Widely Recognized
ACCS Accreditation opens doors for your school through partnerships with national accrediting organizations. We have multiple co-operative agreements and co-accreditations that provide recognition for ACCS-accredited schools. State and regional organizations also recognize ACCS Accreditation and provide approval for school choice funding, credibility for college acceptance, and other benefits.
Different Schools, Foundational Standards
We emphasize the foundational principles of classical Christian education. Our standards refer to classical methods, Christian commitment, and organizational stability. We recognize schools that serve k-6, k-8, 7-12, 9-12, and of course, k-12, and we help schools from all four generations of classical Christian education to improve.
Qualified Diplomas for Graduates
ACCS Accreditation, for k-12 schools, comes with ACCS Diploma Authorization.
Stamp of Approval for Parents and Colleges
Knowing that their child’s school has met outside standards is an encouragement to parents. Many parents and colleges seek ACCS accreditation. Some colleges offer exclusive scholarships to ACCS alumni.
Read this document from ACCS: A School You’d Want for Your Child.
Teacher Certification
Open a path of growth for your teachers through teacher certification.
Find Out More
Hear testimonials, review the accreditation process, learn about state recognition of ACCS Accreditation, and see school membership in a list of established associations.
If you are an ACCS member school, you may submit an application for candidacy status for ACCS accreditation. The application, application instructions, and accreditation details are contained in the Accreditation Handbook.
☩ Some of the benefits of the accreditation process are the improvements schools make during the initial stage as they prepare documentation to demonstrate compliance. (See this document from ACCS: A School You’d Want for Your Child.)
☩ If you would like more detail about accreditation, see the ACCS Accreditation Standards or contact Tom Spencer, the Director of Accreditation.
Candidacy is a Partnership
When your school is accepted to Candidate status you gain a partner in ACCS – we are committed to helping your school improve. We will work together to ensure you are prepared for each step of the accreditation process.
Step 1: Apply to Become an Accreditation Candidate
Prerequisite: Active ACCS Membership
To start the application process, request the Accreditation Handbook.
Here you’ll find the application and the details you need to know to successfully complete the process.
Step 2: Host a Previsit
Prerequisite: Approved Candidate for Accreditation
Once approved as a candidate for ACCS accreditation, schools schedule a one-day site visit with the ACCS director of accreditation.
Step 3: Complete Your Self Study
Prerequisite: Approved Candidate for Accreditation
Candidate schools receive instruction helpful to complete their self-study. Schools have up to one year to complete the self-study.
Step 4: Host an Accreditation Committee Visit
Prerequisite: Self-study has been reviewed and approved
This two-day, on-site review by three experienced Heads of School includes classroom visits and interviews with students, faculty, administration and board.
Step 5: Decision on Accreditation
Prerequisite: Draft accreditation report reviewed by school
An ad-hoc committee will review the draft accreditation report and school’s response to the report. Initial accreditation may be awarded for up to two years.
“I believe I speak for the entire Augustine School staff when I say that any improvements we thought we might realize through the Accreditation process have been multiplied many times beyond our expectations.”
– Robert Stacey, Augustine School, 2023
ACCS accreditation measures the consistent implementation of a classical Christian philosophy of education throughout the entire school organization, including:
- Student participation, conduct, and development.
- Staff training.
- Parent-teacher relations.
- Operational and financial policies.
- Community support.
- The overall spiritual demeanor in the school classrooms.
- The integration of Scripture throughout their school’s curricula.
- Conformity with classical Christian methods in their classrooms.
- School board oversight to classroom pedagogy.
The Standards for the ACCS accreditation program are available to all. The Accreditation Handbook, which contains all of the information necessary for schools deciding whether or not to seek accreditation, is available by request.
Note: This standards document is excerpted from the complete Accreditation Handbook. Page numbers in the standards document reflect the pages excerpted from the complete handbook. The standards document contains only the standards for accreditation. It does not contain the application for school accreditation or other materials required for ACCS school accreditation. Request the complete Accreditation Handbook for these materials.
Conventional accreditors look only at operational conformance to the school’s documented form. They do not specify a program of study. The ACCS is one of a few accreditors that also specify an educational form– classical Christian education.
When parents choose an ACCS Accredited school, they are assured that the school meets certain standards of excellence for their operational practices and that the school graduates students who have completed a classical Christian course of study.
As with other schools that practice a particular academic form–International Baccalaureate, Accelerated Christian Education, Waldorf, or Montessori schools for example–another qualification is necessary.
In the case of the ACCS, we use diploma authorization to help parents and colleges know that we have reviewed the school’s classical Christian program and classrooms and we found them to meet classical Christian standards. Once accredited, ACCS schools offer diplomas that are authorized to bear the seal “The ACCS authorizes this diploma under our standards for a Classical Christian course of study.”
Note: We also refer to accredited schools to collect data and research for studies like The Good Soil.
Available only for ACCS-accredited schools
Teacher certification should verify the presence of demonstrable philosophical understanding and competent teaching skills in the one certified. ACCS Teacher Certification is established to enable teachers to attain the highest level of classical Christian instruction under the supervision of their school’s administrator, while providing a long-term independent record of that accomplishment with ACCS, as well as a certificate of achievement for each level of proficiency attained.
Schools can add certified teachers to the database and receive certificates on the Member Resource Center (MRC).
For more information about ACCS Accreditation, contact the
Director of Accreditation.
Several years ago, David Goodwin, President of the ACCS, chronicled four “generations” of classical Christian schools in the article “A Short History of Classical Christian Education’s Recovery.” This brief history was later included in the forward of the popular book, “The Liberal Arts Tradition.”
The classical Christian movement is unique from other schools. As an accreditor of those schools, it is important that we understand this history, and have a plan and vision to work with schools where they are–whether schools have chosen a particular type of classical Christian model by choice and design, or whether they would like to make changes but have obstacles to overcome.
The ACCS was there to help build a path forward for our first schools, and we are committed to building as many pathways as necessary to enable Christian parents to join us in the renewal of classical Christian education.
Read “A Short History of Classical Christian Education’s Recovery.”
Q: How long does the accreditation process take?
The length is somewhat dependent on the school. Typically, the entire process requires 18 months. On average, schools need one calendar year to complete the self-study. However, if the school can complete the self-study in less than one year, it is possible to complete the entire accreditation process in one academic year.
Q: What is the cost of accreditation?
We encourage the schools to budget $7,000, which should cover all costs during the accreditation process. This includes the first half and second half of the accreditation fee, along with the expenses of a previsit and committee visit.