Lemoore High School earns six-year term from accreditation term from California rating agency

WASC is the primary accreditation organization that oversees all high schools in California and an accreditation team was on Lemoore’s campus in March to evaluate its programs and activities.

Lemoore High Principal Rodney Brumit, who helped to oversee this year’s WASC accreditation visit from a team of educators – a team comprised of administrators and teachers, which oversees high schools and colleges in California and the pacific region - received the good news in a letter sent last week from WASC which awarded the school a six-year accreditation, the highest number of years a school can earn.

The accreditation comes with a one-day mid-term review, good news for the schools administration and teachers that worked hard over the course of the year to prepare for the WASC visit.

“I’m pleased with the results,” said Brumit. “We received the longest term possible, which is a testament to all of the hard work our teachers, parents, students and support staff do every day. The six-year term we got was the result of a year-long process that involved our terrific teachers, our supportive parents, and of course our great staff. To say that I’m very pleased with the results is an understatement.”

WASC is one of six regional accrediting associations in the United States and is primarily responsible for California, Hawaii and much of the Pacific region. The accreditation fosters excellence in elementary, secondary, and adult education by encouraging school improvement through its self-study process that expects schools to begin a formal self-study process that culminates in the development of a school-wide action plan.

An accreditation team, consisting of administrators and teachers visited Lemoore High School last March and spent three days here evaluating the school, talking to students and teachers and meeting with parents and administrators.

Robert Hudson, the superintendent of Alpaugh Unified School District in Tulare County, was on the visiting team arrived in March and he came away impressed with the scope and success of the school’s programs and how the needs of students are being met.

“I was particularly impressed with the wide range of activities for students at Lemoore High School,” he said. “The kids have a wide range of things to do,” referring to the myriad of activities and the 61 clubs students have to choose from to get involved.

“There is just a whole lot there. Everyone seems to be happy at Lemoore High,” said Hudson.

He was also impressed with the academics, in particular citing visits to math classrooms where he saw the same lesson in two different classrooms. “I saw the first half of a math lesson in one classroom, and later I walked into a different classroom with a different teacher and saw the second half of the same lesson. That just blew me away,” he said.

“It was just a very positive experience for me. I would send my kids there without hesitation.”

Why is accreditation important? The public, because of accreditation, is assured that their schools are evaluated extensively and conform to general expectations of performance and quality. WASC requires continual self-evaluation, frequent reports and periodic review. WASC assures that the programs and services at schools like Lemoore High reflect the high standards of quality. Students and parents can also be assured that their school has been reviewed and deemed of high quality.

The schools themselves benefit through the constant evaluation and review of their programs through the accreditation process.

“I think that’s fantastic,” said Lemoore Social Sciences Department Head Danys Greenlee of the accreditation news and who helped to oversee the review process. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less from WASC. We all worked hard to keep our school right where we need to be.”

Greenlee was a prime mover in compiling information from a myriad of school focus groups that spent months evaluating their programs and then offering suggestions on how to improve their efforts at delivering meaningful instruction.

Each of the focus groups had a designated area, said Greenlee. “They were charged with investigating and gathering evidence to make sure the school was on track and doing what they needed to do for the good of all students.”