JAIS has been accrediting member schools since 1997 as the sole accrediting agency, or cooperatively with the American Montessori Society (AMS), the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), or the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA-CESS). As an association, NJAIS schools are either accredited or, as provisional members, on a path to becoming accredited.
Similar to member schools who are reviewed on a given cycle, NJAIS participates in a rigorous and impartial review of its accreditation program and demonstrates adherence to the Criteria for Effective Independent School Accreditation Practices set forth by the International Council Advancing Independent School Accreditation (ICAISA). In 2001, the NJAIS accreditation program was granted recognition by the Commission on Accreditation at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and, in 2013, certified by an international review panel from the NAIS Commission on Accreditation, prior to the commission becoming ICAISA. Today, NJAIS is a member in good standing of ICAISA, and is reviewed every 10 years, with the most recent review having taken place in 2023.
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Every 10 years, a school undertakes a comprehensive self-evaluation that results in a Self-Study Report. This is the foundation of the accreditation process, providing the focus for the subsequent visit of a team of seasoned educators.
A Visiting Team, comprised of peers from other independent schools, visits the school, views it through the lens of its mission statement, the NJAIS Standards for Accreditation, and the school’s Self-Study Report. Following this visit, the Visiting Team provides the school and the NJAIS Accreditation Committee with a draft report that includes the team’s observations, commendations, and recommendations.
Between one and three months after the Decennial Visit, the school receives from NJAIS a final comprehensive Decennial Report and learns of its accreditation status. This Decennial Report lays the foundation for future school improvement and strategic planning/thinking/visioning.
Within one year of the receipt of the Decennial Report, the school must submit to NJAIS an Action Plan. The school chooses three to five overarching goals or initiatives on which it intends to focus in the coming years. This Action Plan must also include responses to all of the recommendations in the Decennial Report.
Five years after the initial visit, a team of two or three members - from the original Visiting Team, if possible - visit the school. In advance of this visit, the school writes a Five-Year Report, including a state-of-the-school update, a description of progress on recommendations from the Decennial Report, and a response to the current NJAIS Standards for Accreditation. Accreditation status is evaluated again at this five-year juncture.
Significant Change Visits
During the time that a school is accredited by NJAIS it may undergo significant changes. The NJAIS accreditation process requires that a visit to the campus of the school take place as soon as possible - or within six months at most - following the change(s). Accreditation status is evaluated again after a Significant Change Visit. Annually, schools present a current assessment with the Standards for Accreditation and report any significant changes at the school.
