By Colby Nicholson
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges paid a visit to Benicia High this week to see if the school could continue its operations. The Wasc Accreditation allows the school to stay open and is a necessary assessment that happens every six years or so. To qualify for the accreditation schools must:
- Be recognized by the government as a school (obviously)
- Have a recognizable mission statement and student outcomes that
- Have a governing board
- Have enough qualified staff
- Programs that culminate under a field of study
- Ways to measure student success
- Support programs for students to continue their education
- Publicly disclosed information on programs/finances
- Demonstrate an ability to accurately evaluate their own operations
The credit is important for the success of our school. The evaluation of the school allows it to improve between cycles. If you got pulled out of class this week, an honest critique of the school was the best thing you could have done. Our school obviously has nothing to worry about since it’s a great institution and has successfully students every year, but the evaluation is an important way for the school to recognize its faults and strengths, and improve for future generations for students.
