What is the purpose of this visit?
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredits K-12 Schools throughout California and most international schools in the Asia-Pacific Region. On a six year cycle, visiting teams consisting of educators from the U.S. and around the region visit a school to review its progress and assess its eligibility for continued accreditation.
Who is on the visiting team?
San Joaquin High School will know more about the Visiting Team beginning the 2015 school year. There is a WASC Chairperson and 3 other educators. These teams are selected from schools in California and are experienced educators.
What will the visiting team do during the visit?
The Visiting Team will meet with school stakeholders (administrators, teachers, students, parents, community members, board members), visiting classrooms, hold question-answer sessions, and otherwise thoroughly review the schools' programs. The team will discuss and validate the school's Self-Study of strengths and areas of growth, including the proposed action plans for the future improvement.
What is the school's Self-Study Report?
For the year prior to the visit, the school conducts a structured, comprehensive self study identifying strengths and areas of growth in five areas:
- Student/Community Profile with supporting data and findings
- Progress Report from last WASC visit
- Summary of data and findings
- Curriculum, instruction and assessments
- Action Plan
What is the roll of community members during the visit?
As a part of their review, visiting team members will want to meet with community members to solicit their perspectives on the school and its improvement efforts. This will possibly include a reception, small group and large group meetings by invitation.
What is the end result of the visit?
The visiting team will do the following:
- Make a recommendation to the accrediting agencies regarding school accreditation
- Provide commendations and recommendations to the school to validate and refine the results of the self study and action plans for the future improvements.