By Giff Johnson
For Variety

MAJURO — A visiting accreditation team from the U.S. has recognized Majuro Cooperative School for providing a strong academic program to its elementary students.
The Majuro-based school is one of only three elementary and high schools in the U.S.-affiliated islands of the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia that are accredited by the California-based Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The other two are Catholic Assumption Schools in Majuro and Xavier High School in Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. Majuro Cooperative School is a non-religious institution that was founded in 1975.
“There have been an awful lot of accomplishments since the last visit,” said Louise Wong, who headed the two-member Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation team. “This school has a bright future.”
Wong is the associate superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools. She was joined by Gaylien Fujioka the principal at Na’alehu Elementary and Intermediate School in Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Wong and Fujioka delivered a 30-minute “exit report” Wednesday to Cooperative School staff and parents following two days of reviewing the school.
Wong said that in preparation for her first visit to Majuro, she read the school’s 2004 progress report to WASC. “I thought, oh my, there’s a lot of work (that still needed doing),” she said of her reaction to reading the earlier report before arrival. “Coming here I’m very pleased (with what I see). I’m amazed at what’s going on in the classrooms.”
Fujioka went down a punch-list of areas that were identified three years ago for improvement, indicating that in every one major advances had been made.
She said the WASC team was pleased to see that the school had adopted “expected school-wide learning results” and was using them to measure student learning progress in the classroom. She also praised the use of new textbooks and the articulation of studies and curriculum from one grade to the next.
The school was seriously working on upgrading its facilities, addressing management and governance issues, providing an excellent special education program, and developing partnerships in the community among other activities, Fujioka said.
“As a Hawaii school administrator, I go through lots of training related to ‘best practices,’” Fujioka said. “There’s no such formal training here, (but I see) best practices happening. A lot of good things are happening on this campus.”
She added that she will take things she learned from her visit to Majuro Cooperative School back to her own school for use there.
“The students are just wonderful, and the teachers need to be recognized — they are just terrific,” Wong said.
A report from the visit to the school will be issued to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges later this month. The WASC commission will meet in June to review it and decide on future accreditation. Since the school is mid-way through a six-year accreditation cycle, Wong said Majuro Cooperative School can get anywhere from a one-to-three-year extension, depending on the decision of WASC at its June meeting.