In a letter from WASC, dated July 7, 2011, our school’s accreditation was extended 3 years to June 30, 2014. It’s excellent news. However, we have much to work on as the WASC visiting team has left us with 7 recommendations for school improvement that we must work on in addition to our current plans for improvement (Action Plan).


Visit this section to get updates on how we are addressing matters related to keeping Simon Sanchez High School accredited. The participation of our community, especially that of students and parents, is crucial to the process.

Welcome to School Year 2012-2013!

We will be deep into our self-study this year. A self-study is exactly what it sounds like- a study of the self. By means of the Focus on Learning process, we, together with our stakeholders will examine (or study) our program for students. Just as an individual’s self-examination will reveal strengths and weaknesses, our school, by means of the self-study will identify points of pride and areas to improve.

During the self-study, evidence will be gathered, including student work, in order to evaluate the degree to which our students are achieving. Just as an individual’s self-examination will result in that one taking action to correct or improve on some areas, the findings of our self-study will lead to the creation of a schoolwide action plan to address areas our school can improve in.

In the spring of 2014, we will host the Visiting Committee, made up of fellow educators, for 3 1/2 days. The Visiting Committee will provide an outside perspective and by collaborating with this team, we will be able to further refine our schoolwide action plan in order to improve student achievement.

The Visiting Committee will submit their findings to the Accrediting Commission for Schools and that Commission will grant the appropriate Accreditation Term. The following are factors that will determine the term granted:

  1. Involvement and collaboration of stakeholders in the self-study that accomplishes the five parameters of the self-study.
  2. The defining of the school’s purpose through schoolwide learner outcomes and academic standards.
  3. The use of a professionally acceptable assessment process to collect, disaggregate, and analyze student performance data.
  4. The acceptable progress by all students toward clearly defined schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and other institutional and/or governing authority expectations.
  5. An Organization for Student Learning that supports high achievement for all students.
  1. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment that supports high achievement for all students.
  2. Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth that supports high achievement for all students.
  3. Resource Management and Development that supports high achievement for all students.
  4. The alignment of a long-range schoolwide action plan to the school’s areas of greatest need to support high achievement of all students.
  5. The capacity to monitor and implement the schoolwide action plan.
  6. The use of prior accreditation findings and other pertinent data to ensure high achievement of all students and drive school improvement.

Point #1 is a reminder that ongoing school improvement is everyone’s responsibility. While the Administration and school Leadership Team take the lead, the involvement and collaboration of all stakeholders (school personnel, students, parents, community partners, local officials, etc) is vital.

The Haitians have a proverb- “Many hands lighten the load.” With everyone’s helping hands, we will be able to effectively convey that we are achieving high standards of learning and teaching. We hope to be granted the full 6-year Accreditation term in confirmation of this.