Denver Catholic Schools Gain New Path to National Accreditation and Recognition
A new partnership with NAPCIS and The Cardinal Newman Society builds on the archdiocese’s Mission Fidelity Assessment, helping schools pursue national recognition while remaining focused on their Catholic identity and mission.
Catholic schools across Northern Colorado have a new pathway to national Catholic accreditation and recognition, thanks to a recent partnership between the Archdiocese of Denver, the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS) and The Cardinal Newman Society. The two organizations aim to promote and defend faithful, mission-centered Catholic education by accrediting and recognizing exceptional Catholic educators and institutions.
Announced at the beginning of the academic year, the partnership will offer Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Denver the opportunity to pursue mission-aligned accreditation through NAPCIS and, if recognized, be included in The Newman Guide, The Cardinal Newman Society’s national guide to faithful Catholic education.
The partnership builds on the archdiocese’s Mission Fidelity Assessment, a local process established in 2023 to help Catholic schools strengthen mission, identity and formation.
“This new partnership with NAPCIS is very exciting for us and a tremendous validation of the work that we have been doing with our Mission Fidelity Assessment process here in the Archdiocese of Denver since 2023,” said Michael Edghill, associate superintendent for mission.
Evaluating schools on 65 indicators across five standards, the comprehensive assessment aims to “ensure that all schools are meeting their obligations to be centers of formation through a quality academic, catechetical and spiritual program,” the Office of Catholic Schools’ website reads.
“This partnership will allow us to remain focused on working to improve our schools based upon the magisterial teaching of the Church as it concerns Catholic education and the wishes of the archbishop, rather than having to also try and meet accreditation standards that don't align with our mission or distract us from the most important work in our mission,” Edghill explained.
Now in its third year, the Mission Fidelity Assessment is bearing fruit both locally, through actionable insights for Catholic schools, and nationally, through the new partnership with The Cardinal Newman Society and NAPCIS.
“The Mission Fidelity process ensures that we are true to our mission, that we continue to move with what the Lord is doing in our diocese, are faithful to the archbishop and the teachings of the Catholic Church and serve our students and families well,” explained Joe Barrett, principal of Good Shepherd Catholic School in Denver, who went through the assessment process in 2025.
“I found the Mission Fidelity process and visitation very valuable for our school,” Barrett said. “It is deeply rooted in what the Church asks of her Catholic schools. Throughout the process, we were able to take a hard look at the things we do that form our Catholic identity, prune away things that no longer fit who we are called to be, and really lean into the incredible things that we are doing to educate and form our students.”
For Barrett, these insights gave Good Shepherd a clear path forward.
“When the visitation team came to Good Shepherd in 2025, I was amazed how well they saw our community for our strengths and areas for growth,” he remembered. “We were able to walk away with commendations and recommendations that really nailed it on what we were doing well and what to focus on in the coming years.”
For Edghill and school leaders like Barrett, the partnership marks another step toward helping Catholic schools remain unmistakably Catholic while continuing to grow in excellence.
For more information on the national recognition and accreditation now available for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Denver, download the flyer below.
