SMSA News and Events

September
2009

St. Mary’s-St. Alphonsus School Awarded Prestigious Accreditation

St. Mary’s-St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School in Glens Falls has been awarded accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools. Middle States accreditation is an internationally recognized symbol of quality in education. SMSA is the only elementary school in Warren and Washington counties to earn the accreditation.

SMSA Principal Kathryn Fowler said that the accreditation is “a terrific achievement and a testament to the expertise of our faculty and the spirit of our school.”

“As educators,” she said, “we know how engaged parents are in their children’s education -- and rightly so -- and this accreditation shows prospective and current parents that at SMSA we are who we say we are.”

SMSA is a regional elementary school (K-8) with day care and pre-K programs. It serves more than 300 children from throughout Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties.

The culmination of many years of work -- including the development of a strategic plan and a detailed self-study -- SMSA’s accreditation signifies that the school has met the Middle States Commission’s standards of quality. Those standards reflect current research and best practices in education.

In the fall of 2008, a visiting team of independently appointed educators visited SMSA for four days. Although the visiting team members did not make the final accreditation determination, they were responsible for providing the written report, which, along with the school’s self-study, served as the basis for the Commission’s decision. The decision was made at the Commission’s November meeting and sent to the school in December.

“We were optimistic about the outcome because the visiting team members were extremely enthusiastic during their visit,” Mrs. Fowler said.

During the intensive school visit, the team members studied every aspect of SMSA from its mission and academic program to its facilities and finances.

“… You are blessed with an incredible gift and that is your students,” the Middle States team members wrote in their exit report. “They love their school, they love their teachers, they are happy, they are safe, and they are blessed.”

The team’s lengthier final report contained commendations regarding many aspects of the school, including each area of its academic program. Singled out for particular praise were:

     • “interactive and engaging lessons” in science;

   • “a variety of instructional strategies utilized to assist both the struggling and gifted students” in reading and English Language Arts;

     • efforts to “enable all students to solve complex problems and to develop talents which are essential qualities in superior leaders and reflective thinkers” in math; and

   • the promotion of “constructive thinking and free analysis” in social studies.



Team members wrote that they found a “very healthy environment present within the school where faculty and students interact in a positive way. Respect for one another was always evident. There is a very wholesome and Christian atmosphere present.”

Team members also commended the school for “believing in the unique gifts of each of its students and fostering the love of God in their daily lives.”

The Commission on Elementary Schools is one of three accrediting commissions of the more than 100-year-old Middle States Association, one of the oldest regional accreditors in the U.S. Its other two commissions work with secondary schools and colleges.

SMSA is a regional elementary school (Kindergarten - Grade 8) with day care and pre-K programs. It serves more than 300 children from throughout Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties. The Middle School Association’s website list of currently accredited elementary schools (public, private or parochial) in Warren and Washington counties includes only SMSA.