"This is a major milestone for the school and Grand Bahama," relates Gitte Good-rum, the Chairman of the Board of Directors. "The school has been working toward this accreditation for several years. This accreditation means that the school's credentials are now recognized on a world scale, placing the school amongst the very best schools in the world. It also means that Lucaya International School graduates will have access to the top universities in North America and Europe in addition to the Bahamas."
Lucaya International School began the accreditation journey over two years ago with an extensive self study that included the philosophy, mission, curriculum, administration, governance and fi-nances. After this process was complete, LIS submitted its initial report to the two ac-crediting organizations. The two organizations jointly visited Grand Bahama in Octob-er 2009 with an eight member Visiting Team. "The team stayed for a week reviewing our practices and accreditation documentation," ex-plains Chris Mockrish, School Director. "They conducted ex-tensive interviews with board members, school administrators, teachers, parents and students. They verified our information and wrote an extensive and detailed report of their visit. They really put us under a microscope."
In December 2009, LIS received confirmation that the school was accredited. "It is unusual for a relatively small, young school to receive accreditation on its first try. This speaks well for the soundness of the school and its practices. We are officially on par with the most prestigious schools around the world and we are very proud of this achievement," states Mockrish.
The Council of International Schools (CIS) is an independent, non-profit, membership organization of approximately 650 schools in 110 countries throughout the world. The Council serves the interests of some 340,000 young people, who represent a variety of cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. CIS member schools are granted accreditation following a comprehensive self-study and a rigorous, thorough evaluation by a visiting team. Accredited schools are subject to regular monitoring through progress reports and visits, and they must undergo a full re-evaluation every 10 years. CIS accreditation is accepted throughout the world.
The New England Associa-tion of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) is the oldest of the six regional accrediting agencies in the United States. Since its inception in 1885, NEASC has awarded accreditation to the New England region and has expanded to 65 countries throughout the world.
NEASC is listed by the United States Secretary of Education as having authority to accredit schools and colleges. This accreditation is accepted by other high schools as well as colleges and universities in the United States.
Lucaya International School (LIS) offers classes from pre-kindergarten through year 13 with an emphasis on college preparation. The school is non-sectarian and owned by a Foundation which is prohibited from making profit. The Lucaya International School Foundation has three Trustees: Erik Christiansen, Julian Francis and David Mackie.
The operation of the school is governed by a Board of Directors made up primarily of school parents. Founded in 1996, the school is designed to serve the children of the local and international community living on Grand Bahama. More than half its students are Bahamian with the remaining students coming from 25 different countries spanning six continents. 90 percent of LIS graduates go on to attend university, with many receiving academic scholarships.
LIS aims to educate young people towards achieving high academic performance, proficiency in at least two languages, an in-depth knowledge and appreciation of the diversity of peoples and cultures, responsible participation in local, national and global communities, and pursuit of life-long commitment to personal development and service to others. The school believes that parental involvement and reinforcement are essential for our students to achieve their goals. LIS presently has approximately 230 children, with 33 faculty members. The high number of teachers relative to the student population means that classes are small and teachers get to know their students very well, giving individual attention to each student.
"Our accreditation is only the beginning," states Mrs. Goodrum. "We are fully committed to improving the school each year and to continue to educate the whole child; academically, socially, emotionally, physically and creatively. We are making global citizens at LIS."
