Beyond the Brochure
Every school has a polished website.
Big promises. Beautiful language. The right buzzwords.
“Whole child.” “Critical thinking.” “STEM.” “Strong literacy.” “Future-ready.”
But living out those promises is something else entirely.
Do they show up in classrooms?
Are they visible in student growth?
Are they supported by research, staffing, and training?
Can a school actually prove they are working?
That is what accreditation is designed to test.
WHPS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the same organization that accredits colleges and universities across the country. This is not a checklist exercise. It is an independent peer review of whether a school’s mission, curriculum, professional development, governance, and resources align to produce meaningful outcomes.
WASC does not dictate curriculum. Independent schools have that freedom. Instead, accreditation asks a harder question: Does your program actually work?
Schools must define what they value, demonstrate how those priorities are supported by research and resourced appropriately, and present measurable evidence of growth over time.
Experienced leaders from other independent schools observe classrooms, analyze data, interview families, and evaluate whether systems are coherent and effective.
It is not about what we say we do. It is about whether the evidence shows it is working.
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Strong readers are built early.
The foundation laid in Transitional Kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade determines whether students can access complex vocabulary, analyze demanding texts, and think deeply across subjects for years to come.
This foundation is just as critical for children who enter TK or K already reading.
Many early readers arrive with impressive fluency but without the full decoding and phonics architecture required for the complex academic language they will encounter later. During our previous accreditation cycle, one key observation was that some high early readers required targeted phonics work in second or third grade when deeper language demands surfaced.
We chose to address that proactively.
Our Lower Elementary Lead, Melissa Pero, is currently engaged in an intensive multi-year postgraduate program focused on the science of reading and the research behind UFLI. She has been instrumental in bringing that learning back to our entire faculty, strengthening implementation across classrooms.
UFLI is grounded in decades of cognitive science. Its structured sequence and frequent assessments allow us to identify not just what students can read, but how they are reading.
Assessment includes the use of pseudowords, intentionally unfamiliar words that reveal whether a student is applying transferable decoding skills or relying on memorization. This helps us identify gaps before they become visible in comprehension breakdowns years later.
For advanced early readers, this means acceleration paired with precision. The program keeps them moving forward while reinforcing foundational skills that might otherwise remain hidden weaknesses.
For emerging readers, it provides targeted, systematic instruction that closes gaps efficiently.
This is what showing the receipts looks like in literacy:
Research-aligned instruction.
Ongoing faculty training.
Assessment tools that identify gaps early.
Acceleration balanced with durability.
The result is not just early reading. It is long-term resilience in reading.
Students leave the primary grades prepared to engage confidently with complex academic language across science, history, mathematics, and writing.
Accreditation validates that this alignment between research, professional development, curriculum, and measurable student growth is coherent and working for all learners.
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We made the same intentional choice in math.
Singapore Math builds deep number sense, conceptual understanding, and flexible thinking. It may appear slower in the early years because it is building toward something much bigger. Even in kindergarten, students are mapping relationships and patterns that form the foundation for algebraic reasoning later on.
That foundation compounds.
Last year’s graduating class was the first cohort to experience Singapore Math consistently from Transitional Kindergarten forward. The results reflect that long-term investment.
On ERB assessments, the majority of students in grades 3 through 5 who have experienced the program from the beginning are scoring at the high end of the bell curve compared to other private school students nationwide. A significant cross section scored at the 96th percentile or higher, qualifying for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth summer program.
This is not about test preparation. It is about students who understand mathematics. Who reason flexibly. Who approach complex problems with confidence.
Singapore does not rush to check off skills. It builds a durable foundation supported by coherent materials, consistent expectations across grade levels, and trained faculty who understand the long arc of mathematical development.
The ERB data shows that it is working.
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Academic growth does not happen in isolation.
Executive functioning and social-emotional skills are among the strongest predictors of long-term success. They are also the skills most likely to limit progress as students enter Upper Elementary, where independence increases significantly.
Following our last accreditation cycle, one strategic priority was to bring greater clarity and developmental precision to social-emotional growth.
Our Dean of Students, Cynthia Baroudi, led that effort in close collaboration with teachers. The work included professional development, shared language across classrooms, and research-based tools that make growth observable for students, teachers, and families.
Rather than relying on broad report card categories like “work habits” or “behavior,” we built a developmental progression aligned to child development research. Each grade level includes clear descriptors so families understand what growth looks like and how it unfolds over time.
But the goal is not simply evaluation. Over time, we are helping students learn to evaluate themselves accurately.
During student-led conferences, students reflect on their growth and identify one high-impact goal with concrete indicators of success for the trimester ahead. They are learning how to set goals, monitor progress, adjust strategies, and persist.
These are not just elementary school skills. They are the same competencies many Fortune 500 companies invest heavily in developing within leadership and management teams.
When students learn to initiate work independently, manage time, regulate emotions, seek help appropriately, collaborate effectively, and evaluate their own performance with honesty, their academic trajectory shifts.
Not vague language. Clear skills. Measurable progress. Ownership.
Accreditation validates the coherence, research, and consistent implementation of this system across classrooms.
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Accreditation is not only about what we believe. It is also about what outside educators observe when they walk classrooms, review systems, and interview stakeholders.
During our most recent accreditation visit, the visiting committee awarded WHPS the highest accreditation term of six years and described the program as exemplary.
They highlighted:
A strong, supportive community centered on student uniqueness
A safe, nurturing environment where students feel valued and respected
Innovative instructional practices and strong collegial trust
Differentiation driven by formative assessment
Leadership development through Student-Led Conferences and goal setting
Strong preparation for middle school, with over 90 percent acceptance to first-choice schools
Families can read more on our Accreditation page.
🎯 Why This Matters
Families choose WHPS intentionally.
Not for slogans. Not for trends. But for an education designed for long-term success.
Accreditation is where that intention is tested.
It is where research supports practice. Where staffing and professional development align to priorities. Where systems are coherent across grade levels. Where growth is tracked, measured, and refined over time.
It is where promises stop being language and start being evidence.
Beyond the brochure, what matters is alignment. Alignment between what we say. What we teach. What we measure. And what students are actually able to do.
This is why we look forward to each accreditation renewal cycle. It gives us the opportunity to take stock of what is working, identify where we can improve, set clear and measurable goals, and pursue them with focus and discipline.
It mirrors the process we teach our students:
Reflect honestly.
Be specific.
Set meaningful goals.
Do the work.
Grow.
That mindset is not something we turn on for accreditation. It is how we lead.
