By Tenetia Faircloth
Since 1971, Ruskin Christian School has been committed to providing affordable quality, Christ-centered education. On Thursday, April 10 the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS) awarded Ruskin Christian School full accreditation. Ruskin Christian School is one of only two schools in Hillsborough County now holding this stamp of approval. According to the chairman of the accreditation committee, Dr. Howard Burke, it is very rare for a school to receive this level of accreditation the first time through the process. Most schools receive a conditional or probationary status for the first two years.
Any school, in order to thrive, needs to constantly be looking for areas to improve and strive for excellence. Having submitted the initial application for accreditation in 2011, Ruskin Christian School (RCS) voluntarily chose to seek external validation of its performance as a school. RCS went through a rigorous, impartial evaluation by FACCS, and met or exceeded its standards. According to Tim Vanderveer, Ruskin Christian School administrator, “This process of self-study caused Ruskin Christian School to look at every aspect of our school from a critical perspective to determine the effectiveness of the program and the improvements of the program needed to move us forward. We are excited to have received full accreditation.”
Assisting with this self-study was Dara Alexander. “Students that graduate from RCS go on to very respectable universities and graduate with multiple degrees. Accreditation will challenge us to continue to improve ourselves in academic excellence.”
Kent Alexander, high school history teacher and athletic director, said, “This accreditation says that high academic standard is important to us.”
In addition to being accredited, another area in which RCS excels is technology. RCS has introduced an IPad library in the elementary classrooms this year.
Steve Weer, high school principal, said, “The FACCS accreditation team has said our technology plan, if carried out, is a very aggressive plan for a school our size. There aren’t a lot of schools, even public schools, using this technology on a daily basis. I think we’re ahead of the game.”
Enrolling students from two years old through 12th grade, open registration for the 2014-2015 school year is now underway. Ruskin Christian School invites interested parents to call 645-6441 to schedule an appointment for a tour of the school. It is located at 820 College Ave. in Ruskin.
