ACCREDITATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS

Accreditation

Zion Academy of America is ACCREDITED by the National Association of Private Schools (NAPS).  NAPS is “an independent educational agency founded for the purpose of recognizing educational excellence in the private and non-traditional educational environment.” It is a national organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

According to the website for the National Association of Private Schools,

- Accreditation reflects a school’s “trustworthiness in the process of providing a quality educational program.”

- Schools accredited by NAPS “have demonstrated a history of providing their students with a quality educational program . . . [that] seeks to meet or exceed state and national traditional educational guidelines in their pre-school through high school educational programs.”

- Schools accredited by NAPS “are concerned about both the mastery of basic academic skills and the character development of each child in their school.”

NAPS explains the meaning of “accreditation” this way:

“The word accredit is an interesting word related to the same root word as credible, or believable. An accredited institution therefore is one that can be believed. It has earned the approval of those who know it. Accreditation means,

“This institution is fulfilling its stated purposed with integrity and excellence.”

The process of accreditation involves a careful scrutiny and approval of a school’s qualifications by other professionals. Just as “surgeons are approved by other surgeons [and] lawyers are approved by other lawyers, educators [should be approved] by other educators.” The NAPS evaluation is conducted by peers of the private school seeking accreditation who understand the “basic philosophy and uniqueness of an individual school” such as Zion Academy of America.

According to NAPS, “Quality private educational institutions and their staff[s] deserve the merited recognition of their peers.” The accreditation of Zion Academy of America gives parents the assurance of an educational program that has not only stood the test of time, but has provided a consistent level of excellence.

Parents can also be confident that the curriculum used by Zion Academy of America has been CERTIFIED by the National Association of Private Schools’ Curriculum Evaluation Committee.

(All quotations on this page are from napsaccredition.com [accessed on 8/11/2011])

 Memberships

The College Board (SAT) is “a not-for-profit member-ship organization committed to excellence and equity in education. Our mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.” Zion Academy of America is a member of The College Board because it meets the following eligibility requirements: 1) has a graduating class; 2) offers grades 9-12; 3) is appropriately accredited; and 4) uses College Board programs or services (http://www.collegeboard.org/). Please use School Code 481409.

The ACT is “an independent, not-for-profit organi-zation that provides a broad array of assessment, research, information, and program management solutions in the areas of education and workforce development” and whose mission is to “help people achieve education and workplace success” (see http://www.act.org/). Zion Academy of America is registered with The ACT and uses School Code 481409.