Despite having spent three days visiting Paly classes, members of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges will make the final decision as to whether Paly will receive accreditation in May, according to WASC committee member Margaret Rowland.

WASC members were still able to determine specific areas in which Paly can improve, which they presented in a staff meeting on Wednesday.

“We saw your beauty marks and we saw your warts,” Rolland told the gathered Paly faculty. “It was an excellent visit.”

Although Paly impressed the committee, the visit forced Paly students and staff to be self-reflective. WASC representative Kenney Goeken recommended that Paly should put more of a focus on the research and use of technology to advance students’ learning.

Goeken added that a stronger emphasis needs to also be placed on identifying struggling students and stronger development of early intervention systems to ensure students’ success.

Another major problem brought to light was the uneven distribution of students in advanced placement classes. Goeken said that according to WASC’s findings at Paly, there are disproportionately more Caucasian and Asian students in college-level classes than Latino and African American students.

Bradley also questioned the effectiveness of communication between students and the Paly administration.

“Students do not always have a clear impact in decision-making,” Bradley said.

A final critique made by Rowland was that Paly does not do enough to celebrate cultural diversity.

In addition to the preliminary WASC report pointed out areas in which Paly excels. According to English teacher Kindel Launer, none of the critiques were unexpected, and all the findings were things that parents, teachers, and students are in the process of developing.

“It is clear that the Paly community is aware of their areas of need and is working to fix them,” WASC committee member Kim Bradley said.

The quality of Paly’s publications and the English department’s explicit assignments were aspects of Paly that impressed Bradley, while Bradley said that Paly’s teacher-adviser program is a national model.

Paly students also amazed Bradley.

“I am proud of the students; they are articulate, energetic, and have great ideas,” Bradley said. “They are going to help you [Paly] reach some of the goals in your action plan.”

Throughout Wednesday’s meeting, it was clear that Paly staff appreciated their visitor’s insightful feedback.

“This process forces you to be introspective and fearless in the examination of practices,” Secretary to the principal Carolyn Benfield said.

“It is an opportunity for things to come to light that may have been hidden, and get validation from an outside group.”

Several teachers, including teacher-adviser co-coordinator Ann Deggelman, felt that WASC also helped to unite staff in addressing problems

“This was a way for us all to be on the same page and work together to achieve our goals,” Deggelman said.

According to Launer, Paly should have substantial progress toward these goals by mid-May.