By Carl Brenneman & Lauren Harvey

For international schools, accreditation from the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC) serves as a prestigious mark of quality assurance, signifying that the school meets rigorous performance criteria and upholds high standards of educational excellence.

BFS has been accredited by WASC since 1998, and we are in the middle of our current six-year accreditation cycle. From February 16-18, 2025, WASC conducted a virtual mid-cycle visit at BFS.   During the virtual visit, the Visiting Committee observed classroom instruction across the school and engaged in meetings with stakeholders including students, parents, teachers, administration, and operations staff.

The WASC Visiting Committee identified the following schoolwide areas of strength:

• The revised mission and vision statements better reflect the school’s commitment to empowering learners to grow socially, emotionally, and academically in a supportive and inclusive environment. There is also greater alignment between the mission, vision, SLOs, and school motto.

• Facility upgrades to date are to be celebrated. They have been extremely well planned and executed with care, furthering the sense of community engagement and creating a contemporary feel. Play areas, learning spaces, the foyer and the cafeteria have all been actively embraced and added a sense of pride for all, and most importantly, functionality.

• BFS continues to demonstrate a commitment to the social-emotional learning and well-being of all students through the refinement of schoolwide initiatives such as restorative practices, enhanced advisory structures, and the implementation of a human development curriculum.

• BFS has well-documented systems and structures, aligned with best practices (MTSS, RTI), in place to provide additional academic support for students. 

• BFS continues to foster a warm and welcoming community where students feel known, cared for, and have a sense of belonging. This has been further strengthened as evidenced by an increase in students reporting that they have a trusted adult at BFS.

• Students at BFS continue to experience academic success with students typically meeting or exceeding US norms on NWEA MAP assessments. In addition, HS students have seen an increase in SAT and AP scores over the last three years.

With regard to previously identified areas of growth, the WASC Visiting Committee found that BFS has made substantial progress in three of the four previously identified schoolwide growth areas for continuous improvement as identified below. 

1. Develop a multi-year action plan that includes a review and alignment of the Mission, Vision, Motto, and Schoolwide Learner Outcomes (SLOs).

The school has made outstanding progress in aligning its Mission, Vision, and SLOs with student needs and institutional goals. The next phase should focus on deeper integration, structured communication strategies, and continued faculty and stakeholder engagement. By embedding these guiding principles into all aspects of school life, the institution will further strengthen its commitment to continuous improvement and student success.

2. Monitor the changing student demographic population as it relates to students who require additional academic support to ensure that the school is appropriately staffed and resourced in order to meet the learning needs of all students.

BFS has made outstanding progress in strengthening student support through structured interventions, enhanced data use, and increased staffing.

3. Prioritize the order of curricular initiatives to ensure quality implementation, documentation, and consistency including the development of performance tasks linked to priority standards.

BFS has made significant progress in aligning its curriculum with prioritized standards and developing meaningful performance tasks. The transition from a dedicated curriculum coordinator has shifted focus toward academic support structures, as well as the responsibility for curricular initiatives to the principals. The Visiting Committee encourages BFS to explore systems and structures to ensure that this important work continues sustainably.

4. Develop systems of reflection and bench-marking against like schools to facilitate the implementation of multi-year planning in the following areas:

1. Facility improvement
2. Allocation of financial resources
3. Replacement of equipment
4. Educational programming
5. Staffing both teachers and support staff

The school has made limited progress in areas of this goal. Moving forward, continued efforts are needed in formalizing the following, BFS-specific plans for long-term (3-5 years at least) financial forecasting including:

• Revenue projections from enrollment and tuition including anticipated future tuition increases 
• Cost projections which should include anticipated staffing and/or salary and benefit changes
• Long-term (3-5 years at least) facility maintenance schedule
• Capital asset replacement plan including, but not limited to technology and furniture

By addressing these areas inclusively and transparently, the school will continue to improve infrastructure, financial planning, and student support, ensuring alignment with its mission and long-term objectives.

BFS is proud of the work done over the past few years to continuously improve our school. We look forward to further development based on the recommendations of the WASC Visiting Committee.

BFS fully supports the mission and vision of ACS-WASC.  Part of that, and part of the ongoing professional development of BFS leadership is participation in visiting committees.  This year Mr. Saunders attended a full weeklong, in-person, visit to Thailand, helping ACS-WASC create a full initial accreditation visit and compile a report.  These kinds of visits are exhaustive and require intensive focus and dedication to help provide another member school with great feedback for its growth.

Also this year, Mr. Brenneman will join a mid-cycle visit for a school in Korea and Ms. Harvey will join a full self-study visit for a school in Taiwan.  These kinds of visits show our school’s commitment to furthering the goals of ACS-WASC and helping schoolwide improvement and growth of other schools within Asia.

Student Council Feedback: Positive reception of gym upgrades and soundproofing in band rooms. Increased satisfaction with the in-house lunch program and expanded food options. This includes healthy options, protein options, etc. Appreciation for improved playgrounds, futsal fields, and the parent lounge.  Requests for additional improvements, such as better insulation in hallways and more elevators to ease congestion during passing periods was suggested by students.