Validation Our Vision
We are in the process of wrapping up our current 7-year strategic
plan and studying our school community in preparation for our next
accreditation visit in November 2008.
In an effort to keep you abreast of activities related to this
process, we will continue to provide
updates about the
process. Click Here
for more information. 
Notice of Evaluation for Candidacy for Reaccreditation
GCHS (Gloucester City, NJ) is scheduled to be evaluated for
reaccreditation by the Middle States Commission on Secondary
Schools. An evaluation visit is scheduled for November 17-20, 2008.
The Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools will accept comments from those
with first-hand information regarding GCHS's ability to meet the
Middle States Standards for Accreditation, which can be viewed by
clicking here.
To be considered, comments must be in writing, include the
printed name, address, and telephone number of the writer, and must
be signed by the writer. Anonymous comments will not be considered.
Comments must be received not later than 30 days prior to the
first day of the visit by the Evaluation Team and must be mailed to:
Executive Director
Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Middle States
Who are they?
 | The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) was
originally established in 1887. It is one of six regional accreditation
organizations that together serve schools in the US and in many other
countries around the world. The MSA is a non-profit, non-governmental
organization that accredits schools in six states of the United States,
as well as schools in the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, the
subcontinent of Asia, and Africa. |
| There are actually three accrediting commissions within the MSA,
of which the most important for Gloucester Catholic is the
Commission
on Secondary Schools (CSS). This commission was formed in 1920 to
promote the welfare and improvement of secondary education, to
recommend standards for accreditation, and to promote the articulation
among elementary schools, secondary schools, and post-secondary
schools. |
What is its purpose?
| Accreditation of schools |
Why is accreditation important?
| Accreditation encourages and facilities school improvement |
| Accreditation provides a means for public accountability |
| Accreditation fosters stakeholder involvement and commitment |
| Accreditation builds positive public relations |
History of Gloucester Catholic's Involvement with Middle States
| 1990-91 - Fr. Johnston initiated our first application for
full-fledged accreditation by the Middle States Association. The
1990-91 school year was a year of self-study, during which the
faculty, staff, administration and stakeholders of Gloucester
Catholic completed the "Evaluative Criteria for the
Evaluation of Secondary Schools (6th Edition)."
|
| October, 1991- A Middle States Visiting Team spent three days
visiting Gloucester Catholic, assessing our self-evaluation and
making commendations and recommendations in light of what they
observed while here. On the basis of this visitation, Gloucester
Catholic was given tentative approval as an accredited school.
|
| April, 1992 - Gloucester Catholic receives Official Notification
of Accreditation from the MSA CSS. This accreditation lasts for
ten years. |
| February, 1995 - Gloucester Catholic sends MSA its "First
Report of Progress" toward meeting the recommendations
presented in the final report of the Visitation Committee. |
| April, 1998 - Gloucester Catholic sends MSA a "Report of
Further Progress" reviewing any further progress at meeting
the Visitation Committee's recommendations |
| October, 1999 - Members of GCHS faculty attend seminar on new
accreditation protocols which will replace the 6th Edition
version used in previous self-study
|
| September, 2000 - Self-study initiated, using the
"Validating the Vision" protocol
|
| November, 2001 - Visiting Committee visited GCHS and evaluated
our Strategic Plan and Action Plan
|
| February, 2002 - GCHS received a copy of the preliminary report
made by the Visiting Committee to the Middle States Association.
It recommends re-accreditation. Middle States will make an
accreditation decision at its next scheduled meeting. |
| May 1, 2002 - GCHS received official notification of re-accreditation. |
| April 21, 2004 - GCHS underwent its "Mid-Point Review" of
progress on our Strategic Plan. We subsequently received a
report indicating that "it was evident...that the Middle States
process has made Gloucester Catholic High School a better
school" and that we should be able "...to meet the requirements
of [our] next re-accreditation." |
| August 29, 2007 - The GCHS Planning Team met in preparation
for the final year of our 7-year Strategic Plan. We will be
conducting another Self-Evaluation during the Spring Semester,
in preparation for another Validation Team visit in Fall 2008. |
|
|
Middle
States
