WHEELING, W.Va. – January 22, 2015 – Vincent de Paul Schmidt, superintendent of Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, announced today that the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston was granted AdvancED School System Accreditation from the AdvancED Accreditation Commission, the national commission that confers the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) accreditation seal. This means that the system and all of its schools are accredited, and that the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is recognized across the nation as a quality school system.
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston was one of the first 25 dioceses in the nation to achieve this status. The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston became the first diocese in the United States to achieve this status using the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Secondary and Elementary Schools.
The accreditation process involves three ongoing components: meeting high quality standards; implementing a continuous process of improvement; and engaging in quality assurance through internal and external review. The system’s accreditation is for a five-year term with regular monitoring of progress and reporting occurring during the term.
“School System Accreditation as conferred by the AdvancED Accreditation Commission provides the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston a nationally-recognized mark of quality for our system and all the schools within our system,” shared Schmidt. “It demonstrates to our community our commitment to excellence, our openness to external review and feedback, and our desire to be the best we can be on behalf of the students we serve.”
Dr. Mark Elgart, president/CEO of AdvancED, stated, “AdvancED School System Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school system on the primary goal of creating lifelong learners. The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is to be commended for engaging in this process and demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.”
Parents and interested community members can learn more about the System Accreditation Process at www.advanc-ed.org.
About AdvancED and NWAC
Dedicated to advancing excellence in education through accreditation, research and professional services, AdvancED is the world’s largest education community, serving and engaging 30,000 public and private schools and school systems in more than 70 countries and serving over 16 million students. AdvancED is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
The Northwest Accreditation Commission has been accrediting schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington since 1917.
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