WASC’s Importance
Many of you have questions like “What is WASC and why is WASC so important?” Two years ago, LPS San Jose went through several processes in order to get the three year WASC accreditation that we later received. From the beginning of the 2008 school year until around the end of January, beginning of February 2009, teachers and staff will be working on a 200 page booklet which will be sent to WASC in order to keep our school accredited.
For those of you who don’t know what WASC is, WASC is the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. They are one of six organizations which provide accreditation for public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States. WASC is further divided into 3 commissions, which deal with different levels of education. WASC- ACS (Accrediting Commission for Schools) is the commission which deals with all elementary, middle and high schools. If a school isn’t approved by WASC, it’s not really a school.
WASC is responsible for schools in California, Hawaii, U.S. territories in the Pacific Islands, and American Schools located in East Asian countries. All schools in these areas must be accredited by WASC in order to ensure that your classes are accepted by other schools that you transfer to, particularly any colleges/ universities that you apply to.
Students who attend LPS San Jose wonder why they should even care about the school being accredited or not. WASC’s accreditation is a measure of acceptance in the wider academic community. Students who attend non-accredited schools may experience HUGE difficulties when they transfer or go to apply for college.
During LPS San Jose’s early years, we were not accredited, because it was not required of such a new school. This led to transfer problems for many students who left after our school’s first two years of existence. According to Mr. Garcia, the site coordinator for LPS San Jose’s WASC Self-Study, “Mr. Vilaubi filed the initial application for WASC accreditation for our school during the 2006-2007 School year.”
The first time a school applies for accreditation, it receives an initial accreditation of one, two, or three years. Thanks to the students and staffs’ hard work, we received the maximum term of three years. This means that all of the students transcripts are stamped with an official WASC seal and are valid anywhere. LPS San Jose is the only LPS school that has received a 3 year accreditation; the rest of the LPS schools have received 2 year accreditation’s. Although we are renewing our accreditation, Mr. Vilaubi felt that completing the renewal process early would be a positive move for our school.
This all comes to the point that without WASC’s accreditation, nothing counts.
admin @ March 4, 2009