(May 10, 2006) — Three years since their last appearance, the Western Associations of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation team sent out two of its members on April 20 to visit Clark and see how it has been doing since 2003, when the school was originally accredited. The recommendations that were made at the initial visit were to encourage school spirit and emphasize the development of writing skills in all classes. With Clark’s evaluation in hand, the process of the check up began with the two members having a conference with the leadership team, parents and then lunch with a group of students, ranging from the Associate Student Body to randomly chosen students. Once the accreditation pair finished with their lunch, they walked around the school, through classrooms and spoke to students. The team’s accreditation is not only based on the visit they make but also the students’ scores and grades. Once the team has viewed all the components in the process a letter is sent out to the school notifying them of their status. Although the letter will be sent around June of this year, Chairman Max Beaman said, “We are very impressed with Clark and are glad to hear it was also selected as a California Distinguished school.” When the school receives a positive accreditation, it is excellent news for the students and staff because that means the school is on the right track, according to the visiting committee. Since the WASC was only here for a check up it means that Clark has received a high accreditation in the past. Assistant principal Joan Shoff said that the school is working very hard and that the added writing to the curriculum is a positive. “Reading and writing are important in life and the more we practice, the better we get at it,” Shoff said. A good evaluation for the school gives the students an opportunity to use it as a positive asset in their college applications. The higher their school is rated, the better chance the students have of being accepted into the colleges of their choice. “It’s such a positive thing to have the school accredited so highly, because who doesn’t want to be proud of their school?” said junior Nada Hashem.