-term report from the schools to see how they are doing and putting their ideas to work."
Thursday, though, was a day of celebration for the parochial school.