Today we received the news that we have been awarded full accreditation by the Council of International Schools. We embarked upon this journey four years ago, initially ensuring that we met all the requirements to become members of this world-renowned organization. We became members in 2016. The next stage was the Preparatory Report which we submitted in the spring of 2018. This was followed by the Preparatory Visit, which assessed whether La Garenne was ready to embark upon the Self Study. This process involved the whole school community in a comprehensive ‘look in the mirror’, during which we measured ourselves against almost 100 standards which schools must meet in order to be accredited. These standards apply to every single aspect of school life.
We submitted our Self Study report in September 2019 and welcomed the Evaluation Team in November 2019. The final report contains our own self assessment, measured against the CIS standards, which is then comprehensively evaluated on-site by the visiting evaluators. As part of the ongoing process of school improvement, we received a series of recommendations which will help us in planning the future development of La Garenne. We also received a range of commendations for the things we do that are particularly noteworthy.
I have chosen just one of the visiting team’s commendations to publish here, as I believe it sums up what we as a school community aim to achieve.
Domain E Standard E1 (Major) - The whole school for the welcoming atmosphere and the commitment of every staff member to the progress, well-being, and development of each student.
Congratulations to the whole La Garenne community on this achievement!
The section below comes for the CIS website, explaining what it means to be an accredited school and what characteristics exemplify an accredited school.
What does it mean to be an accredited school?
The Council of International Schools (CIS) is a membership community working collaboratively to shape international education through professional services to schools, higher education institutions, and individuals.
Characteristics of a CIS-accredited school
The final award of CIS accreditation shows that the school has achieved high standards of professional performance in international education and has a commitment to continuous improvement. In particular, the award of accreditation shows that the school:
- is devoted to its mission and vision for students
- has thought deeply about the services it offers to students, family and community.
- invests the time and resources for validation from a globally-recognized accreditation authority
- focuses on the quality of teaching, student learning, as well as student safeguarding and well-being
- is committed to the development of the students’ global citizenship
- has a suitable philosophy of education suitable for its students
- promises only what it can deliver
- is open to regular evaluation by its own school community and peer evaluators
- constantly seeks improvement in all areas of the school plans strategically for the future.
The quality and rigour of CIS International Accreditation is recognized by ministries and departments of education around the world. The CIS International Accreditation process has been validated and is recognized by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Commission on Accreditation, a body which “accredits the accreditors” in the United States. CIS International Accreditation is further validated and accepted by other countries internationally as a mark of quality assurance including ONESQA in Thailand, State Departments of Education in Australia, the Council of British International Schools in the UK, and others.
As an organization, over 500 of the top universities in the world are part of our membership community. They recognize and value the mark of CIS International Accreditation, targeting students who graduate from CIS-Accredited schools for admission to their institutions. This verifies CIS International Accreditation as a mark of high quality, and therefore, endorses the quality and rigor of international education provided to student graduates of CIS-Accredited schools. Accordingly, universities and colleges in the United States and around the world fully recognize and accept students’ transcripts from CIS-Accredited schools.
