Conserve School is in the process of securing accreditation through NCA CASI (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement), a highly regarded and well-known accreditation agency founded in 1895 that accredits over 8,500 public and private schools. (See http://www.ncacasi.org/ for more details.) Having successfully completed the initial steps in the accreditation process – formally applying for accreditation, submitting a detailed readiness report, and hosting a site visit by an experienced NCA CASI representative – Conserve School has achieved the status of “Candidate for Accreditation.” All of Conserve School’s structures and programs, including credit hours, course schedules, syllabi, standards, and educational goals, have been developed according to NCA CASI guidelines. Mirroring broader educational trends, recently updated NCA CASI guidelines place an increased emphasis on continuous school improvement plans that are determined in part through the analysis of longitudinal, quantitative student achievement data. According to these updated accreditation standards, a school can only complete the accreditation process once it has accumulated a significant amount of longitudinal data on student achievement in the areas of reading, writing, and problem-solving. Therefore, Conserve School will be required to wait until at least three semesters of student data have been collected and carefully analyzed before completing the accreditation process and receiving formal accreditation by NCA CASI. We support NCA CASI’s focus on continuous improvement and regard NCA CASI’s guidelines not as a hurdle but as an opportunity to examine and improve our academic program with the support and insight of a diverse network of exemplary educators. In September 2010, during the inaugural year of the semester program, Conserve School began testing students using the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress in order to collect the nationally normed data on student achievement required by NCA CASI. An Accreditation Steering Committee made up of four highly qualified Conserve School staff members is guiding Conserve School through the accreditation process. All four members of the committee – Stefan Anderson, Head of School; Dr. Mary Anna Thornton, Assistant Head of School; Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Academic Dean; and Kathy Jones, Mathematics Teacher and Educational Technology Coordinator – have extensive experience with the accreditation process and have served as members of educational teams that evaluate schools for accreditation agencies. Kathy Jones in particular has many years of experience working closely with NCA CASI on accreditation of Chicago-area parochial schools. Our NCA CASI assigned representative, who is providing Conserve School with guidance throughout the accreditation process, is Dr. Rollie Alger, NCA CASI/AdvanceED Wisconsin State Council Member. Dr. Alger has worked for NCA CASI for many years, consulting on the accreditation process both in the U.S. and abroad. Fortuitously, he lives right down the road from Conserve School in Phelps, Wisconsin. Although Conserve School has not yet completed the NCA CASI process, we have advanced as quickly as possible through all of the steps a new school may take. For those of you who might be inclined to question the value of a school that is not yet accredited, we invite you to look closely at our detailed program materials – program overview, faculty qualifications, schedules, syllabi, goals, mission, and vision. We are confident that our curriculum meets or exceeds widely accepted educational criteria and that Conserve School teachers and courses compare favorably to teachers and courses at even the most selective educational institutions. To discuss accreditation and standards further, please contact Dr. Mary Anna Thornton, Assistant Head of School, at 715-547-1319 or maryanna.thornton@conserveschool.org.