WASC

• In December 2002 UC faculty approved a policy that requires all California public and private high schools to be ACS WASC-accredited (or a candidate for accreditation) in order to establish and/or maintain an "a-g" course list.
• Accreditation is required with respect to the Cal Grants.
• The ACS WASC/CDE (California Department of Education) process serves as the basis for the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
• Colleges and universities examine transcripts to determine if the students have attended accredited institutions.
• Teachers will not receive credit for the years during which they taught at a non-accredited school by many schools/districts nationwide. ACS WASC receive calls from school personnel who are recruiting applicants for teaching positions with respect to their prior schools of employment.
• The military recruiters expect the applicants to be from accredited schools.
• Many districts have policies to accept credits only from ACS WASC accredited schools or schools accredited by other regionals with whom ACS WASC has reciprocal agreements.

To be considered for ACS WASC affiliation, the applicant school must be a school meeting the following conditions:

1. Be in at least the second semester of operation, with students, teachers, and administration in place.
2. School enrollment must reach a minimum of 15 full-time students.
3. The school’s program must include at least two grade levels. One exception would involve a new high school that opts to begin only with grade 9.
4. Have developed and published a clear statement of purposes together with plans for a curriculum to carry out those purposes.
5. Have a management system that provides appropriate direction and oversight for the overall program.
6. Have employed a chief administration officer who is qualified for the position.
7. Have an organization, facilities, course offerings, and staffing acceptable for the school’s stage of development.
8. Have an overall plan including objectives for student achievement and assessment plans to measure progress toward those objectives.
9. Have an admissions policy compatible with the school’s stated objectives.
10. Have a written curriculum appropriate to the organization’s purpose.
11. Have a qualified instructional staff.
12. Have plans to provide access to appropriate extracurricular and enrichment activities, if appropriate.
13. Have developed an adequate financial base to give reasonable assurance of continuing financial stability.

• Certification to the public that the school is a trustworthy institution of learning
• Validates the integrity of a school’s program and student transcripts
• Fosters improvement of the school’s programs and operations to support student learning
• Assures a school community that the school’s purposes are appropriate and being accomplished through a viable educational program
• A way to manage change through regular assessment, planning, implementing, monitoring and reassessment
• Assists a school/district in establishing its priority areas for improvement as a result of the perpetual accreditation cycle that includes
• School self-assessment of the current educational program for students
• Insight and perspective from the visiting committee
• Regular school staff assessment of progress through the intervening years between full self-studies.

• Statement of school purpose (Note: school
• purpose is a general term for school vision,mission, or philosophy
• and objectives).
• Student/community
• demographic and performance information and data.
•  Current schoolwide learner outcomes and the process for development.
• Admission policies and materials.
• Master schedule.
•  Any academic or operational plans the school may have inplace.
• Process for regular review or revision of school purpose and schoolwide learner outcomes.
• Processes and publications/media for communication to all stakeholders within the school community.