50th Timeline: 1993 – Middle States Accreditation Received

One of John Harkins’s goals had been to see Friends School Mullica Hill achieve official accreditation by the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.  Such accreditation would be validation of the great effort made by teachers and staff over many years to bring the School up to the most rigorous and professional standards. It would also hopefully make clear to prospective parents the quality of the education provided at the School.  Harkins entrusted the grueling self-evaluation process to Hanshi Deshbandhu, who dutifully compiled the material from faculty, staff, and trustees and oversaw the creation of a massive report. In April, the external evaluators arrived, having read the School’s self-evaluation, and they were now determined to talk to community members and evaluate the school’s financial records in person.  Several nervous months later, both associations announced that Friends School Mullica Hill was now officially accredited! As John Harkins wrote to parents on the eve of the school’s 25^th anniversary, “we have passed a milestone into healthy academic adulthood.”