Accreditation
St. John Catholic Academy is accredited by Florida Catholic Conference. The Florida Catholic Conference Accreditation Program is one of the oldest Catholic accrediting programs in the country. In the 1960’s, the Florida bishops appointed a committee to explore accreditation. After studying various systems, they established a program unique to Catholic schools which would guarantee constant and continued improvement, accrediting the first schools in 1969. The standards have been reviewed and revised throughout the years. The most recent changes took place in 2013. During the revision process input is gathered from principals and pastors. The superintendents use this information and present their recommendation to the bishops for final approval.
The Florida Catholic Conference Accreditation Program accredits over 180 Catholic schools and centers located in Florida. Key facets of the program include:
• The focus is on school improvement and accountability
• The rubrics for the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools are the core of the program
• Each school completes an annual report reviewing the level of compliance with each benchmark
• An online system is used for the annual report, self-study, and visitation
• The standards are divided into four domains: Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality
• A seven-year cycle is followed
• Schools spend one year doing a self-study through the Continuous Improvement Process for Accreditation
• Schools are visited once every seven years by a visitation team in order to validate the self-study work and validate the level of compliance with standards and benchmarks
• The Third Year Review takes place with various school stakeholders
• The program is under the auspices of the Florida Catholic Conference, the Accreditation Committee, the Superintendents, and the Bishops of Florida
• The FCC is a charter member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation
