Licensing & Accreditation

LICENSING

With the passing of Federal Public Law 94-142 in 1975, Keswick School became a state-approved school to meet the educational needs of students with learning, developmental, and emotional challenges. Keswick School is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education, and the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

Licensure is granted on the basis of a rigorous review of Keswick School’s facilities, services, and programs by representatives of these state agencies. Periodic announced and unannounced review visits occur at the minimum of every 6 months. The maximum licensure period, granted only to schools with a strong history of compliance with standards, is three years. Keswick School proudly maintains 3-year licensure as evidence of the quality of our school.

ACCREDITATION & MEMBERSHIPS

Keswick School’s accreditation comes through membership in Virginia Association of Independent Specialized Education Facilities (VAISEF). VAISEF is recognized by the Virginia Board of Education as the accrediting organization in Virginia for independent schools serving children and youth with specialized educational needs, and the VAISEF has its own set of standards: five-year peer reviews and interim self-studies, ensuring a quality academic and residential program. VAISEF accreditation also ensures that high school credits can be transferred to a student’s home or next school placement. Keswick School is also a long-standing member of the National Association of Private Special Education Centers (NAPSEC) and National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

In 2020, Megan Daniel, Group A classroom teacher, was awarded the Margaret Shepherd Teaching Award by the Virginia Association of Independent Special Education Facilities. To be eligible for this award a teacher must display the following traits: possesses a commitment to children which will not allow failure, shows flexibility in teaching; is willing to try anything to enable a child to be successful, holds high expectations with respect to academic and social behavior; teaches children to be good citizens, as well as good students, shows an openness to collaborating with other teachers and professionals, and to trying new ideas, is committed to influencing children to behave through praise and encouragement, rather than punishment, realizes the importance of children having fun and enjoying learning.

In 2015, TKS won the Partlow Insurance Risk Management award for Animal Assisted Therapy. In 2015 they had their largest number of submissions in the 5-year history of the award.

In 2013, TKS won the Partlow Insurance Best Practices Award for the third time (Also winning in 2011). The Partlow Insurance Agency is endorsed by VAISEF and has been specializing in insurance solutions for schools and agencies serving individuals with disabilities for over 35 years and recognizes one school each year for best practices serving individuals with disabilities.

In 2010, TKS was approved for our 5 year Accreditation with Commendation. VAISEF’s Standards of Accreditation consists of 17 accreditation standards with 159 substandards and 6 modules with an additional 49 substandards for a total of 201 individual standards. Through formal documentation, observation and performance, verbal statements and printed information the school was assessed over a two day period by several VAISEF members. We were the first school in history to received a flawless report from their evaluation.

Historically, we have held a long reputation of high standards; In 1995, TKS received a letter from VAISEF stating, “Congratulations on a most favorable site visit evaluation… Most outstanding was the unblemished site review report. Keswick School has gone down in VAISEF history to be the first residential school to meet all standards during the site review. This is certainly quite an achievement, and you and your staff should be quite proud of this accomplishment.”

Keswick School is also a proud recipient of the “Excellence in Education Award” offered by Woodbury Reports Inc. Woodbury Reports offers this award annually to those schools that pass an extensive screening process and achieve the highest ratings. In this ratings process, a network of independent educational consultants grade which schools are highest in quality of programs, safety, and effectiveness.