Understanding WASC Accreditation At SCVi

SCVi is a public Charter School in the northern Santa Clarita Valley.  For the 2011-2012 school year, the school covered grades K-10. The 2012-2013 school year will add 11'th grade and 12'th will be added in  2013-2014 school year.  With the prospect of a senior class graduating in 2014, parents and students want to be assured that the credits they have earned will be honored by the college of their choice.

Since SCVi is a new school, there is quite a bit of confusion about how the learning done at SCVi will be respected at higher learning institutions. Is SCVi accredited for college? Will the classes taken at SCVi carry the same weight as those taken at a traditional public high school?  Who accredits a high school and what is the processes?

In order for classes taken at a high school to be honored by a college, the high school must have accreditation through the Western Association Of Schools (WASC) at the time the first class graduates.  This means SCVi will need to have full accreditation by 2014.  Though, you don't have to have full accreditation at the time the class starts, but you must at least have what is called "candidacy status."

Having "candidacy status" means you have started the process of WASC accreditation and are working towards being fully accredited.  Getting WASC  is not as simple as filling out a few forms and getting a quick response.  It's a multi year process that can take 3-6 years.  For SCVi, we are going with a 3 year accreditation process. This means the process will be completed by 2014.

While this process continues, SCVi has "Candidacy Status'.  This is considered a good thing in the WASC world and credits earned at SCVi will be respected by other high schools.  As this process continues, you can check SCVi's status on the WASC web site.