Dear TRA Families,
Did you know that The River Academy is NOT accredited by the State of Washington?
Most private schools in Washington State do not choose to be accredited through the public school system because it requires schools to adopt public school curriculum. Our classical and Christian values necessitate choosing our own curriculum, so we have chosen not to be accredited by the Washington State Board. This means that in order for us to be accredited, we needed to select another accrediting agency. We decided to pursue accreditation through the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS) for three reasons:
The ACCS is the organization that most aligns with our classical and Christian values. There are many other accrediting agencies; some are explicitly Christian, while others are secular and only focus on academics. In our search for an accrediting agency, we discovered that the ACCS accreditation process would evaluate how well we infuse our Christian values into the classroom and how well we are equipping and preparing students academically. Additionally, their academic focus is specifically classical, which is very much in alignment with who we are and how we want to grow in the future.
The ACCS accreditation process is very rigorous. The rigorous process outlined for us by the ACCS forced us to improve and make sure we were providing the education we say we are offering. We knew the process would make us better: now and for generations to come.
There is good fruit coming out of the ACCS. In a recent study commissioned through Notre Dame University, the ACCS had the opportunity to glance at how ACCS graduates are fairing compared to other schooling options. The summary of this “Good Soil” report can be found here. It is worth your time to have a look.
I am thrilled to report that after five years of ACCS membership and rigorous preparation for accreditation, we recently earned the prestigious approval of accreditation. After submitting our paperwork last December and a committee evaluation visit two weeks ago, we are now an ACCS-accredited school!
If you see your child's teacher, tell them congratulations. They worked hard to earn this, and we are so proud of them!
Have a great week!
Eric
