Darlington School was recognized yesterday for 100 years of continuous accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, a division of AdvancED.
The honor was given at AdvancED’s annual conference during a luncheon attended by representatives of more than 500 Georgia schools.
"Since in 1913, Darlington has taken part in a rigorous and ongoing process of self- and peer-evaluation of its organizational and educational policies, processes and personnel," said Academic Dean David Powell.
"The accreditation process requires the school to demonstrate that it lives up to its mission and remains in good standing with other high-quality schools."
Founded in 1895 to promote communication between colleges and secondary schools, SACS joined three other regional accrediting bodies in 2006 to form AdvancED. AdvancEd is the world’s largest education community, accrediting more than 30,000 schools worldwide.
According to AdvancED, “Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance ... designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational standards. The accreditation process is also known in terms of its ability to effectively drive student performance and continuous improvement in education.”
Every five years, SACS-accredited schools host a visit by peer educators from other schools, but to remain accredited schools must demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement between those visits.
According to Powell, last year’s visiting committee said the following of Darlington’s self-study process: "The committee believes that the Darlington School has far exceeded the goals it has set for itself in the previous five-year period. They have aggressively addressed the recommendations of the previous committee.”
In addition to SACS, Darlington is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA).
