Accreditation

Bishop Guilfoyle is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools, considered the premier accrediting body for secondary schools. BG has earned accreditation as an in-person high school, junior high, and online school. Although we do not offer a fully online program of study, this accreditation affirms our virtual day and other remote learning options.

Accreditation attests that a school provides a quality education that the community has a right to expect and the education world endorses. In addition, accreditation is a means of showing confidence in a school’s performance. When the Commission on Secondary Schools (CSS) accredits a school, it certifies that the school has met the prescribed qualitative standards of the Middle States Association within the terms of the school’s own stated philosophy and objectives.

The accreditation process’s chief purpose is to improve education for youth by evaluating the degree to which a school has attained worthwhile outcomes set by its staff and community. This is accomplished by periodically conducting a comprehensive self-evaluation of the entire school. Through the accreditation process, the school seeks the validation of its self-evaluation by obtaining a professional judgment from impartial outsiders on the effectiveness of the total school operation. The intent throughout the process is more than to focus on shortcomings; the chief goal is to seek remedies for inadequacies and to identify and nurture good practices.

Accreditation of a secondary school is on an institutional basis. It should be noted that the whole school, not just one program such as the college preparatory courses, is covered by the accreditation.

The following are some of the many benefits of accreditation: greater clarity of purpose, stronger internal relationships, broader professional participation, more effective planning methods for school improvement, and improved consistency between educational purpose and practice.