The Georgia Accrediting Commission has announced that two Catholic elementary schools - Christ the King and St. Joseph, Athens -- have been accredited for the school year 1967-1968, Father Daniel J. O’Connor, secretary for Catholic Education, reported.

It was the first time the Cathedral school had received accreditation. St. Joseph’s renewed its accreditation again this year.

Father O’Connor said for the schools to become accredited they must undergo self-evaluation and meet commission standards.

“For Christ the King, the accreditation culminated a three-year program,” Father O’Connor said. “Both schools are planning to become accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.”

He pointed out that the Archdiocesan Synod decreed that all schools in the archdiocese be accredited by the Southern Association by September, 1972. All Catholic high schools have been accredited.

“The standards of the Southern Association are even higher than those of the Georgia Accrediting Commission,” Father O’Connor said. “All parochial schools must be affiliated with the Southern Association by September, 1968. Affiliation is the beginning of the program of accreditation and allows schools to upgrade systematically with the assistance of the association.”

He said four schools -- the Cathedral, St. Joseph’s, Athens, St. Jude and St. Thomas More -- are now affiliated with the association.

Father O’Connor said he congratulates the boards of education, principals and people of the Cathedral and St. Joseph’s for beginning the foundation for a program of quality education. “We will have quality education when we meet the objective standards set up by professional educators.”