St. Joseph, Our Lady of Mercy Academy receive accreditation for first time in its existence

Dec. 5—St. Joseph Regional School in Keene and its affiliated Our Lady of Mercy Academy have received accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, a first in the institution's 136-year history.

The NEASC Commission on Independent Schools granted initial accreditation to the two schools during meetings on Nov. 7 and 8. There are more than 550 independent schools accredited by the NEASC.

Principal Chris Smith said he, the administration and faculty knew from day one of opening the new high school, Our Lady of Mercy Academy, in 2020, how crucial it was to receive accreditation. Before opening the high school, St. Joseph never needed accreditation as students would go on to attend a local public or private high school upon entering the 9th grade.

Smith said it was a difficult process that involved every faculty member looking at what they were doing and checking what needed to be improved upon. In completing this self-assessment, many teachers of both institutions joined committees deciding accreditation for other schools, which offered them a front row seat to learn about the process, according to Smith.

Jennifer Marshall, director of advancement for St. Joseph Regional School and Our Lady of Mercy Academy, wrote in an email to The Sentinel that the process involved several initiatives. They included surveying constituencies, many meetings, producing two comprehensive self-study documents and hosting two separate, multi-day site visits by teams of administrators and educators of other accredited institutions in New England.

The accreditation comes at a good time as the school prepares to graduate its first class of seniors, some of whom are now applying for college. Marshall said many colleges do not accept students from unaccredited schools or have extra requirements for them.

With the new accreditation, the high school will also be able to have a chapter of the National Honor Society and permission to be a SAT testing site.

David Thibault, superintendent of the Diocese of Manchester, said he was grateful, not just for the accreditation but for the self-assessment, which provided staff a better understanding of where the school is, develop goals to focus on and a strategic plan going forward.

"Chris and his team has to be commended because that whole leadership group — all the teachers, parents and the advisory — did a great job," Thibault said. "It was clearly evident from the site visit and they had great things to say about the school."

Thibault also said he was thankful for the pastor, Rev. Alan Tremblay, and the parish, who have been gracious in working with the high school and allowing it to be on their campus.

Of the 20 Catholic elementary and middle schools in the Diocese of Manchester, nine are accredited, including St. Joseph. All five Catholic high schools are accredited, which now includes Our Lady of Mercy Academy.

In mid-October, six people with NEASC came to survey the school for accreditation.

"It was a great experience. We felt very affirmed and the group that came in for three days to analyze and examine what we're doing, we got to know them. They were very thorough and asked us a lot of questions. They were really positive about what we were doing here and it was a really positive experience," Smith said.

The committee told the schools they were doing a great job in working with the community and recognized the faculty were devoted to their institution, according to Smith.

The team suggested that the schools improve upon strategic planning, which Smith said will involve figuring out how to make the St. Joseph building, which is coming up on 100 years old, more modern.

Smith started as a teacher in 2008 before becoming principal of St. Joseph in 2014. When Our Lady of Mercy Academy opened in 2020, Smith was also named principal of the affiliated school.

He said the biggest change he's seen in his time with the schools is the enrollment rate. At the beginning of 2014, there were a total of 89 students enrolled at St. Joseph. Today, there are 292 students enrolled between the elementary and the high school.

As of now, he said both schools are fairly full as he's trying to maintain a level of 25 students per class.

Smith said the school has thrived because of the community. Due to its close proximity to downtown Keene, students attending the Main Street schools are woven into the community between gym classes at The Y and volunteer work at The Community Kitchen.

"The community has really embraced our private school and that's helped quite a bit in our ability to grow it," Smith said.

Jamie Browder can be reached at 352-1234 ext. 1427 or jbrowder@keenesentinel.com