About NMH NEASC REPORT

NMH Completes Reaccreditation Process

February 27, 2008 – The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) renewed Northfield Mount Hermon School’s accreditation for a full term of ten years on the recommendation of its Commission on Independent Schools. The decision follows a regularly scheduled and in-depth evaluation of the school by a NEASC visiting committee in fall 2007, preceded by a two-year self-study process.

In relaying the news of NEASC’s decision to extend accreditation, William Bennett, director of the commission, congratulated Head of School Thomas K. Sturtevant on NMH’s thorough completion of the self-study process and for its “admirable commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.”

“We are grateful to NEASC and in particular the visiting committee,” said Sturtevant, “for affirming the wisdom of our decision to restructure NMH as a smaller school on a single campus, for highlighting the things we know we do exceptionally well, and for  areas where we might aspire to do even better.  We will be guided by the committee’s recommendations as we move forward.”

In the closing section of its final report titled “major commendations,” the visiting committee lauded NMH “for sustaining the passion and commitment necessary to look optimistically to the future”; “for the leadership, courage, and integrity it has taken to implement historic and visionary change”; and “for its outstanding and groundbreaking commitment to environmentalism and sustainability.”  The committee also commended NMH for embracing and embodying its core values “in breadth of program, decision-making, the distinct international and work programs, and attention to the spiritual lives of children.”

“Over the past four years, NMH has come far, and there is much to celebrate,” said Sturtevant. “Yet the progress we have made simply puts us in a better position to realize the promise of our mission.”

The visiting committee noted that every one of its 12 members “was struck by the pervasive modesty with which faculty, administration and staff characterized Northfield Mount Hermon and their own work.” The committee went on to “strongly encourage” NMH “to trumpet and celebrate what a wonderful and distinct school and community it is.”

The NEASC visiting team spent several days on campus in early November.  It was, according to its report, “impressed by the extent to which the program and plans for Northfield Mount Hermon are shaped by core values related to the education of the head, heart, and hand. From Morning Meeting, to the classroom, art studios, athletic fields, farm and residences, the committee observed a richly diverse program and engaged student body.”                          

“These words of affirmation speak to our heritage and validate the principles that inspire the best in our students every day,” said Sturtevant.  “Perhaps most gratifying is that the affirming words have been spoken by peers in the independent school community, lending credibility to the observations and heightening their impact.”  The visiting committee was composed of teachers and administrators from other independent schools in New England.

Noting that NMH had “done a thorough and thoughtful job of identifying matters that require ongoing institutional attention,” the committee observed that the school had developed an action plan to respond to them. The committee also cited the school’s “leadership, quality, vision, and determination,” as well as “the excitement and momentum surrounding the changes they have made,” as reasons to believe NMH will meet the challenges it faces successfully. 

The committee made a number of recommendations, including that the school continue to carry out its strategic planning process; that it undertake a careful examination of the faculty governance system; and that it provide additional facilities in service of its effort to further build a single campus community.

Following a merger in 1971 of Northfield School and Mount Hermon School, NMH operated as a coeducational institution on two separate campuses. In 2004, the NMH Board of Trustees made the decision to become a one-campus school in order to more clearly conduct certain aspects of its mission. The NEASC visiting committee observed that “the mission seems strong and vital: the planning and changes at Northfield Mount Hermon emerge from the mission itself, with the intention of best fulfilling it, rather than vice versa.”

The report went on to note that “the recent emphases on community, care, and academic excellence that have motivated the consolidation of the campuses and right-sizing of the school have also boldly reaffirmed the essence of Northfield Mount Hermon’s mission and rapidly motivated faculty and staff to coalesce around, and reaffirm, their shared values.”

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