Garapan school gets full-term accreditation

Garapan Elementary School (GES), one of the most populated public schools on Saipan, has been granted a full-term accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Schools.

“The action was taken after a careful review of the Visiting Committee report which noted many laudable aspects of the school,” commission chair Judith L. Endeman said in a letter to GES principal Juan L. Babauta.

The full-term accreditation is equivalent to six years, which is the highest accreditation rating given by the commission to schools determined to have a good quality of instruction.

GES was among the public schools visited last year by committees from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The committee report has given GES high rating for its teaching programs and quality of its facilities.

The accreditation term for GES expires on June 30, 2005.

Endeman said the accreditation is subject to midterm review, which consists of a written report from the school outlining the progress in the implementation of its action plan.

Endeman said the commission is confident that GES’ “continuing efforts to improve the school will be enforced by prompt attention to the critical areas for follow up and implementation of the action plan.”

As an accredited school, GES is now allowed to use WASC accreditation stamps and to carry WASC flags, which can either be flown along with the U.S. and CNMI flags or displayed as a banner “to create greater public awareness [about] the quality of the school.”

“It is an important statement that your school is committed to accomplishing a viable, dynamic education program,” the commission’s executive director, Donald G. Haught, told Babauta.