WASC visit at South Tahoe High a success

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - During their mid-cycle review of South Tahoe High School (STHS) the visiting committee from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) provided the school with positive feedback on all they are accomplishing at the school.

"Students and families feel safe on the campus and have multiple opportunities for connectedness to the school," said the committee in their report. "The facility is kept clean and safe from accidents. An SRO (student resource officer), social worker and empathy training has made the campus a friendly place for students and staff."

WASC certification is for six years and an early March visit was part of the normal process to visit schools halfway through their accreditation cycle.

In 2016, WASC put the school on a two-year probationary accreditation instead of a six-year accreditation. For two years, staff and Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) leadership worked on getting things back on track and 2018 their efforts paid off with full accreditation through June 2022, putting them back on the six-year cycle from 2016.

The committee noted several positive changes at STHS:

New Principal Carline Sinkler, who started in 2017, "came with energy and an attitude to listen to what the stakeholders wanted for the students. She listened to the concerns of all stakeholders and began to impliment small changes that had big effects on the school community."

The school has assigned mentors for each of these newer teachers and has successfully integrated them into the Viking model.

CTE teachers are working to complete certification such that they can grant certificates of completion to students in Exercise Science, Dentistry, Culinary Arts, and Auto Technology (ACSE). These also coordinate with local Lake Tahoe Community College often with dual credit offered to students who completed the courses. New courses offered as a result of surveys include Financial Literacy,
Math III and Steam I.

Professional Development is both on campus with the emphasis on Character in the
Viking Profile and development of the Department Companion Plans. In addition, the
district provided AVID conference attendance for 12 teachers and staff plus coaching model PD for a teacher released to aid in CCCS strategies and PBL implementation.

There is a clear plan for next steps, updated action plan and plan for updates for each incoming freshman class, continued outreach to families, and established partnerships for community support. Family participation: (parent to parent training) parents get to pick what they wanted to focus on for the year through multiple meetings(i.e. school site council, booster clubs, ELAC).

The committee recognized the school's focus on literacy throughout the campus. They said the administrative staff and teachers have embraced the concept that change occurs over time and is a continual process not a “one and done”.

As a normal part of a review, the committee gave STHS a few things to work on in the next two years before the next WASC review:

a. In addition to the monthly visits, build in more frequent collaboration time to
allow development of common assessment (summative and formative)
measures to guide instruction to impact student success. This need has
been identified by administration, teachers and district office personnel.
b. Use Iluminate Data with more frequent snapshot tools to drive changes
with instruction particularly with the EL and Special Needs population so
that students can be successful in the Core classes.
c. The use of AERIES analytics to develop multiple measures of data
collection to identify student’s needs and interventions.
d. Continue to build professional partnerships to allow internships for CTE
pathways
e. Fully implement the Literacy Program with measures of student
achievement and success in full integration into the Core classes including
moving long term language learners general education.