Commonwealth Honored by NAIS
Commonwealth Academy has received top honors from the National Association of
Independent Schools for its technology program, earning the Leading Edge Award for
Programmatic Sustainability in the division of small schools (up to 150 students).

In all, only 15 schools–from across the nation–received a Leading Edge Program
award. We are so honored to be among them! The Leading Edge program’s goal “is
to showcase model programs and best practices from which all schools can learn.” This
year, one school in each of three size categories was honored for Demographic,
Environmental, Financial, Global and Programmatic Sustainability.

Entries for specific programs were judged on “achievement of stated objectives; level
of student engagement and achievement; integration with the school's mission and
curriculum; innovation in content, delivery, and use of resources; amount of interdisciplinary
or community-wide collaboration; use of technology in planning and delivery; and
immediate and future benefit to the school and community.”

Coming on the heels of our technology award last year, this NAIS honor is a major
testament to the quality of the program we have built at Commonwealth—and the
hard work of our students. We are all extremely proud of the model school we have built!

Commonwealth Named Finalist in Technology Award
Commonwealth Academy was chosen as one of five finalists for the 10th Annual Alexandria
Technology Achievement Award. We are delighted to have received this recognition for the
innovative ways our students use technological tools to learn and demonstrate their mastery
of subjects. Because technology is so interwoven in our pedagogy, we often take for granted
how powerful a tool it can be in education. As a finalist in the competition, we have participated
in interviews and a video taping; it has been very rewarding to share our methods and discuss
some of the technology we use such as SMARTBoards®, Inspiration, Text Help, and Kurzweil.

The Alexandria Technology Achievement Award is a project of the Alexandria Chamber of
Commerce, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership and the City of Alexandria. The
judges evaluated the entries on the basis of technological achievement and its impact on the
business, its industry, and/or the City of Alexandria.

Commonwealth Academy Wins CASE Award
We're pleased to announce that our new communications materials
received a CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education)
District III Special Merit Award for Graphic Identity Programs.
Universities and Independent schools throughout the region submit work
each year to an experienced panel of judges. We submitted numerous
pieces of our new materials including our admission package, website,
strategic plan, advertisements and signage and are honored to receive
this recognition for our school.

Revising our communications materials was one of the initiatives
outlined in the 2004-2009 Strategic Plan. Our goal was to better
reflect the significant merits of our school and the calibre of our
students, as well as provide more efficient communications with both
current and prospective families on the web.
Posted 2/1/06

Dr. Johnson Published in “Families” Magazine.
In the August edition of “Families” magazine, our own Head of School Dr. Susan Johnson
discusses the prevalence of learning disabilities, difficulties children face in coping with them,
and gives practical suggestions to help children with environmental, instructional and behavioral
accommodations. To download a PDF of the full article, click here.
Posted July 23, 2005

Recent College Acceptances
Alfred University
American University
Art Institute of Washington*
Beloit College
Castleton State College
Catholic University
Christopher Newport University
College Living Experience
College of Wooster
Coventry University, England
Delaware College of Art and Design,
Delaware State University
Drexel University
Elizabeth Town University
Elmira College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Ferrum College
Florida State College
Florida Institute of Technology
Franklin and Marshall
Frostburg State University
George Mason University
Hampton University
James Madison University
Kent State University
Landmark College
Longwood University*†,
Lynchburg College†
Lynn University*
Mary Baldwin College*
Marymount University
McDaniel College
Montgomery College
Muskingum College
New York Institute of Technology
Old Dominion University
Oxford-Brookes
Pennsylvania Culinary Institute
Potomac State College of WVU
Radford University
Randolph Macon*
Rochester Institute of Technology
San Francisco State University
Savannah College of Art & Design
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Texas A & M, Corpus Christi
Towson University
University of Arizona
University of Delaware
University of Hertfordshire
University of Hawaii
University of Mary Washington, VA†,
University of Maryland
University of Maryland at Baltimore County
University of San Francisco
University of Texas at Austin
Virginia Commonwealth University†
Virginia Tech
Virginia Weslean
Washington College
West Virginia University
West Virginia Wesleyan University
Wheaton College

* early decision
† honors program

Posted 11/14/07

•Commonwealth Receives VAIS Accreditation
In 2004, Commonwealth Academy earned full accreditation, awarded by the Virginia Association
of Independent Schools. This means that we have met or exceeded standards set by the VAIS for
all independent schools in the state of Virginia. The recognition validates the strengths of our
programs, faculty and students, particularly because it was awarded with no conditions or stipulations.
Posted February, 2005