Announcements

The Board of Trustees and Mr. Russell Johnson are proud to announce that Ridgecroft School is a 2024-2025 National Beta School of Distinction. The school earned this recognition by increasing its club’s membership by at least 10% from last year. 

National Beta School of Distinction is an honor for Beta clubs striving towards academic achievement, exemplary character, demonstrated leadership and service to others. With an ongoing quest to instill these qualities in more students, the National Beta School of Distinction Award is designed to reward those schools that show an increase in membership for the current school year. This year, only 2,946 Beta Clubs across the country received this award. 
In a congratulatory letter to the school, Bobby Hart, CEO said “This national award speaks highly of your commitment to academic excellence and illustrates your dedication to preparing students for their future.”
Award recipients will receive a National Beta School of Distinction banner to proudly display as a symbol of their accomplishment.

“We are incredibly proud of our Ridgecroft students who are part of the Beta Club,” said Russell Johnson, Head of School. “Their commitment to service, leadership, and academic excellence reflects the very heart of our mission as a school. Earning recognition as a National Beta School of Merit is a testament to their hard work and the supportive community around them. We are excited to continue building on this partnership with National Beta to help our students grow as scholars and leaders.”
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With more than 500,000 active members and 14,000 clubs nationally and internationally, National Beta has become the nation’s largest independent, non-profit, educational youth organization.  National Beta recognizes outstanding achievement, promotes character and social responsibility, encourages service involvement to school and community, and fosters leadership skills. National Elementary Beta includes grades 4-5, National Junior Beta includes grades 6-8 and National Senior Beta includes grades 9-12.   Visit betaclub.org for more information.

About National Beta  
With more than 500,000 active members and 14,000 clubs nationally and internationally, National Beta has become the nation’s largest independent, non-profit, educational youth organization.  National Beta recognizes outstanding achievement, promotes character and social responsibility, encourages service involvement to school and community, and fosters leadership skills. National Elementary Beta includes grades 4-5, National Junior Beta includes grades 6-8 and National Senior Beta includes grades 9-12.   Visit betaclub.org for more information.

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Ridgecroft School is excited to welcome our Fall 2025 interns! These seniors are gaining meaningful, real-world experience while supporting our faculty, staff, and students across campus. Their dedication not only strengthens daily school operations but also gives them valuable opportunities to explore future career paths.

Molly Brown is interning with Molli Rose, Upper School English Teacher and Assistant College Counselor. Molly has quickly become an invaluable part of the classroom, organizing novel folders, creating bellringer resources, preparing vocabulary binders, running copies, and even color-coding Chromebooks to streamline classroom technology. She also provides direct support to students, making a positive impact every day.

Kendall Courtright is interning in the Advancement Office with Barbara Outland and Kim Bailey, assisting with communications, fundraising initiatives, and special projects that keep Ridgecroft moving forward.

Cali Evans splits her time between Mrs. Winn’s 3rd-grade classroom and Mrs. Hawkins, Assistant Head of School. In Lower School, Cali works closely with students on assignments and reading practice experiences that perfectly align with her future career goals in speech therapy.

Landon Woodard and Corey Phipps are supporting Athletic Director Billy Jenkins. From field maintenance to game-day prep, these students are gaining hands-on experience in athletics management while ensuring Ridgecroft’s sports programs run smoothly.

Ethyn Beachboard is interning with Upper School Science Teacher Katie D’Souza, assisting with classroom tasks such as making copies, organizing materials, and preparing labs for hands-on learning.

Ridgecroft is proud of the initiative, leadership, and teamwork these interns display each day. We look forward to watching them grow through their experiences this semester and to the contributions they’ll continue to make to our school community.

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Come Discover the Difference and Advertise with us as an Athletic Sign Sponsor!

Our Sign Sponsor packages run through June 30 of each school year, and we will renew Sign Sponsor agreements each summer. We welcome both corporate and family sponsors to join us!

Contact Barbara Outland, Director of Advancement, with any questions.
boutland@ridgecroft.org / (252) 332-2964 ext. 229

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Ridgecroft School announced today that it has earned Cognia® Accreditation. Cognia is a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts, and education service providers.

“Accreditation as conferred by the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission provides Ridgecroft School a nationally recognized mark of quality for our school,” shared Russell Johnson,  “It demonstrates to our community our commitment to excellence, our willingness to enact meaningful change based on evaluation and feedback, and our desire to be the best we can be on behalf of the students we serve.”

Cognia recognizes schools across the globe that meet rigorous standards focused on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocation, and effective leadership. To earn Cognia accreditation, a school must submit to internal and external review. Earning accreditation from the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission means that the school meets Cognia Performance Standards and maintains a commitment to continuous improvement. Schools in good standing can maintain their accreditation for a six-year term.

Dr. Mark A. Elgart, president and CEO of Cognia, stated, “Cognia Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school and its community on the primary goal of ensuring all students can flourish in engaging and equitable learning environments. We commend Ridgecroft School for meeting high standards and making progress on key indicators that impact student learning.”

Cognia is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). Parents and interested community members can learn more about Cognia Accreditation at cognia.org

About Cognia
Cognia is a global, nonprofit improvement organization dedicated to helping institutions and other education providers grow learners, teachers, and leaders. Cognia offers accreditation and certification, assessment, and improvement services within a framework of continuous improvement. Serving 40,000 public and private institutions from early learning through high school in more than 90 countries, Cognia brings a global perspective to advancing teaching and learning. Find out more at cognia.org. 
 

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Dear Ridgecroft Families,
We are looking forward to an exciting school year ahead! For those of you who were able to attend Open House, you should have received a hard copy of our Important Dates calendar at that time. There are additional copies available in the front office. 

We’d like to remind you that our school uses integrated Google Calendars for key schedules. You can easily sync them to your personal calendar for quick and easy access:

Academic Calendar: View Here
Menu Calendar: View Here
Athletic Calendar: View Here

These calendars will stay up to date, and we encourage you to integrate them so important events are always at your fingertips!

We’ll also continue to post only weekly reminders and upcoming events on our social media platforms for those who follow us. However, everything we post can always be found on the calendars above.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!
 

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July 31, 2025

Dear Ridgecroft Family,

Welcome to a new and promising school year. I trust that you and your family members have shared quality time and experiences with a focus on being together. Preparations for the 2025 – 2026 academic year have been taking place since January of this year. The summer has been exciting, welcoming new teachers and students, making new classroom assignments, getting parts of the building painted, as well as meeting the other numerous needs of the campus. 

We will continue this work until opening day, focusing on delivering a welcoming environment and a quality and rigorous curriculum, with numerous extracurricular opportunities to our students.

Ridgecroft School has been awarded its accreditation status by Cognia, Inc., completing an eighteen-month period of self-study and analysis. Our report confirms that Ridgecroft School embraces the whole child, acknowledging the social-emotional needs of students, while offering a safe and nurturing environment with a focus on rigorous curriculum and extracurricular activities. Our teachers have already begun their work in order to ensure this solid school experience.

All of us here at Ridgecroft believe that every student deserves a quality education. This only happens when the school, our families, and community work together for the best outcomes for our young people. As we begin this new school year, let us all look forward to working together to ensure that Ridgecroft School remains the premier independent school in our area.

Please know that our doors are always open and we welcome the opportunity to discuss any issues or concerns you might have, or just come by and visit!

Russell H. Johnson
Head of School
Ridgecroft School

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