Staff prepares for WASC evaluation

By Parnia Mazhar
Staff Writer

The Western Association of School and Colleges will visit Costa from March 22-25 to determine if the school will receive its accreditation, part of a nationally required process which recognizes schools that have proven to be trustworthy learning centers.

After last visiting in 2008, the committee is coming to evaluate if Costa has applied the improvements listed in its self-study report, a five-chapter evaluation that assesses Costa, which was written by Costa staff and submitted to WASC on February 13.

“I expect that WASC will be extremely impressed and will conclude that our self-study presents an accurate reflection of where and who we are as a school community,” WASC co-coordinator Alan Zeoli said.

The committee is made up of WASC chair Nadine Lee Elwood, and various California school educators Josh Hermanson, Arthur Kimball, Rosa Northcott, Kim Stephenson, Jeanette Stevens and Hilary White.

“The WASC team is made up of educators; therefore, they have worked in schools prior, and their feedback will be very valuable,” WASC leadership team member and math teacher Kelly Donovan said.

The committee’s visit begins on Sunday, with a student-led tour across campus. The group will then visit every class at Costa, Tuesday and Wednesday. The committee will also sporadically interview students and teachers throughout its visit and interview student panels.

“I think WASC will be impressed at how well this school is run,” Donovan said. “Faculty, staff and students are all top-notch, and we should be proud to show off our school during their visit.”

After the WASC team comes to Costa, it will take its observations into consideration and will produce a written report about its recommendations and remarks. From that point, WASC will grant Costa’s accreditation.

“It is understood that we do not do things perfectly, but I hope that they will see just how hard we work to try and make things as close to perfect as we can get,” WASC leadership member and English teacher Cameron Chow said.