WASC accreditation team visits Tracy High on March 5
Principal Jason Noll meets with WASC Chairman Norman Masuda and WASC committee member Jeff Percell on March 5.
March 4, 2014
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) will put Tracy High to the test during their mid-cycle progress report on March 5.
According to the Tracy High website, Tracy’s mission is “to provide a standard-based curriculum in a safe, positive learning environment that will enable all students to become independent learners who are creative critical thinkers, effective communicators, responsible citizens, and skilled users of technology in an ever-changing society.”
“Without WASC, our diplomas would not mean anything,” Principal Jason Noll said. “Having certified diplomas through this association will lead students into universities, the military, and finding successful jobs in the future.”
The last full visit of the WASC committee was in the 2010-11 school year, and the next will be in the 2016-2017 school year.
“This visit is a mid-cycle progress report which happens every three years as a checkup,” Paul Demsher, the WASC coordinator at Tracy High, said. “It aids to ensure that everything is going smoothly, and that the next visit does not need to be until the full evaluation in three more years.”
The visiting WASC committee will include Chairman Norman Masuda, former Instructional Supervisor at Palo Alto Unified School District and Jeff Percell, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services at Riverdale Joint Unified School District.
Goals of Tracy High for 2013-14 include ensuring students are prepared for college and careers and are achieving in their classes, to provide a safe and equitable learning environment, professional development, parent involvement, the use of technology in the classroom, and improving the school libraries.
“Most of the main areas needing improvement have been addressed, but not everything has been dealt with mainly due to time constraints,” Demsher said. “We all have many other tasks to do, but I am confident we have met most of our goals.”
Areas still needing improvement include renovations such as the completion of the Emma Baumgarner Theater and Agricultural building and classrooms.
If the visit does not go as planned, the WASC committee will return next year for a follow-up visit to ensure that the school goals are being reached, and the six-year accreditation is in place.
“We have always been successful in the past,” Noll said. “It would take something drastic for the visit to go poorly.”
Since the last full visit of the WASC committee in 2010, Tracy has undergone a few significant changes including the completion of the D Building, which includes the library and classrooms, and the renovation of the Wayne Schneider Football Stadium.
A change in the behavior support system, which began in the 2010-11 school year, has been put in place, leading to a drop in suspensions and expulsions.
“The changes we have made since the last visit are positive,” English teacher Sarah Rockey said. “The students and staff are working hard to address all of the issues together, and it seems to be going well.”
Several other changes have been made including the addition of two new courses, Ag Physics and AP Calculus BC, and the reduction in remediation courses.
“WASC helps us see where we come from,” Rockey said. “It inspires us to look to the future and see what it can be and what we need to further education.”
