_edited_edited_edited_edited.png)
We've received several questions regarding the accreditation of Redeemer Classical School. We hope this information helps clarify not only our plans for accreditation but also addresses some of the benefits and common misconceptions associated with it.
Benefits
The school gains an important credential: Accreditation provides an important public credential that demonstrates the school meets certain academic, financial, and institutional standards. It is a statement that the school satisfies required basic criteria for providing a K-12 education in Georgia.
The accreditation process improves the school: It can be argued that going through the process of getting accredited is more beneficial that the actual accreditation certificate the school receives at the end. Going through the accreditation standards checklist enables a school to identify areas of weakness and improve those areas. The stronger the accrediting agency the better the opportunities for improvement.
Myths
Myth: Accredited schools are automatically good schools.
While standards for accreditation are generally “standardized” from one accrediting agency to the next, the way the standards are evaluated and applied can vary significantly from one agency to the next. Some agencies have a very thorough and exacting accreditation evaluation process, and some do not.
Myth: Students in an accredited school get an excellent education.
There is a good chance that the worst schools in your county or state have some form of state approved accreditation. Not all accreditations are equal. The way accreditation standards are applied and evaluated are not uniform.
Myth: Graduation from an accredited high school is required for college entrance.
If a student applicant is not a graduate of an accredited high school, the university admissions offices will evaluate the reason why the school is not accredited. If the school is twenty years old and has been rejected for accreditation, then this might be a negative for the student applicant. If the school is relatively new and is not yet eligible for accreditation (e.g., less than five years old), then the lack of accreditation is not held against the student.
Myth: Graduation from an accredited high school is required to qualify for college scholarship programs.
Private scholarship programs vary on the requirement for a high school to be accredited. Some require it and many do not. If the school is an accreditation candidate, formally in the process to get accredited within the next year, then this is often acceptable.
As for state funded college scholarships in Georgia (Hope and Zell Miller) if the student applicant is from an unaccredited high school (this includes all homeschoolers) the student is eligible for the scholarships but will receive the funds at the end of their freshman year in the form of a refund. Funds for subsequent years will then be paid at the beginning of years two, three, and four. Student applicants from accredited high schools receive their scholarship funds at the beginning of their freshman year and subsequent years.
NOTE
Redeemer Classical School will pursue accreditation from the Association of Classical Christian School(ACCS). ACCS is approved to accredit K-12 schools in Georgia by the Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) through the Georgia Private School Accreditation Council (GAPSAC). Current Georgia law and ACCS standards require that a school cannot apply to become a candidate for accreditation until it has been in operation for four years and may not be accredited until its fifth year.
Redeemer, plans, as the Lord provides, to pursue candidacy for accreditation after it’s fourth year (2027-2028) with the goal of gaining ACCS accreditation by the end of the 2028-2029 school year.
There is some discussion among policy makers (GADOE, GAPSAC, ACCS) that the five-year requirement for accreditation should be adjusted to a shorter term, possibly four years or three years. While there is no guarantee of this change, Redeemer is monitoring the situation carefully and intends to pursue ACCS accreditation sooner if the policy is adjusted.