Richmond Early Education School Awarded Top Accreditation

July 20, 2010 - PRLog -- (RICHMOND, Va.) -- The Rainbow Station at Boulders school, which offers extended day nursery school and preschool programming as well as educational programs for children ages infant to 14 years old, has been awarded accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), an accreditation division of AdvancED.  

SACS CASI provides nationally-recognized accreditation, the purpose of which is continuous school improvement focused on increasing student performance.  To earn accreditation, schools must meet SACS CASI's high standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school, and implement a continuous process of school improvement.

The Rainbow Station at Boulders school is located on a two-and-half acre campus at 7421 Boulder Springs Road in Richmond. The school provides year round educational programs including summer camps and before- and after-school programs with buses that transport the children to and from a total of 13 elementary and middle schools located throughout the Richmond and Chesterfield area. The hours of school operation are 6:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

"This accreditation demonstrates to our students, parents, and community that we are focused on raising student achievement, providing a safe and enriching learning environment, and maintaining an efficient and effective operation staffed by highly qualified educators," stated Rainbow Station founder and CEO Gail Johnson.

SACS CASI accreditation is recognized across state lines, which not only eases the transfer process as students move from accredited school to accredited school but also assures parents that the school is meeting nationally accepted standards for quality and successful professional practice.

Dr. Mark Elgart, President/CEO of AdvancED, the parent organization of SACS CASI, stated, "SACS CASI Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school on the primary goal of creating lifelong learners.  Rainbow Station at Boulders is to be commended for engaging in this process and demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement."

In addition to the high quality educational programs, another strong draw for parents is Rainbow Station's infirmary located in an architecturally separate building on the campus attended by a full-time pediatric nurse so that parents have emergency back-up care when their child is mildly ill.  "The Get Well Place" has a dedicated HVAC system designed to prevent any cross contamination, and is additionally equipped with a room with reverse ventilation to further prevent the spread of respiratory illness within the infirmary.  The infirmary is open to all children in the community regardless of whether or not they are enrolled in Rainbow Station.  

Rainbow Station has received many accolades over its 20 year history. The Greater Richmond Better Business Bureau recognized Rainbow Station's marketplace integrity by awarding the Torch Award in 2006 - 2007, and, in a later competition, the International Better Business Bureau named it a top five finalist in 2008 for marketplace excellence.  More recently, Rainbow Station was honored by being named to the Center for Companies That Care 2009 Honor Roll and by receiving the Richmond Human Resources Management Association (RHRMA)'s Employer All Star Award for Workplace Excellence for the second consecutive year.


About Rainbow Station
Rainbow Station is headquartered in Richmond with four schools in the Richmond area with additional locations throughout Virginia, North Carolina and Texas for an overall total of nine campuses. Rainbow Station serves children ages 0-14 with extended day programming. Additional programs include before and after school care and summer camps. The multi-acre campuses include the highly unique feature of providing "The Get Well Place," an infirmary attended full-time by a pediatric nurse. The infirmary is located in a separate building and is equipped with a reverse ventilation system for children with infectious conditions such as Chicken Pox or the flu. Academically, each campus offers a specially constructed "Village," a recreation program based on freedom and choice for the school aged child where they attend curriculum-driven activities in the Apothecary, Arcade, Art Gallery, Café Rainbow, Club 5, Gymnasium, Theater, Toy Shoppe and the Village Green. Additional information on the campus is available on its website, www.rainbowstation.org or by calling the school directly at 804-272-0641.

About SACS CASI
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) is a nongovernmental, voluntary agency that accredits nearly 13,000 public and non-public institutions throughout the world.  SACS CASI serves 11 Southern states - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, as well as the countries of Mexico, Central and South America, islands of the Caribbean, and other geographic areas.  SACS CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED, parent organization for SACS CASI, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), and the National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE).  AdvancED is dedicated to advancing excellence in education worldwide. Additional information is available on its website, www.advanc-ed.org