Pursuing Excellence: FBA Begins the CESA Accreditation Process

Pursuing Excellence: FBA Begins the CESA Accreditation Process
By: Teresa Chambers, M.S., CPA, Head of School

When you choose First Baptist Academy, you are entrusting us with an important responsibility: the education and development of your children. We take that responsibility seriously. Our commitment is to provide an education firmly rooted in biblical Truth while continually pursuing excellence in how we teach, lead and prepare our students to thrive beyond FBA.

That commitment is reflected in our mission: to equip students with the Truth of God’s Word while developing their character, intellect and potential to Explore, Create, Challenge and Lead. Living out that mission requires more than simply stating it. It requires us to continually ask: Are we delivering on that missional promise with excellence?

One important way we answer that question is through accreditation. For a Christian private school like First Baptist Academy, accreditation provides a meaningful opportunity to examine our school closely, celebrate what we do well, honestly identify where we can grow and hold ourselves accountable to high educational standards.

With that commitment in mind, FBA is pursuing a second accreditation through the Council on Educational Standards and Accountability, or CESA. CESA is distinctive because of a belief that aligns deeply with who we are at FBA: academic excellence and spiritual formation should never be competing priorities. We believe students deserve both.

The first step in the CESA accreditation process is becoming a Candidate School, and FBA has recently completed this step. We now begin a year-long period of preparation leading to our accreditation visit. During this time, our leadership team will work closely with CESA, learn alongside other Christian school leaders and evaluate First Baptist Academy through CESA’s Standards of Accountability.

This process provides another opportunity for FBA to thoughtfully examine how our academics, Christian mission, leadership, programs and student experience work together to prepare students for what comes next. Accreditation is not simply about meeting a set of standards. It is part of our continued commitment to pursuing excellence, strengthening our school and ensuring that our mission is reflected throughout the educational experience we provide.

Our Middle School Prinicpal Mrs. Razeghi is accepting the additional role of FBA’s accreditation specialist. Mrs. Razeghi brings valuable experience to this role, having helped oversee our previous two accreditation visits. Her exceptional attention to detail, passion for curriculum and ability to thoughtfully weave our mission throughout our programming make her particularly well-suited to coordinate and lead this important effort. She will also oversee our continual adherence to the Accreditation Commission of the Texas Association of Baptist Schools (ACTABS) standards.

For current families, this accreditation journey is another way we remain accountable to the promises we make about an FBA education. For prospective families exploring Christian education in Houston, it offers insight into how First Baptist Academy approaches school improvement, academic excellence and spiritual formation with intentionality.

We look forward to sharing more about this process as FBA continues pursuing excellence while remaining steadfast in the Truth that guides everything we do.