Weekly Update | January 9, 2026

Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) Accreditation

For the past two years, we at Trident Academy have been preparing for our re-accreditation by SAIS, and we are finalizing our plans for the visit by our accreditation team, which will take place February 4 - 6. 

As part of our continuous school improvement efforts, which lie at the heart of SAIS accreditation, we have surveyed our constituents (current and past parents, faculty and staff, and students). We contracted with Explo Elevate to help us with strategic planning. Some of you may remember coming in to meet with Ross Peters to offer your candid thoughts about our school. And during this past year, our teachers and administrators teamed up in committees to create goals to present in our School Report, which is a requirement of this process. 

SAIS accreditation occurs in a five-year cycle. Trident Academy has been accredited by SAIS since 2005. Our last accreditation visit was in February of 2020. COVID-19 caused a one-year extension of the reaccreditation process for most SAIS schools. 

One of the hallmarks of SAIS accreditation is the idea of continuous growth. SAIS President Dr. Brett Jacobsen writes on page one of the SAIS Accreditation Guidebook: 

Accreditation is a transformative process that enriches and

advances independent schools toward greater heights of

excellence and stewardship. It signifies a school’s

commitment to maintaining high standards, fostering

continuous improvement, and delivering an exceptional

educational experience for its students.

In the next three weeks, I will write more about our particular journey through this process and the goals we have identified in our school report, which encompass Communication, Accountability, and OutReach.

It has been a great experience for us, and we are excited about our future!

Blessings,

Betsy

IMPORTANT DATES:

January 9-10: Archery meet at Oakbrook Middle School

January 15: TAPA / Oyster Roast Meeting at 8:00 a.m.

January 19: School closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Our tentative calendar for 2025-26

See all events on our school website calendar

SEAHAWK SCOOP:

Mark Your Calendar: Oyster Roast is Friday, March 6!

Join us from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. for the annual Trident Academy Oyster Roast in the school's Courtyard!

We are currently looking for community support to make this event our best one yet. Please consider:

Sponsoring the Event: A great way to show your support for our students.

Donating an Auction Item: We are seeking unique items and experiences for our silent auction!

Buying Early Bird Tickets: Purchase your tickets by January 23 to lock in the $50 rate! Prices will increase after the deadline.

Share with your Friends and Family: Everyone is welcome to join and celebrate our school together at our biggest fundraiser of the year!

Purchase Tickets & Become A Sponsors: https://givebutter.com/c/Nb1Kkk

We can't wait to see everyone this March!

Remembering Kathleen Loveland
Trident Academy remembers the life and legacy of former teacher Kathleen Loveland. We send our deepest sympathies to her family as we remember the incredible impact she made on our campus. Kathleen's obituary can be found here.

Please stay home and get well if you're sick 
With flu cases surging nationwide, it's important for our students to stay home when they're sick so they don't share their germs with their friends. Students should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school.

Uniforms! 
As the weather continues to cool off in Charleston, some of our students may want to get Trident Academy sweaters and jackets to wear during outside time. In addition, as our students have grown since the start of school, several of them have begun to outgrow their shirts, shorts, and skirts. To purchase Trident Academy gear, please visit our school spirit store here >> Trident Academy Gear

Upcoming Parent Education Events

As a founding member of the Association of LD Schools, Trident Academy is proud to offer our parents access to parent education events presented by other ALDS schools.

• On Tuesday, January 13 (12:00 pm), The Fletcher School in Charlotte will offer a virtual Lunch and Learn event about auditory processing disorder. This online workshop will review neuroscience related to language and auditory structures, current assessment protocols for auditory processing, and differential diagnosis of attention, behavior, and learning disorders. More information is available here (please note there is a $10 registration fee).
• On Tuesday, January 13 (7:00 pm), The Hill Learning Center in Durham, N.C., will offer a virtual event titled Keeping it Together: Supporting Organization and Time Management Skills. Renowned psychologist and author, Dr. Peg Dawson, will introduce strategies for organization and time management and will discuss why these skills are important and why they can be hard to maintain. More information is available here.
• On Wednesday, January 14 (12:00 pm), The Bridge at the Christ School in Orlando will offer a virtual event titled Parenting in the Digital Age: Navigating Screens and Smartphones with Confidence. More information is available here.

Re-Enrollment Period: February 2026

To help with your family's financial planning, here's a reminder that re-enrollment for 2025-26 will begin in February 2026. Associated with re-enrollment is a $1,000 enrollment fee, which will be credited to your child's tuition account for next school year.

Parents, please see Mr. Kreutner's email from December 18 about our new timeline for school-funded financial aid. Parents who submit their applications to FACTS Financial Aid Management by mid-January should be able to learn their award status during the re-enrollment period.

WHAT'S HAPPENING ON CAMPUS:

Our students gathered in their Houses and homerooms today for the highly anticipated "Country Reveal!" Each group picked the nation they will be researching and celebrating all month long.

There were cheers all around as each group found out which country they would be studying. Germany, Mexico, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Australia, and Japan were selected! We can’t wait to watch their projects—and their global understanding—grow over the coming months!

Our students took their Orton-Gillingham lesson on the road today! They went on an "OG Word Search" all around the school, hunting for specific patterns and sounds in the world around them.

Bay stepped up as our bee and pollinator expert in science class this week! He shared his incredible knowledge with the class. From the importance of pollinators to how they help our environment, Bay taught us so much! We love seeing our students share their passions with one another.

New year, new gear, same sharp focus! Our archery team is back at practice and looking great in their brand-new team shirts. Wish them luck as they compete in meets on January 9 & 10 and January 30 & 31!

~Individual Needs~Academic Growth~Encouragement & Support~Foundation for Life~