After three years of diligent work, and 26 years of experience, JRHS now joins the elite circle of schools across New England that are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Accreditation is a commitment to continuous improvement and progressive steps towards implementing best practices into the school. Over the course of the three years of work which culminated in the ever-important Self Study, teams of board members, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and students used both a wide angle lens and a microscope to evaluate the present and plan for the future.
In late June, the NEASC Commission met and voted in our favor, and here are some high points from their findings:
“It is with great pleasure that the Commission on Independent Schools voted to grant Institutional Accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges to Jesse Remington High School.
The Visiting Committee Report identified many areas for commendation. The Commission particularly commends the entire school community for the deep commitment to the School’s Mission. (Headmaster Philbrick’s) founding leadership, the faculty, staff, students, parents and board members all illustrate the strengths that stem from a community’s clear dedication to a strong and compassionate Mission. The Commission further commends the School for an exceptional Project Based Learning Curriculum. Jesse Remington has taken a sound academic idea and created a practical and far reaching program for each student.
Jesse Remington has created a nurturing, warm and loving school community where every student and staff feel valued and respected.
The School has made creative and positive use of its resources and worked diligently to build a consistent donor base to support the school’s financial foundation.”
As a school community, we were overjoyed to hear these Commendations, a validation of what we believe to be the heartbeat of our program. In the Self Study process, we identified over 40 areas for improvement that we will be setting course on. Part of the process is to identify a handful of “Major Recommendations” and we invite our readership to pray and work with us towards accomplishing these four Major Recommendations: improvements in college and career guidance; developments in technology infrastructure; growth of international program capacity; implementation of a long-term financial reserve fund.
Going forward, several opportunities present themselves for JRHS to both benefit and serve the region’s consortium of Independent Schools. As we work to make our own improvements, members of the JRHS Team will be blessed and challenged to help and serve other schools pursuing excellence in the same way we are. We thank God for now 26 years of providential history, and we look forward to what He has in store for us in the years ahead.