The Middle States Association's Commission on Secondary Schools has announced that Maryvale has been re-accredited for the period ending December 2015. The decision to re-accredit Maryvale was made following a three and one-half day visit to the school in March 2008 by a visiting team of educators from member schools of the Middle States Association appointed by the Commission on Secondary Schools.

During the visit, the Middle States team met with and interviewed representatives of all the school's stakeholders, including teachers, students, parents, and administrators, as well as representatives of the Board of Trustees. Team members also toured the school's facilities, studied the school's strategic plan for school improvement and other documents related to the school's work, and observed teaching and learning in classrooms.

To be accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools, a school must meet the Middle States Association's standards for each major area of a school's work and activity. These areas include the school's philosophy/mission/beliefs/objectives, governance and leadership, organizational design and staff, educational programs, learning media services and technology, student services, student life and activities, facilities, health and safety, finances, assessment of student learning, and planning.

However, because Maryvale elected to use the Validating the Vision protocol for accreditation, the school was required to do more than meet the Association's standards to be accredited. Validating the Vision, published by the National Catholic Educational Association, combines accreditation and strategic planning through the lens of the Catholic identity of the school in a process of both internal self-evaluation and external validation. As part of the process, Maryvale was required to develop student performance objectives as the focus for improvement over the next seven years. Action plans have been developed and are being implemented.

Ongoing review is the hallmark of the Validating the Vision protocol, and Maryvale is required to conduct an annual review of the plan and the school's progress toward achieving its student performance objectives and to communicate the results of its work to the school's community. At the end of the accreditation period, a Validation Team will make an onsite visit to the school to examine the results of these annual reviews, the school's planning processes, and the content of the strategic plan. At the midpoint juncture in the accreditation cycle, one individual, appointed by the Middle States Association, will make a one-day onsite visit.

"Maryvale Preparatory School is to be congratulated for having completed the rigorous and demanding accreditation review process successfully," said Dr. Henry G. Cram, Executive Director of the Commission on Secondary Schools. "By meeting the standards of the Association, and by having established a comprehensive and challenging strategic plan to improve targeted areas of student performance, Maryvale has joined a growing number of schools in the Middle States region that are committed to public accountability for their results. The Commission encourages the entire Maryvale community to join together in supporting the school as it seeks to achieve its objectives over the next seven years."