Southville International School and Colleges passed the midterm review of the visiting Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), USA committee who noted the students’ critical thinking skills in their dialogues with them, and the school teachers and administrators’ efforts to implement British and US common core standards to increase instructional rigor for all students.

Highlighting areas to celebrate, Gwen Ueoka from Hawaii and Patrick Houterman from Indonesia pointed to the school leadership for actively engaging teachers, staff and parents in processes related to school improvement, the teaching force for consistently using assessment data to inform instruction, and the school for providing myriad opportunities for students to develop talents and skills in the arts.

Southville was awarded a six-year accreditation status in 2012 and based on the mid-cycle report prepared by the school, the WASC team noted significant progress has been made. “Our only recommendation is we have no recommendation,” said Houterman. “There are no new areas of concern.”

The WASC team spent two days in Luxembourg, Munich, Tropical, and STAR Campuses from February 25– 27, 2015 visiting classrooms, meeting with stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, administrators and staff), and studying the school’s systems, processes and policies. The report from the WASC team will go to the accrediting body’s full commission that review reports on the status of schools in the western states of the US, Hawaii and the Pacific islands.

The WASC accreditation is a way to check up on how effective Southville is in providing high quality learning opportunities that result in successful student learning. It clearly proves the school’s efforts toward continual self-improvement, and its commitment to student growth and development.