SAIS Accreditation Update

We are happy to say that our SAIS team had a wonderful three day visit. We were blessed to have Jeff Jackson of Georgia Independent School Association (GISA), Shane Blanton of Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), LeAnn Murry of Little Rock Christian Academy, Joel Grimes of Goodpasture Christian School and Ryan Welsh of Providence Day School visiting our school Sunday through Tuesday. The team had a diverse wealth of knowledge and experience with independent schools.

They spent time with all departments including Finance, Board of Directors, Operations, Communications, Enrollment, Academic Specialists, and they observed classrooms in every division. In their words, the team saw a great staff that can compete with any independent school in the country. At their concluding presentation yesterday afternoon, they had genuine high praise for our school and I believe good word will spread to Mississippi and Georgia as the heads of MAIS and GISA go back to their states.

The team will complete their official report in the next two months which will have specific recommendations in the various areas of our strategic report, but their unofficial report included these some general commendations and recommendations.

Recommendations:

• Abundant Life: Continue to refine our schoolwide spiritual emphasis with Chapels, Bible class and mission trips to make them cohesive among the divisions.
• Academic Excellence: The team encouraged each faculty and staff member to continue to seek professional development opportunities to improve personally and professionally.
• Support for the Future: To continue to develop the strategic and master plan to guide school improvement into the future, including advancement, facilities and strategic growth mindset.

Commendations:

• Abundant Life: We are intentionally building Christian leaders among our student body who are going to do great things for the Kingdom.
• Academic Excellence: The team was amazed at the academic improvements we have made in such a short time and encouraged us to continue to press forward with our strategic plan initiatives with professional development and academic improvement.
• Support for the Future: We are in a financially stable position (unusual for independent schools of our size) that poises us to launch into the future with our strategic and master plan.

The team asked each stakeholder group: “What would it take to make Parkview the premier independent school in the state in five years?” This got each groups’ wheels turning to think of all of the concrete steps we can take to get there. During the exit report, two of the team members told our staff that they had four sons and five sons, respectively, and if they lived in Louisiana, they would send their sons to Parkview Baptist School with no hesitation, because we have the potential, the staff and the momentum to actually become the premier Independent School in Louisiana. As you know, making the choice to send your child to a Christian school is one of the most important decisions that parents can make, and it was encouraging to hear that two of the team members got that impression after just a few days.

The team unanimously gave us their verbal recommendation for SAIS re-accreditation for the the next five years and we will receive our official report within the next two months. We are looking forward to receiving their specific recommendations so we can dig our heels in and continue to improve our momentum as we move forward for the next five years.
We celebrated our successful visit this morning with a pancake breakfast for the faculty hosted by the administrative team, courtesy of Bruce and Cathy Wilson (complete with aprons entitled “The Fifth A is our FAVORITE A!”).