WASC Words International

• International Accreditation Update
• EARCOS Teachers' Conference
  
• WASC Student Wins the International Children’s Peace Prize 2022
  
• Fireside Chat
  
• Basecamp for Member Schools
  
• AAIE 2023 Global Leadership CONVERSATION: Reconnect, Recharge, Refocus
  
• WASC Winter Commission Meeting: San Diego
  
• ICAISA Winter Meeting
  
• Connecting the Dots of Accreditation: Leadership, Coherence, and Continuous Improvement
  
• 2023-2024 International Training Schedule
• Testimonials

Dr. Margaret Alvarez, Vice President, International Accreditation

The world of WASC international accreditation continues to grow. This academic year we have welcomed a significant number of applicant schools to our WASC family. When I ask what attracted our new members to WASC, a frequent reply is our personalized approach and the high level of support given to schools throughout the process. Echoing our commitment to supporting continuous improvement in schools, our team has also been working to enhance our services.

We launched our first Fireside Chat on the topic of cybersecurity and data protection in early March. The feedback received is that our members want more of these events as they help schools better align their school improvement practices with our WASC accreditation criteria. We have spent the last few weeks sourcing potential speakers and will shortly be building a calendar of events. If you missed this Fireside Chat, a recording of the event can be found in Basecamp and the School Portal. We have also completed a first round of interim progress conversations aimed at supporting our schools between scheduled WASC visits. A survey has been sent to schools that were involved. Thank you for your input. This will inform future iterations of the process.

We will shortly be publishing our training calendar for next year. Our visiting committee trainings have been constantly oversubscribed so if you are interested please sign up as soon as you are able. Our trainings are free of charge and we would like to make this accessible for all interested members. Thank you to everyone that has volunteered to serve on a visiting committee. We are now returning whenever possible to in-person visits. It is so good to be back in schools.

Have a great semester and we look forward to connecting at one of our events.

This month, WASC was delighted to host its first face-to-face visiting committee training for teachers at the EARCOS Teachers’ Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. In addition to undertaking training to serve on visiting committees, we had a lot of fun reconnecting with colleagues, sharing stories, and supporting each other as we grow in school improvement practices. WASC also set up a station where schools could connect with us, receive additional support for their school’s accreditation journey, and learn about the new services we are developing.

Congratulations to Rena Kawasaki, a student at WASC's Osaka International School of Kwansei Gakuin, Japan. She was awarded the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize for 2022 by the KidsRights foundation for her pioneering work to get more young people to participate in politics, the environment and society.

This highly respected international prize is awarded annually to a young person who has made an exceptional difference for children's rights. Previous prize winners include environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai.

WASC's Vice President of International Accreditation, Margaret Alvarez, hosted the first virtual Fireside Chat on March 8 with Mark Orchison of 9ine.

The chat included an overview of cyber security, its impact on school communities, and changes in international and local privacy laws. The webinar was attended by school leaders around the globe!

Keep an eye out for future fireside chats in the coming months. A recording of this event is available in Basecamp and the School Portals.

Basecamp is the communication tool available to WASC’s entire international member school community. This platform provides an added benefit to our international member institutions with resources that encourage networking, collaboration, and sharing of best practices with colleagues in the virtual space.

The AAIE 2023 Global Leadership Conference was held February 6-8 in Washington DC. Dr. Barry Groves, WASC president, Dr. Marilyn George, executive vice president, Dr. Margaret Alvarez, vice president of international accreditation, Alana Steward, director, and Barbara Parker, director, attended the conference.

WASC participated in a joint presentation with ICAISA, NIPSA, Cognia, MSA, and NEASC, "New School Principles & Accreditation Partners in Transforming Schools." WASC also participated in the book celebration and shared the recently published WASC book, Connecting the Dots of Accreditation: Leadership, Coherence, and Continuous Improvement, at the Tuesday evening social.

The Winter Commission Meeting was held in San Diego at the end of January. Commissioners reviewed and voted on 422 accreditation actions during the meeting.

ACCJC President Mac Powell gave a presentation about the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). Performing arts teacher Roxane Carrasco and WASC Commissioner and teacher Danny Blas from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts organized a musical student dance performance.

WASC's President Dr. Barry Groves and Executive Vice President Dr. Marilyn George have recently coauthored a new book that should interest everyone involved in school accreditation. They have written this guidebook as a support to accreditation efforts. It has recently sold over 1,500 copies.

The book is available to order online from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Our trainings for the 2023-2024 school year will be posted to the training calendar this summer. Please log in to the School and Member Portals to register.

If you have any questions about upcoming trainings or registration, please contact internationaltraining@acswasc.org or Elissa Watters at ewatters@acswasc.org.

We would love to hear from you! Share your experience with WASC and be featured on our website and social media pages. Submit your testimonial in either video or written format. Please also include a photo of yourself and/or your school, if available.

Submit your testimonial here: https://forms.gle/Wozt2uLiXZkW5w5G6

Thank you!