DOWNEY - Starting on March 22, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) began their stay at Warren. Every six years, every school (college and high school) gets accredited by WASC. If a high school is not accredited, any students attending that school will not have their grades count and that student is ineligible for entrance into a four-year university.At Warren, teachers were found throughout their classes and halls scrambling about, attending mid-day meetings involving WASC representatives. These meetings were to consist of informing representatives about procedures teachers use in their classrooms, discuss test scores, and also for representatives to get a better understanding of Warren and how it is run. Teachers were not the only ones anxious about the arrival of WASC. Michelle Bertinelli, a junior, worked tirelessly with a few other Warren Bears to prepare for WASC. These students gave up their Saturday to help the school get organized, clean the campus, and make posters and nameplates for teachers. Administrators at DUSD have expectations they expect every student to meet by graduation. These expectations are found throughout the school and are known as the Warren Expected School Wide Learning Results (WESLR). Warren believes that all students should be academically enriched, possess effective communication and problem solving skills, and be able to research and also to take an active part in learning. The WASC representatives were found throughout the campus displaying their name tags, interviewing students, teachers and administrators. Warren senior Jessica Robles stated, "I have faith that my school will succeed, the staff is great and our school looks really nice, any member of WASC could see that." Representatives observed the campus and classrooms to determine whether or not Warren would continue to be an accredited school. As Warren English teacher Mrs. Jessica Davis said, "Warren's curriculum is based on standards." The English standards at Warren are based upon reading, writing, listening and speaking. Freshman Alexis Denes stated, "Warren is an awesome school with [cool] teachers and students." Although many students are unaware of the seriousness of this standard review, they had become aware of the presence of the WASC representatives. Sophomore Helene Sparangis staid, "I felt a little nervous when a [WASC] person would walk into a room and observe." While underclassmen held different feelings about the review than the graduating seniors, one thing was certain: everyone was a little nervous. Senior Ivette Rodarte said, "It's kind of scary, especially for the kids who have already been accepted into the universities. If Warren doesn't get accredited, they sure can't go." Results of the review will become available within the next few weeks, leaving many teachers, students, and parents on the edge of their seats.

********** Published: April 3, 2009 - Volume 7 - Issue 50