School receives maximum accreditation after spending a year on
report for WASC
Gilroy – James Maxwell picked up the phone recently and heard the welcome news – Gilroy High School received a six-year accreditation, the maximum awarded by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

“I’m very proud of my staff, they deserve (this),” said Maxwell, Gilroy High’s principal.

The feat is quite notable for the Gilroy Unified School District site, considering the negative feedback of the past. In 2000, under the eye of former principal Bob Bravo, GHS only earned a three-year accreditation and a WASC report filled with numerous criticisms.

In 2003, the high school picked up a more favorable report, but the WASC team still recommended that GHS improve its method of data collection and analysis for low achievers.

All California public and private schools receive accreditation through WASC, one of six associations throughout the nation. A stamp of approval means the school has proven itself as a quality learning environment focused on student achievement.

“It’s all about continual school improvement,” Maxwell said. “It’s not rating your school. It’s ‘Do you know the things that you need to improve upon.’ The whole point of it is that you’re self-reflecting and making improvements.”

That WASC awarded Gilroy High the maximum accreditation, confirms that the sole local high school knows exactly where it stands and is intent on making improvements. A team, co-chaired by staffers Kermit Schrock and Madelene DeRollo and comprised of all site faculty members and parents, spent a year compiling the WASC report.

The group assessed all aspects of GHS and identified the areas in need. Once complete the report was submitted to WASC. In March, a team spent three days in Gilroy interviewing board members, administrators, teachers, students and parents.

They visited classrooms, questioned locals about the accuracy of the report and roamed the GHS campus. Since the committee told Maxwell he’d hear back by the end of June, July rolled around and he wondered what was the hold-up.

That’s when he made the call. While Maxwell was happy with the answer, he wasn’t surprised.

“I would have been upset if we didn’t get it,” said the principal.

After spending 30-plus years in education and sitting on at least five WASC committees, Maxwell knows how a report will be received. And the one presented by GHS was the most accurate and well written he’s seen yet.

But the reality is the report truly reflects the district because it already has “built-in procedures” and if every school follows those they would “almost automatically” qualify, Maxwell said.

Staffers will attend a retreat in May to decide how to move forward and prioritize the list of needed advancements.

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