The Canadian Hallmarks Institute team has recommended that John Knox and Covenant Christian Schools receive accreditation.

The Canadian Hallmarks Institute (CHI) Accreditation Program is a service available to independent schools to assist them in continuously improving their services.

After a process of self-study and audit review, the process verifies that accredited schools meet standards of high quality.

John Knox and Covenant Christian Schools recently hosted three CHI accreditation representatives.

The site visit followed an in-depth self evaluation of every facet of the schools' organization and an external audit of that self-evaluation.

This visit marks the third step towards accreditation and both schools are excited to hear that the CHI Accreditation Team intends to recommend unanimously that the Canadian Hallmarks Institute grant their accreditation.

"It has been a very rigorous exercise," said board chair Richard Hoiting.

"The folks from CHI looked at every aspect of our organization - the quality of our curriculum, our financial status, our human resources policies and many other areas. It was a very thorough process."

Dr. Linda Williams, accreditation co-ordinator for Canadian Hallmarks Institute, explained that there are five domains that the organization considers when recommending accreditation be approved.

"Both John Knox and Covenant Christian Schools performed very well in all of these areas," she said.

"Naturally there are some recommendations we will be making so that they can continue to improve, but these are very well-run schools."

Tony Kamphuis of NACE said the accreditation was gratifying.

"It is a validation that parents who choose Covenant and John Knox for their children are participating in a very solid organization. Our current families should find that reassuring, and prospective families will be able to take some comfort in hearing that verdict from an outside organization."

Accreditation will mean that both John Knox and Covenant will be subject to 'spot checks' at various times over the next five years, at which point it will be necessary to go through the entire process again to maintain their accredited status.