en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sat, 25 May 2013 08:59:14 GMT 15 By Yvonne Mejia
SFHS was recently granted a six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) committee. But what does this really mean? Back in February, the school was carefully scrutinized by WASC, which basically validates our education here at SFHS and guarantees the value of our diplomas. WASC evaluated several different aspects of the school, including curriculum, assessment, accountability, school culture, and the leadership of the staff. In order to prepare for the WASC evaluation, Assistant Principal Linda Ibach had to create guides for the students, teachers, and staff. It was her job to make sure the committee had evidence that the school was a valid learning institution. Among one of her many other priorities, she had to prepare all the written documents to make sure that the school met the WASC requirements. She was concerned that the committee may not see that SFHS was really meeting the standards. The committee was impressed with the school's environment and the interaction between the students and the faculty. The committee provided SFHS with three growth areas, including a recommendation that the school needed to provide the same classes on all tracks to give students an equal opportunity. Although SFHS received the maximum accreditation, the Scholastic Performance Audit Team, known as the Red Team, said that the school lacked academic rigor. SFHS art teacher and UTLA (United Teachers Los Angeles) representative, Bob Stromoski, said, "I'm ecstatic about the results from the WASC committee; however, I'm disappointed with the results from the Red Team. I feel they didn't look at the positives and just amplified all the negatives." According to Ibach, SFHS performed well with the WASC committee. "I think everyone should feel proud of it," she said. "Other schools in the community did not receive the maximum accreditation." ]]> Wed, 01 Sep 2004 04:00:00 GMT