BRATTLEBORO — Oak Meadow, which provides a secular homeschooling curriculum and distance-learning school for students in grades K-12, was recently named a candidate for accreditation by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC).
Oak Meadow is the first distance-learning school ever to receive such standing in NEASC's nearly 130 year history, it said in a press statement.
Oak Meadow, headquartered in Brattleboro, enrolls more than 600 students from around the United States and internationally.
It was founded in 1975 by Lawrence Williams Ed.D., a pioneer and innovator in the homeschooling movement whose early work in the field helped homeschooling gain widespread acceptance and legal status.
Williams has more than 40 years of educational experience, and is the author of numerous articles, books, and curriculum materials published by Oak Meadow.
Oak Meadow Executive Director Michelle Simpson-Siegel noted that her organization already is accredited with the prestigious Middle States Association for Colleges and Schools.
That said, she added, “We are thrilled to affiliate with the thoughtful commissioners at NEASC to set the highest standard in distance learning. We are now positioned to more readily collaborate with our peer independent schools in New England."
NEASC is the nation's oldest regional accrediting association, whose purpose is to establish and maintain high standards for all levels of education from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level. It serves more than 2,000 public and independent schools in the six states of New England.
Schools that achieve candidacy status undertake a self-study process that takes 18 months to two years, followed by an evaluation visit by NEASC committee members.