Our last WASC Minimum Day at ERHS has officially been completed!

WASC is an acronym for “Western Association of Schools and Colleges,” and it is an accrediting commission for schools. What does this mean? Basically, WASC accreditation makes sure that schools are up to a certain educational standard, and makes sure that students are gaining the skills and knowledge necessary. Types of schools that are included are elementary schools, secondary schools, adult schools, and supplementary education programs.

So, what does WASC mean for ERHS students?

At Roosevelt, WASC days change the schedule for all students. WASC days take place on Thursdays, and all classes are around 35 minutes, as students take a half-day while teachers and admin stay at school and participate in different collaborations and meetings. Friday is consequently made into a common day, where each student has every class in their schedule for about an hour.

What are the thoughts on WASC days?

Personally, I think WASC days are cool for students. It does change the schedule slightly and can cause some confusion, but overall it’s nice to have a minimum day that isn’t related to finals season. If I could make one change to it, I would make it so that the minimum day would be on a Friday.

Having the minimum day on a Thursday is almost a tease. The students are excited to leave school early, only to have to return to school on Friday for a full day. It could be a lot more convenient for students if Thursday was a full day with a common day schedule, and if Friday was a minimum day.

What do the rest of our Mustangs think about WASC days?

“I like the idea of WASC Thursdays, just not the fact that it’s on a Thursday. Personally, it makes the week feel even longer because we have another full day of school right afterward,” said Karina Ramos, ERHS senior. “If I could change the WASC day it would move from Thursday to Friday. That way when the day is over we can look forward to the weekend earlier. Whereas when WASCs are on Thursday, we have to sit through another common day right after a minimum day, which is silly in my opinion.”

“I like WASC Thursdays. It’s a nice change from the normal dismissal time and I get more time to study and relax,” said Emily Vo, ERHS senior. “A change I would make to the WASC days is move it over to Friday, so it would be easier for us to work with instead of coming back to school the next day.”