“The sun shines bright at Cypress High School” serves as an often-preached motto by the staff of a local high school in Cypress, California. Such a common phrase is used to motivate the students to do the best they can because after all, they go to “the best school in America.” This saying was preached for multiple years until the strength of it died it; that is, until WASC was set up to visit again.

The staff at Cypress have been hinting at the visitation of this so-called “WASC,” but it left the students and parents wondering, “what exactly is WASC?” At first glance, something by the name of “WASC” can be easily brushed off but in reality, it’s much more important than one can imagine.

What is WASC? Well, WASC, formally known as ACS WASC, stands for Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges. WASC is an association that assists thousands of schools in places such as California, Guam, and Hawaii, to name a few. The main reason the local people should know WASC, however, is because of its duty in accrediting schools. Accreditation is when representatives from WASC visit schools in order to determine whether or not the school is reliable in teaching its students. Essentially, WASC determines whether your diploma will mean something or not. When a school ends up getting the clear from WASC, they can either receive a 3-year or 6-year clear depending on how valid the school seems to be.

It is quite apparent that the WASC visitation isn’t something to be disregarded. For all students and staff, the behavior during these visitations should be prioritized in order to bring meaning to the students’ diplomas. In order to prepare for the visitation, Cypress High School began to teach the students how to connect the information to real life applications such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Cypress High School wanted to show WASC that its students were true scholars and when WASC ended up visiting, to the surprise of many, the students were able to do just that. Each class had a representative to speak to the WASC member and each student tasked with that role successfully demonstrated how effectively students completed their work. Never before had I seen such unity among a student body outside of sports games. When WASC was here, it could truly be stated that the sun had indeed shined bright at Cypress High.

<Daniel Lim WASC Visits Cypress High School 11th Gr>