Saint Margaret Regional School has been recognized as a Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accredited school. This recognition provides a standard for education in the areas of student achievement as well as school-community relations. In 2017, we received our most recent reaccreditation (each accreditation is good for seven (7) years) and are in the process of preparing for our next evaluation in Fall 2025. Effective 2024, Saint Margaret Regional School became part of a system-wide accreditation, meaning that we will be receiving additional support and resources from the Diocese as we receive reaccreditation alongside other elementary schools within the Diocese of Camden.
To learn more about the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, please visit: https://www.msa-cess.org/about-us/.
For each accreditation process, we strive to involve a variety of stakeholders within the school community from administration to teachers, as well as parents and community leaders. This is accomplished through different “teams.” The Internal Coordination Team consists of school administration and teachers. The lead Internal Coordinators for Saint Margaret Regional School also currently serve as members of the Diocesan Planning Team, meeting monthly with representatives from other elementary schools and the Office of Catholic Education to ensure successful completion of the accreditation process. Assisting the Internal Coordination Team for Saint Margaret Regional School is the Planning Team (made up of selected faculty, staff, parents, and community leaders) and the Implementation Team (comprised of selected faculty and staff). Both the planning and implementation teams include individuals who represent the variety of grade levels that are enrolled in the school: early childhood, elementary, and middle school.
The goal of the teams is to conduct research to explore ways that our school can improve for our students. In order to gather data for this goal, in 2017 and in 2024, a survey was distributed to the school community. From this survey, the Planning Team gained information that would help reword our school’s mission statement, develop a profile of a Saint Margaret Regional School graduate, develop two student performance (academic) goals, and one organizational capacity (communication) goal.
In November 2021, our school completed our mid-term evaluation to assess our progress toward our goals. Given the challenges we faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our feedback was incredibly encouraging, and we were recognized for our persistence in achieving our goals in spite of these obstacles. Based on changes with standardized testing (IOWA test to STAR assessment), we did have to adjust our student performance goals, but we were commended by our accreditation review team for how successful we were in making these adjustments. In preparation for our Fall 2025 visit, school stakeholders did a second review of our foundational documents (Mission Statement, Core Values, and Profile of a Graduate) and developed updated documents and goals to reflect the changes within the school since our previous accreditation.
Below are the most recent mission statement, core values, and profile of a graduate for Saint Margaret Regional School as a result of our 2024-2025 secondary review. The goals were developed from our 2016-2017 self-study; our 2025 goals will be posted following review and approval from the Middle States Accreditation team.
Mission Statement of Saint Margaret Regional School
Inspired by the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Saint Margaret Regional School strives to develop students rooted in faith, academics, and service. We create an environment that nurtures the development of the whole student from preschool to eighth grade through spiritual development and prayer, rigorous curriculum, and engaging activities, both in and out of school. We aspire to help each student realize his or her full potential as a child of God.
Core Values of Saint Margaret Regional School
Saint Margaret Regional School believes that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God and that students are to be treated with dignity, respect, kindness, and love. Therefore, it is our duty and responsibility to assist parents in educating their child to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God as well as our country and society as a whole.
We believe students at St. Margaret Regional School are lifelong learners, whose education is rooted in faith, academics, and service. Our students aspire to be Christ-like in word and action, willingly accepting the responsibility to serve others and contribute to society. We expect our students to improve our world through service to God, self, and community, while learning skills such as self-discipline and humility. Our students share both time and talent through their educational journey, recognizing that this is just the beginning of a lifetime of learning.
Profile of a Graduate of Saint Margaret Regional School
Christ-Centered
- Places Christ at the forefront of their lives, turning to Him for guidance and support as they mature and grow
- Develops a personal relationship with Christ through the practice of prayer, worship, and sacraments
- Demonstrates significant knowledge of Catholic beliefs and doctrine
Academic Achievement
- Exhibits critical thinking skills
- Acquires information independently and applies knowledge to new situations
- Utilizes technology in the learning process
Service to Others
- Answers the call to be stewards of God through service to humanity
- Responds to the needs of others with compassion
- Recognizes all gifts and talents are God-given and uses them to serve others
Christian Leadership
- Demonstrates self-discipline; takes responsibility and understands consequences for actions
- Communicates effectively the Gospel values of love, respect, and charity
- Lives with virtues, filling the world with faith, hope, and charity in all that they do
Responsible Citizenship
- Forms meaningful, healthy relationships with others through cooperation, respect, and courtesy
- Shows appreciation for individual differences and diversity
- Values the Earth as God’s gift
Academic Goals for Saint Margaret Regional School
By 2024, the students at St. Margaret Regional School will meet and demonstrate an increased achievement in mathematical skills and mathematical reasoning by:
- Increasing the number of students “at benchmark” and decreasing the number of students labeled “needs intervention” or “urgent intervention” for Mathematics Computation by 1% overall in grades 3 through 7 each school year.
- Increasing the number of students labeled as “growing” in Freckle Math by 1% per quarter in grades 3 through 8.
- Teachers in grades kindergarten through fifth will implement timed practice drills to begin each mathematics class to practice math concepts and skills for at least 40% of the days out of 180 school days (at least 72 school days out of 180 days).
By 2024, the students at Saint Margaret Regional School will meet and demonstrate an increased achievement in language arts by:
- Implementing a writing program across the curriculum that will require 5th through 8th grade students to accomplish a set number of writing samples in Religion, Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics for the school year.
- Increasing the number of students labeled as “at benchmark” on STAR Reading Test culminating in a 1% increase overall for grades 3 through 7 each school year.
- Implementing a reading program where everyone in the building will stop and read for at least 10 minutes per day for at least 70% of the school days out of the 180 school days (at least 126 school days out of 180 school days).
Organizational Goal for Saint Margaret Regional School
By 2024, the students at Saint Margaret Regional School will demonstrate that they have increased their organizational capacity to ensure the quality of communication while streamlining the communication channels effectively using these channels to disseminate information and policies to the families, stakeholders, and external community by:
- Maintaining or increasing the number of visits to the school’s website each quarter by utilizing the website for all areas of communication.
- Increasing the public relations presence and branding of the school in relation to social media on Facebook by 25% each school year.
- Decreasing by 1% the number of families who perceive that there is a lack of communication from Saint Margaret Regional School.
As we prepare for our 2025 Review…
Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, Saint Margaret Regional School conducted a self-study evaluation to examine the standards set for education for all students. This involved conducting surveys, reviewing documents, and identifying key elements that supported each standard identified within the self-study, in addition to developing goals that will be used for the next accreditation period. We anticipate receiving a final review from the Middle States Accreditation team mid-October 2025. As we prepare for this important milestone, we would ask our school community to pray for our educational leaders as we work to maintain this prestigious recognition for our school.