With only Rota member D. Tanya King voting “no,” the other four Board of Education members approved the measure that allows PSS to transition to NCA.
BOE member Herman T. Guerrero said NCA accreditation involves a “system-wide” evaluation process.
“It’s not just the individual school as what WASC is doing, but system-wide. NCA looks and evaluate from the board down to the school at every level.
Even the PSS central office will be evaluated,” he added.
Although he had reservations, Board member Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero supported the measure, saying it had “a lot of value and merit and definitely we need that system level of accreditation.”
But he said NCA might not have WASC’s “in-depth focus on learning.”
“I’m just worried that we might go from one extreme to another extreme,” he added.
King, the board chairwoman, said it was her understanding that schools up for accreditation with WASC this spring would continue with the current process.
“It would be a big disservice to all schools that have almost completed their reports that should be submitted end of this month,” she said, referring to the switch to NCA.
But Tinian member Lucia L. Blanco-Maratita said she “likes the idea of a one big system accreditation process.”
However, she also expressed concern for schools that are up for WASC accreditation this year
Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan said those schools will not lose their accreditation during the transition to NCA.
