By Demetria Ma
From April 7 to 9, WASC administrators visited Fountain Valley’s campus to observe and evaluate students and teachers each day to see how the school has progressed.
WASC stands for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc., which certifies accreditation to schools that meet or surpass their own established objectives. They conduct in-depth studies and on-site observations of the school’s community and make a recommendation to the Accrediting Commission for a commission study. Currently, FVHS is an “Accredited School” and this year’s WASC evaluation serves to maintain the school’s status.
Because the state is transitioning to the newer SBA Testing and Common Core curriculum, members of the visiting committee were looking for how teachers were engaging their students in more interactive ways of learning through technology and real life examples.
“I’ve seen a lot of that today,” said Grace Yang, a member of the WASC committee and the Self-Study Coordinator at Leuzinger High School. “It’s been really fun to watch students work together in groups [and] approach a problem.”
During the three days, students were encouraged to answer honestly about their experiences at FVHS if any WASC members approached them with questions. This would help WASC observers evaluate the school on a student level as well as on an academic level.
“Do [the students] feel connected? Do they feel appropriately challenged? Are they over-challenged?” said Principal Chris Herzfeld. “That’s what the WASC process is really about, having some people come in from other places with a fresh set of eyes and say ‘Oh yeah, this is what you do well and this is maybe something you need to work on.’”
As a part of the WASC process, a preparation group consisting of Fountain Valley students and teachers alike met with the WASC committee on the first day of observation to analyze what the school had done in the past few years and its part on student success.
“I think the prep group plays an important role in reflecting what the school has done in the past 4 years as well as giving the WASC committee an overseeing of what’s going on at FVHS,” said Ashley Le (’15), a student in the preparation group. “It is very effective because it not only has opinions from teachers, but students also have a chance to contribute to what is said to be the most important report of the school.”
This year’s WASC visit will determine whether FVHS has met its standards for maximizing learning for all students and if, with positive feedback, the school has maintained its status as an Accredited School.
