Parent involvement and new focus key to WASC accreditation at South Tahoe High

When the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) didn't give South Tahoe High the results on their accreditation they wanted in 2016, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) and high school staff set on a path to change those results in 2018.

The high school was given a two-year probationary accreditation instead of the desired six year accreditation and they will be reevaluated this March when a new WASC team returns to South Tahoe High School (STHS).

"The school and staff have made great progress since the 2016 visit and are optimistic this will be reflected in the March visitation," STHS Principal Carline Sinkler told South Tahoe Now.

There were four areas the school was asked to address during this probationary period: greater implementation of Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards; more collaboration and professional development for staff;
parent/community involvement in decision making about the direction of the school and; and a long term plan for monitoring progress on goals that will improve student learning.

To test current results ahead of the March visit, STHS held a practice accreditation evaluation in November with a panel of local and regional educators.

"This visit was to give the school observational data and feedback," said Sinkler". The panel met with parents, students and teachers. We received positive feedback as well as areas to work on."

Status on the four areas of concern in 2016:

Greater implementation of Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards - "We wereere developing and ready to go on Common Core at the school when the first committee came and it is now implemented," said Bob Grant, the LTUSD CTE & VAPA Coordinator. "We completely revamped English and Math to comply with Common Core. We were already in the middle of doing it when they were here and scheduled to start that fall. Implemented for one-and-a-half years now."

The classes now focus on the keeping learning current and how things align more to the student's life. They read about Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and not Call of the Wild.

"More current things to talk about, kids are eating up the new novels presented, problem solving, using critical thinking," said Grant. He said there is a new depth of knowledge through the questions being asked, like "What is that author trying to tell us?"

More collaboration and professional development for staff - Teachers are collaborating and working together to continually improve their practice with a focus on learning.

"The district has committed resources to focus on improvement including training for all teachers in student engagement by WestEd, WestEd facilitated alignment with the middle school in Math and English, funding for collaboration and professional development, data collection and analysis and coordination of educational services," said Sinkler.

Parent/community involvement in decision making about the direction of the school - Viking Vision 2020 was implemented by Sinkler. Not only are parents and the community getting involved on that vision, more parents are now involved in the School Site Council, and they are meeting more often to give input on curriculum.

The Vikins Vision of Student-Centered Learning: Students develop a sense of purpose through authentic collaboration and real-world learning.

"The most significant change is the community development of Viking Vision 2020," said Sinkler of their addressing parent participation. "We have had multiple meetings to gather input and reach consensus on our vision of student centered learning and have defined the Viking Graduate Profile: enduring qualities that will enable all our students to flourish in life. Our vision is grounded in the nexus between content standards, challenging, deep learning and cultivation of 21st Century Skills."

Long term plan for monitoring progress on goals that will improve student learning -

The WASC team noted that school's goals didn't necessarily align with the goals laid out in Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP). As California's school funding law, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is a way for schools to focus on student success. The LCFF requires school districts to involve parents in planning and decision-making as well as in developing LCAPs.

"They are all saying the same thing now," said Grant.

"We continue to gather feedback in Viking Vision community meetings and will continue to hold these meetings monthly," said Sinkler". Staff, students and parents will be creating parallel plans that reflect their subject or interest area. These plans will help us continue improving and move forward together."

During a recent Vision meeting the 30+ attendees helped give input on what the successful graduate looks like, and if the school is giving students enough guidance on all paths they are able to take.

"We’ve been hitting not only those four points but also things they (WASC) found they wanted done from self-evaluations," said Grant. "We had a lot of strength in last visit, more classes geared towards career. We like to think of it differently, that all are geared toward career."

The WASC board meets twice a year to make decisions on school, and the accreditation's decision on South Tahoe High will be decided in June, 2018.

"The school and staff have made great progress since the 2016 visit and are optimistic this will be reflected in the March visitation," said Sinkler.

Grant echoed the same, "We have made great progress."

Once the March WASC visit is completed, the June meeting of their board can do one of four things for STHS: Give the school a six-year accreditation, a shorter-year accreditation, another two-year accreditation, or accreditation is withheld.