SBCSS News and Press Releases

County Schools' Juvenile Court Schools Receive 6-Year Accreditation

2008-08-22

SAN BERNARDINO - The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools' Juvenile Court Schools received the longest accreditation possible - six years - recently from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

"This six-year accreditation is a real credit to the staff who serve our students," said Scott Wyatt, principal of the Central Juvenile Court School in San Bernardino and one of the team leaders who organized the accreditation process.

The accreditation is for the Central School, the High Desert Juvenile Court School in Apple Valley, West Valley Juvenile Court School in Rancho Cucamonga and Regional Youth Education Facility in San Bernardino.

"This distinction for our Juvenile Court Schools makes it a model for similar programs around the state," County Superintendent Herbert Fischer said. "The students and staff are the biggest beneficiaries of this accreditation because it validates the important work they are doing in the classroom."

The Juvenile Court Schools have been accredited for the past six years, but received notice on July 24 that it had earned a six-year WASC accreditation.

Wyatt said having the maximum length accreditation gives credence to the quality teaching students are receiving. While juvenile court schools in California are not mandated to be accredited, County Schools' staff chose to go through the accreditation process to validate that the curriculum taught and instructional strategies used are aligned to the state standards. They meet all of the requirements of the California Department of Education, just like statewide comprehensive high schools do.

"Because juvenile court school staff works diligently throughout the year to meet the educational needs of our students, they made certain that the WASC visiting team observed instruction in all of the core subjects and examined the curriculum," said Bernadine Hollingsworth, principal of the High Desert and West Valley juvenile court schools and a member of the leadership team that organized efforts for the accreditation process. "Several court school staff members volunteered to be present for the WASC committee meet and greet, which occurred on a Sunday. This exemplifies the staff's selflessness and willingness to make juvenile court school the best."

Hollingsworth and Wyatt were joined by lead teachers Norm Cosme of the Regional Youth Education Facility, Paul Durham of the High Desert Juvenile Court School and Mike McKenzie of the West Valley Juvenile Court School on the leadership team.

"Our entire staff took part in the process from our teachers, administrators and counselors to our worker Burt Barlow from Information Technology. Some 80 people working together made this possible, and I couldn't be more proud of our dedicated staff," Wyatt said.