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Administration of St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian School Takes Important Step Towards Accreditation
October 2, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Stephany Dawson, Public Relations Coordinator, 727-251-1138
(Tarpon Springs, Florida) A large picture of a brown bird with a red breast graces the page of the text books in front the second graders in Mrs. Pendleton’s class. The subject is science and just like the eggs that hatch and produce baby birds that will one day become adult Robins, St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian School is going through a growing period itself.
Over the past four years the students have repeatedly been ranked amongst the best and brightest in the country according to results from the Stanford 10 Achievement Test and now the school is qualified to be a candidate for accreditation through the Association of Independent Schools of Florida (AISF).
Founded in 1949, AISF accredited schools serve more than 25,000 students in various programs ranging from traditional and Montessori to schools specializing in pre-school, kindergarten, elementary, secondary, and college preparatory. Their website explains that AISF schools channel resources directly to students learning, counseling, and growth. The energy of independent schools goes into a common purpose: high academic standards unhampered by political considerations. The classroom is the basic unit and the basic relationship is between student and teacher.
“We really believe that one of the reasons our kids are doing so well is that we don’t use the FCAT so we aren’t tied to following only FCAT material. We start early on science and social studies while also emphasizing the arts and physical education in addition to very important scholastic subjects including reading, writing, and arithmetic. We keep religion as a cornerstone of our school. The children attend services four days a week and study the bible once a week. Our students are going to be ready academically when they leave St. Nicholas, but more importantly they will be well rounded and able to tackle any situation higher education or life in general throws their way” says School Administrator Regina Planes. “For example we are working on four Christmas plays right now featuring all the grade levels. They’ll incorporate art in set design and in addition to memorizing the lines for their parts they’ll learn self esteem by stepping on the stage and performing.”
Over the next few weeks the school staff and administration will complete the self-study guide provided by AISF and meet with several members of the Association's Board of Directors. They will then go before the AISF Board of Directors in mid October requesting provisional acceptance. Even when full accreditation is completed in two to three years Regina Planes says she will still have more work ahead of her. “The goal of the administration, staff, School Board and the Board of Directors for the school is to continue to build the best education system possible for the children we serve.” Second grader Matt may have summed up the process best when he explained to Mrs. Pendleton, “A life cycle is how an animal changes and grows.” St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian School’s leaders plan to keep that cycle going and growing for many years to come.
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