Valley Christian Academy's Accreditation

VCA is currently accredited through the State of New Mexico through the 2008-2009 school year as well as the Association of Christian Teachers and Schools.

Valley Christian Academy has formally received its accreditation at the Association of Christian Teachers and Schools (ACTS) annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. ACTS Executive Director Dr. Jay Nelson of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma presented Rick Kraft a plaque for VCA in front of over 1000 convention attendees on Friday, November 4th. When ACTS granted accreditation in May it was contingent upon VCA having a representative present to receive the recognition at the ACTS annual meeting.

Both Rick and Tanya attended the two day conference on Thursday and Friday, November 3rd and 4th. Eighty-eight workshops were offered so Rick and Tanya broke up and together were able to attend sixteen different programs. Rick said, "It was a great conference with attendees from all over the country. It is exciting to see what is going on in Christian education nationally. I brought 22 pages of notes to review with our leadership and discuss implementing some new ideas."

While Rick was attending administrator meetings, Tanya attended workshops for teachers. Tanya said, "The lecturers had many good ideas that have worked at their schools. I am presenting the ideas to our administration and teaching staff to see how we can continue to improve VCA."

Rick reviewed some of the highlights of the speakers with the school board at its November meeting. One of the concepts he liked was, "We should put our children in Christian schools not because of fear of public schools, but because of faith. We support Christian education because we want to lift up, edify, support, encourage, and anoint our students so we can unleash them on the world!"

Another speaker pointed out that any schools best public relations comes from its students and staff. A keynote speaker spoke about how we can profess all we want, but if we don’t live what we profess, our students will not follow what we profess, but instead will follow our example. We all have non negotiables in our lives. The speaker said his life is focused on three areas: gospel, teaching, and the Holy Spirit. He said to never lose sight of the joyous expectancy that Jesus is coming.

One speaker focused on how so much of education happens outside the classroom. He said that the biggest "payoff" for any Christian school is the growth that occurs in time from what is planted into the lives of the students. The seeds that are planted while they are young will not fully grow for many years to come. The greatest gift we can give our children is their future!

Rick said "It was exciting to sit side by side with others who are facing the same challenges we are facing here at VCA. The presentations and discussions were great."God has blessed VCA richly, but VCA needs to always strive to improve.

After many months of preparation, on April 6th the staff of VCA welcomed the seven members of the ACTS Accreditation Team. The required work of the staff previous to their visit included detailed Self Study Reports, Course of Studies documents, reports of teachers, staff, students, and parents, an overview of VCA including the academic program as well as the non-instructional areas. Self study reports by committees follow the guidelines set up by the accrediting associations, with detailed overviews of what is actually happening, and then they are asked to write STRENGTHS and the AREAS OF NEEDED IMPROVEMENT. Finally, the committee, following these and adding their own observations, produces a report that we will refer to in preparing for the next visit which will be in five years.

The purpose of the Accreditation Program is to establish high, uniform standards among member schools. Achievement of accreditation status represents a standard of excellence that is recognized by other institutions and the constituency of the community in which the school is located. Accreditation requirements identify educational and spiritual criteria which establish high expectations for Christian schools.

What has happened with VCA is a tribute to God and to the faith and determination of the staff, parents, and students. VCA serves a twofold purpose as stated in our Mission Statement - "VCA exits to provide academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment. Through spiritual training, biblically based education, and extracurricular activities, VCA helps each student grow in stature and wisdom to reach their potential in Christ."

Many thanks go to all involved in helping VCA successfully reach its accreditation after one AMAZING year!