A diploma from a non-accredited school is meaningless to higher education institutions. To become accredited, high schools are required to verify that what they are teaching (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and how the school is organized are at a high standard. A full accreditation lasts for six years which Moanalua received three years ago, but six years is a long time, so the Western Association of  Schools and Colleges (WASC) makes mid-term check-up visits. 

This Friday, April 16, will be Moanalua’s mid-term visit. A small team will visit the school via Google Meets to visit classrooms and meet with students, teachers, parents, and community members. This team will verify a “self-study” report that the school produced documenting its accomplishments. The committee will then issue any commendations and recommendations for the school. 

Since the last visit, Moanalua has been focusing on what the Visiting Committee identified as areas for growth: improving special needs student inclusion, technology, school-level communication, and student assessments. 

“[The school has been] discussing the purpose of assessments and trying to make it more meaningful and to align it to measuring learning and growth rather than rote memorization,” Moanalua High School social studies teacher and school Professional Development Team member Margaret Travers said.

Over the past few years, the school has worked to improve communication through the school website, text messages, and JupiterGrades. The school has always been supportive of technology in the classrooms, and of course, this structure of this current year has required teachers to use technology more than ever. 

The school has seen “teachers providing different modalities of learning — videos, written, audio, etc.,” Travers said.  “I think the school will do great because this school has been doing some amazing work and teachers have really tried hard to adapt and adjust to this new norm.” 

If all goes well Moanalua will remain accredited and our diplomas will remain to be valid.