July 30, 2007

Dear St. John the Baptist Catholic School Families:

I want to take this opportunity to share with you important news that our school has recently received. As many of you know, we spent much of last school year engaged in the process of reaccreditation. Our school is accredited with the Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA). This accreditation assures our families, the state of California, and the Diocese of Santa Rosa that our school is an effective agent in educating children.

The accrediting commission awards schools one of the following terms based on their findings and report: 1) a one year accreditation; 2) a three year accreditation; or 3) a six year accreditation.

I am happy to inform you that on July 13, 2007, St. John the Baptist Catholic School received a full six year term accreditation, the highest in the history of our school.

Receiving this level of rating from the commission is testament to our outstanding and dedicated pastor, faculty, families, alumni and parishioners. On the reverse of this letter, I offer my most sincere appreciation to those members of our St. John the Baptist Catholic School community who contributed in special ways to the WASC/WCEA process.

A certificate of accreditation will be on display in the main corridor of the school later this fall. Again, thank you for your commitment to the intellectual and faith development of your child. May God continue to bless us at St. John the Baptist Catholic School. I look forward to seeing you all soon as we begin the 2007-2008 academic year.

In Peace,

Nancy Jordan

Principal

In Grateful Appreciation …..

• Father Gordon Kalil for his spiritual guidance, commitment to mission and immeasurable dedication for the success of St. John the Baptist Catholic School
• Dr. John Collins for his on-going support of St. John the Baptist Catholic School and his commitment to Catholic Education
• Our Entire Faculty and Staff for the comprehensive program analysis, writing of the Self-Study document, evidence preparation and outstanding professionalism
• Our Parent Readers and Focus Group Representatives: Chuck Grohs, Paul Carey, Lisa Paul, Debbie Zeller
• Our 06/07 School Council for on-going Self-Study support: Jake Arcanin, Tom Calforda, Karyn Kelley, Chuck Grohs, Dick Lonergan, Tony Klein, Elisa McClure, Laurie Daw, Mike Bolen
• Jake Arcanin for sharing the wisdom of a seasoned Administrator
• Jake Arcanin (again) and Laura Schafle for processing the WASC parent, staff, student and Pastor surveys
• Chris Schuh, Aaron and Kristine Keefer, Tony Klein, Marisa Bartalotti and our Family Club for Visiting Team meal and beverage coordination and staff snacks
• Brian Jensen and Joanna Guidotti of the Churchill Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn for Visiting Team lodging
• Noel Lopreore of Cuvee restaurant for arranging the Visiting Team arrival dinner
• John and Kellie Prittie of Beau Fleur for environmental beautification
• Jennifer Giaquinto, Stephanie Saunders and Karyn Kelley for visit logistics, document preparation and on-call duties during the Visit
• Hilton DesRoches, Glenn Picard and Wooly for tile repairs, clock re-setting (Who put daylight savings in the middle of our WASC visit?!), light bulb replacements and campus upgrades
• DeeAnn Valine, Tony Carlin, Debbie Zeller, our School Choir, Liturgical Dancers and Musicians for a beautiful liturgy that demonstrated our ultimate focus at St. John the Baptist Catholic School
• Our Parent and Alumni Representatives who attended the Monday evening reception
• Our Student Council and Student Representatives who attended the Student Focus Group