Nānākuli High and Intermediate School (NHIS) was visited by a team from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) on April 23 and 24. The team was here to evaluate if NHIS had improved in the targets that were given from the WASC visit a year prior. They looked at areas such as safety and in-class learning. Along with doing classroom observations and campus tours, they met with different groups to see varying perspectives of the school itself. WASC met with both a group of students and a group of teachers and staff. 

WASC determines if a school is accredited or not. For a school to be accredited, it means that they are teaching in a format consistent with the standards set by WASC. This means that they are deemed a school that can teach accurately, as well as helping students outside of the classroom. 

NHIS was deemed accredited as of the most recent meeting. This means that the school will remain functioning and diplomas granted to students are eligible and will be considered valid by colleges and universities. 

“Remember, everyone, Nānākuli High School is accredited. We will learn in June how long of an accreditation term we will receive, and we are hopeful for a positive outcome that reflects the dedication of our students, staff, and community,” said NHIS Principal Dr. Christine Udarbe-Valdez.

The WASC team met with students from Student Government and the Instructional Learning Team, and the SLIC (School Leadership Instructional Coaches) team, as well as doing classroom walkthroughs. During their time here, they looked at safety, school learning, and the environment. 

“This was a different WASC visit than the last time; it was an in-between visit, so it wasn’t as comprehensive as last time. It was more about checking in to see how we were following up on the things that we said we were doing,” said Instructional Coach Kevin Tynan. “Really, their job is to see if we’re doing what we said we’re doing basically, so then what we said in the report, they go through and verify that.” 

Students had differing opinions when it came to the process that surrounded the WASC meeting and visitation. A group of students from the NHIS Student Government were selected to speak with the WASC visitation team.

“I thought it was very smooth but at the same time very rushed, cause I feel like their meeting time was very short. It kind of affected our ability to state personal opinions,” said Sophomore Promise Jellings-Faletogo.

Junior Haysten Jesus added, “I think the visit went well, I just feel that the visiting team wasnʻt trying to dig deeper when they asked us questions. The questions that were asked felt like we were only scraping the surface of the topic.”

NHIS awaits to hear back from WASC to learn what the term will be and when they will be back. Even more, NHIS will use the Visiting Team report to help guide the school in setting and achieving school goals.

The WASC Visiting Team Report can be found at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19PAe8nmpLfIkP8epBW0ERXDQn-eD4qoO/view?usp=sharing