Daniel J. Ferris

Director for Accreditation and School Improvement
NEASC Commission on Independent Schools

+1 781-425-7728   |   dferris@neasc.org  |  LinkedIn

With the collaboration of the Commission, the Deputy Director, and Associate Directors, Dan defines the goals for the NEASC Commission on Independent Schools each year, facilitating the work of accreditation and school improvement for NEASC members.

Dan has spent his career in independent schools in Minnesota, Virginia, and Rhode Island. He has been a superintendent of schools, assistant superintendent, head of school, and a classroom teacher in the humanities. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota and The Catholic University of America, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. Before joining the NEASC staff in 2021, Dan served as a member of the NEASC Commission on Independent Schools for four years.

Recognizing New England independent schools are a wide spectrum of institutions — from pre-K to post-graduate, traditional boarding to ski academies, faith-based schools, progressive schools, town academies, special needs schools, therapeutic schools, Waldorf and Montessori schools — Dan believes in the value of aspirational self-studies and carefully selected peer-review teams that meet the quality assurance and school improvement needs of each individual school, ensuring its students the finest education and academic experience.