Accreditation Is Reinstated at Crenshaw High

Nearly six months after being stripped of its accreditation, Crenshaw High School has been returned to good standing.

The Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges, which accredits public and private high schools in California, on Tuesday awarded Crenshaw a one-year accreditation. The association reinstated Crenshaw after judging that administrators and teachers had made progress in improving instruction and management at the school.

“We’ve done a remarkable job in a short amount of time, and I think they appreciated that,” said Roy Romer, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. “But there is a lot of work left to do.... This isn’t a miracle cure.”

Crenshaw lost its accreditation in mid-August after failing to address serious problems that have plagued the 2,600-student school for years. Teachers, for example, did not adhere to state academic standards. Student tardiness was rampant.

In an attempt to have accreditation temporarily restored, school district officials appealed the decision but were turned down, said David Brown, executive director of the association’s Accrediting Commission.

The loss of the school’s accreditation threw into question whether colleges and universities would consider Crenshaw graduates applying for admission. About 2% of the state’s 4,000 public high schools lose their accreditation each year.

Embarrassed and surprised by the accreditation loss, Romer and other district officials promised an overhaul of the school’s operations and an infusion of resources. Angry parents met regularly to lobby for improvements.

Since then, the school has received about 200 new laptop computers and reduced the size of many classes, among other changes.

Romer praised Principal Charles Didinger and a team of assistant principals, who were assigned shortly before the school lost its accreditation.

“When I arrived I thought it was totally dysfunctional,” Didinger said. “Everywhere I turned there was no procedure, no policy in place.... We’ve tried to bring some consistency to what is expected of teachers and students.”

Didinger said that much remained to be done. The association’s team of investigators determined that the quality of instruction and teacher training remains uneven and often subpar.

The announcement at the school Wednesday buoyed the spirits of many students, among them Tyrone Trapp, 17. Trapp said he was happy that he had decided to spend his senior year at Crenshaw.

“My parents wanted me to leave, but I stayed,” Trapp said. “We’re in the process of doing better now. We’re trying.”

The association will return in a year to check on progress.