The Western Association of Schools and Colleges, one of six accrediting associations nationwide, sent a team of outside educators to the school from March 7 to 10 to conduct the WASC accreditation process. It's something that the LGHS staff has been preparing for since last February.

"You always are a little nervous, because you have seven people coming in who don't know you or the community or the school. I feel as comfortable as you can," said LGHS Principal Trudy McCulloch. "I think we did a thorough look at ourselves and keyed in on what we need to work on."

WASC accreditation is a form of accountability designed to serve the community involved with higher education, from prospective and current students to parents, teachers, administrators and the general public. Accreditation certifies that a school has established standards and is achieving its objectives, while also encouraging self-study and periodic review.

"It's hard to be in a fishbowl and have people examining you," said LGHS Assistant Principal Kathleen Eaton. "But it's a chance to show off, too."

This year's seven-member WASC team included: Randall Heckman, a retired superintendent; Whitney Bilich, a student from the Modesto area and aspiring teacher; Patrick Gaffney, an assistant principal at Riverbank High School; Rick Jones, principal of Oakdale High School; Judith Roney, an assistant principal of San Lorenzo Valley High School; Fred Van Vleck, principal of Kerman High School; and Carmel Westcoat, a teacher at Ygnacio Valley High School.

After a WASC visit, McCulloch said most schools receive a six-year accreditation approval, with either a shorter or a longer report at the three-year mark. Schools with greater needs and problems may only be accredited for one or three years, rather than six. The last time LGHS received accreditation was in 1998, she said.

During their visit, the WASC team members toured the school and met with parents, teachers, classified staff, administrators, community members, a leadership team and focus groups. They spoke with random students and observed classes and teacher-student interaction. The site coordinator, who was recognized by McCulloch and the WASC team members for her countless hours of arranging the accreditation process, was LGHS English teacher Tonya McQuade.

"The whole thing is supposed to tie into student achievement," McQuade said. "The entire school needs to be involved in the process."

McQuade added the overall goal was to improve the school as much as possible through self-study and effective communication across and within departments and with parents and students.

"Anytime people come into your classroom, you hope that what they see is a reflection of what is happening in the classroom," she said. "We all have our bad days and our good days, and we hope that they catch us on our good days."

While the WASC team won't release its final recommendation and report until July, it did make an announcement about its basic findings. The members spoke to a library room full of about 50 teachers and administrators on March 10 before they left.

McQuade helped organize a report for the WASC team that centered on a school/community profile, expected schoolwide learning results, a progress account, self-study findings and an action plan, which Heckman, the chairman of the WASC team, said helped make the team's job easier.

Some of the school's many strengths that WASC team members noticed included offering a broad range of courses, a high graduation rate and fully credentialed, experienced teachers. The school was also commended for the level of trust that exists among teachers, administrators, students and parents. In addition, teachers are readily accessible to students and parents. The school offers small class sizes for ninth graders and a safe environment conducive to student learning, performs highly on statewide testing and is clean, orderly and efficiently run.

Issues WASC team members said they'd like improved included increased intervention for alcohol and substance abuse and a balance between rigorous student schedules and homework loads with their extracurricular activities. Other areas of growth were in reading and writing, enhanced effectiveness of tutorial methods, the need for ongoing professional development and taking greater advantage of technology.