WASC Wonder

For our blog readers who are current families at SLOCA, you heard Susie and Mike, in our latest Bear Necessities video, share some insight about our most recent WASC visit. If you’re unfamiliar with WASC, it stands for Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and they recently visited SLOCA. WASC, according to Wikipedia’s description is,

“an official academic body responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern Marianas Islands, in addition to the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Pacific Rim, East Asia, and areas of the Pacific and East Asia.”

That covers quite a bit of landscape and it is neat to think that SLOCA is not only a part of this world-renowned accrediting association, but we are a highly-regarded school as well. To hear more about this process through SLOCA’s eyes, let’s jump right in to read what Michael Godsey, our Director of Community Life and overseer of the WASC visit, have to say…

In the field of education, the word “WASC” causes a visceral reaction from teachers and administrators. Educators talk about WASC almost as one speaks about a painful disease or an inevitably awkward stage of life. “We’re going through WASC right now,” a teacher might say with a very serious, straight face to another teacher, who will nod with empathy and murmur condolences.

WASC doesn’t traditionally bother with wonder. It’s an organization that is focused on accrediting schools in a detached, scientific matter. Rather than wonder, WASC is more concerned with student assessments and stakeholder needs and deadlines and templates. WASC is interested in protocols and action plans, and WASC loves data. In WASC’s perfect world, a school would give the same objective test every year to objectively prove that there’s been conclusive proof based on an isolated objective cause.

But at a place like SLOCA, we can embrace the challenge of finding wonder even in something as reportedly tedious as a WASC visit. At a school that encourages a growth mindset in every individual student and eschews fixation on impersonal test scores, there’s a certain neurological delight in trying to figure out how to show WASC that our school is growing. And there’s a soulful satisfaction in actually doing it.

Three years ago, the SLOCA community accepted WASC’s challenging template and focused on four specific areas for improvement: our science program; helping struggling students; preparing high school students for college; and schoolwide assessments. This year, it’s been my job, as a new administrator, to pore through all the data and talk to all the people, and then report on all the progress. At another school, this would normally be a tedious and occasionally awkward and uncomfortable process. Here at SLOCA, however, it was a genuinely wonderful experience.

It was such a delight to talk with the science department about the progressive changes over the past three years. It was inspiring to take an in-depth look at our new progress reports. It was so encouraging to review the success that SLOCAHS alumni are enjoying. And what an exciting experience to talk with all the teachers and parents working together, all-in on helping any student who may be struggling in any area.

It was also gratifying to hear from SLOCA parents in specialized focus groups. In an energetic and positive way, they had so much to say about our recent growth, and then they also had ideas about how to keep improving. It was so intellectually stimulating to wonder about how SLOCA can continue growing, and then also wonder about how to show this growth to an outside group like WASC.

In the end, we discovered that because we do so much self-reflection and self-assessment, an outside evaluation is almost superfluous. And in fact, the WASC visit was almost anticlimactic. After overseeing our 170-page progress report, I was absolutely pleased to show our school to WASC. I knew that after talking with our parents, teachers, board members, and students, they’d be nothing short of satisfied with our progress and our overall mission to keep learning.

In their report, WASC approved of our progress in every case and concluded that, “The passion, care, and love for learning is evident all around. This culture is very important to protect as they continue to grow.”

Most schools would feel relief from their report, or release from the tedium, but I didn’t feel that at all here at SLOCA. Instead, I’ve sensed a general inspiration to put our reflections into practice and continue to grow. I’m personally excited to schedule more meetings with more parents, and I’ve heard from many teachers who are wondering how to re-think assessments in a way that informs a pedagogy that is good, true, and beautiful. I’m looking forward to more reflective wondering for the next three years, and I know I’m not alone.

Thank you, Mr. Godsey, for sharing your thoughts with us! Till next time!!