Founded in 1995, the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools is dedicated to strengthening and promoting Catholic education through accreditation.

Curriculum is more than the 3-Rs, that is, the subjects contained in the academic life of the school. It is the totality of program and daily activity that involve and affect the student. NAPCIS measures for accreditation employ the Standards of Excellence to the curriculum, which demand fidelity to Roman Catholic teachings and implementation of sound academic principles. The Standards of Excellence are the essential component of NAPCIS accreditation and are incorporated in the Standards and Criteria for accreditation.

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is "certification that a school meets all formal official requirements of academic excellence, curriculum, facilities, etc." (Random House Dictionary of the English Language)

Applied to private Catholic and independent schools, NAPCIS accreditation is a process of evaluation applying Standards of Excellence to identified criteria, leading to a recognition of professional status and credibility within the academic and general community.

As with most accrediting agencies, the self- evaluation and documentation of program, which NAPCIS requires for accreditation, is integral to the accreditation process. But unlike other accrediting agencies, NAPCIS designs the process of school assessment and self-examination to preserve the integrity of the unique identity and needs of private Catholic and independent schools as they work to preserve and teach the Catholic Faith in obedience to the Pope and Magisterium.

The evaluation must be self-motivated and self-directed for it to be a constructive assessment of a school's strengths and weaknesses directed at the preservation of the school's mission and the improvement and betterment of the school's program. The evaluation, however, must also be a reasonable and ordinary part of school activity, that is, an ongoing demonstration and documentation of a school's success in fulfilling its stated purpose and objectives; it cannot be an extraordinary display that is disruptive and artificial in its scripting and staging.

Standards of Excellence are primary to a school's mission, and must be established to preserve and promote the specific kind of education offered in private Catholic and independent schools.

The Standards and Criteria for Accreditation offer guidelines for the school in the evaluation of its institution and program aimed at the continuous improvement and growth of the school's Catholic mission.

NAPCIS accreditation provides for administrators, teachers, and parents a means of identifying schools that are effective in adhering to their Catholic mission and quality of education - schools that have a demonstrated focus on salvation of souls and academic excellence.

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