MITIS Prepares for WASC Accreditation

    As part of the MITIS' drive to become one of the best schools in the Philippines, the school  is working hard to obtain the accreditation of WASC, the Western  Association of Schools and Colleges. The organization  is composed of top schools from the U.S, and MITIS is seeking to join its ranks and is preparing for the accreditation visit on April 2013.

    WASC is one of the of the six accrediting associations in the United States and aims to promote a better quality of education by undergoing the accreditation process. Accreditation begins with the submission of the application form and is followed by an initial two-day visit in order to see if the school in question is eligible for WASC's standards. If the Commission for Accreditation approves the report, interim accreditation or candidacy may be placed upon the school for a period not exceeding three years, in which the school can prepare for accreditation and improve itself.

    MITIS has applied for WASC recommendation in the 2007-2008 school year, and two representatives from WASC visited last 2008 under Dr. Harold Bush and Dr. Mary Charity Stein as part of the initial visit. The school has gotten positive remarks from the WASC officials on that visit, as well as from Dr. David Brown, Executive Director, in his visit last April 26,2012.

   In preparation for the April 2013 visit, MITIS has undergone significant changes. One is the use of electronic books as the standard reference material for grades six to twelve. Students are required to have a tablet or laptop, through which their homework and lessons can be viewed and studied. In line with this is the use of "Edmodo", a site that allows a student to submit homework and view their grades.

  Due to the chance that a gadget might be stolen or lost,  CCTV cameras were added to maintain security. Last school year, there were only cameras for the corridors, but now even the classrooms have them as the admin wants to prevent item losses. Last are the addition of a playroom for the new Kinder level in the first floor, monitor screens for every classroom, and compulsory wearing of the new school cardigan, which the school hopes will create a sense of uniformity among the students.

      According to Ms. Mae Kathryn Malanum of the English Department, the school is placing its focus on teacher training and  teacher-student relations. "We want to make sure that the students learn from the teachers", she said. In line with this is the updating of the curriculum, acquisition of new laboratory equipment, construction of a physics room, and compilation of the best of students' works.

      The WASC Visit is mounting--only eight months to go and the school is going to pass one of its most important milestones--this April, the future of the students' college applications are at stake. 

by Michael Andre Barbarona