By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor

Catholic schools in the Diocese of Trenton are aiming for higher standards to provide students with an education that is academically excellent in a faith-filled environment.

With an eye toward ensuring that the 35 elementary and eight high schools remain stable and viable, JoAnn Tier, diocesan superintendent of Catholic schools, announced that as of July 1, the schools embarked on a new process of accreditation through AdvancED, which provides nationally-recognized accreditation with goals focusing on continuous school improvement and increasing student performance.

The Trenton Diocese will be one of more than 30 dioceses in the country to receive full, district-wide accreditation from AdvancED, which serves more than 32,000 institutions (public and private schools) in more than 70 countries and a total of more than 20 million students worldwide. 

Under AdvancED, the schools will be evaluated as a district rather than as individual schools as they had been under their previous accreditation through Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditation renewal will now occur every five years as opposed to Middle States’ renewal process which occurred every seven years.

Working with AdvancED., the Department of Catholic Schools, along with elementary and secondary administrators, will work to ensure stability, viability, quality and growth in the diocese’s Catholic schools, said Tier. She added that to earn accreditation, schools must meet AdvancEd’s high standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school and implement a continuous process of school improvement.

Tier explained that the accreditation process involves schools: identifying issues and developing strategic plans for improvement; ensuring community involvement at all levels; incorporating more accountability for planning because of an increased sense of ownership and greater transparency; incorporating a standards-driven and student-centered  approach with an emphasis on student performance; providing professional development and leadership opportunities; assessing the completed study by an external review team which provides critical outside validation.

Tier said she believes that the more “intense and rigorous accreditation process” will greatly benefit the diocese’s schools as “we work toward enhancing our programs, developing our strategic plan and creating the vision for excellence.”