By Nancy Gutierrez
Lindsay High School Principal Mike Henson announced to the Lindsay Unified School District Board at the last meeting that the high school was granted a six-year term of accreditation.
This is the second year that LHS has received a six-year accreditation, the maximum amount of time a school can receive. It is an honor that many schools never get the opportunity to enjoy.
"At the end of the third year we will have a progress review," Henson said. "But that is standard for any year of accreditation."
The midterm review will consist of a written report from the school outlining progress made in implementing the school wide action plan. The action plan was created prior to the initial three-day visit from the accreditation committee. There will also be a one day visit by a two-member team.
In a letter sent to Henson from the Accrediting Commission Chair Christina Dyer, Henson and school employees were commended on the quality of instruction being offered at the school. It also stated that the six-year accreditation was the result of several laudable aspects of the school.
Henson also reported that the last two seniors needing to pass the Northwest Evaluation Assesment (NEA), after some remediation, did finally pass the test. LHS adopted the NEA as a replacement for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), which legislators postponed as a graduation requirement in July. LHS administration wanted to hold seniors accountable to a viable assessment for proficiency in state standards. They established proficiencly levels based on the CAHSEE and tested those students who had not yet passed the state exit exam. LHS seniors were required to receive a passing score in order to graduate.
"No seniors have been kept from graduation due to the exit exam. Every senior met the criteria," Henson said.
LHS administration and teaching staff are already looking at next year's enrollment. Henson said there are already 979 student requests in for next year.
He added that there are significant gains in the number of students enrolled in vocational education classes, especially in the guitar classes. There were 166 requests for the beginning guitar class. Unfortunately there is only room for approximately 120 students.
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