After closing the doors of its high school program for one whole school year (2013-2014), director Papali’i Laulii Alofa and the board of directors of Manumalo Baptist Academy have decided to reopen the high school program this year — starting off only with the freshman class — in response to numerous requests from parents, alumni, and local residents.

The school — now officially called Manumalo Baptist College Preparatory Academy — hopes that by next year, they can add on a sophomore class and build from there, and in 3 to 4 years, all the high school classes should be up and running again at the private school located in Malaeimi.

So far this school year, a total of four students are already enrolled in the ninth grade program and the school can take up to 20. Recent Manumalo eighth grade graduates who want to return are required to sit the math placement exam only, because their grades from the previous year can be used as a reference.

However, students coming in from other schools will have to take an assessment test to determine which courses are right for them and to see where improvement is needed.

Manumalo’s Deputy Director Dr. Amy Blizzard told Samoa News yesterday that the focus of the freshman class is on college preparation. “We are all about academics and our students should be prepared for a rigorous curriculum that includes a lot of math, science, English comprehension, and technology,” she said.

“It’s just very exciting for the island to have this program available, where the focus is on getting our kids ready for college and how to be successful. We will be working hard on gearing them towards an academic program that will help them after graduation.”

Manumalo is the first and only Level K-8 school in American Samoa that is currently accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). This is according to Lynn West and Carol Emerson who, on behalf of WASC, spent three days at the school, visiting and observing the classrooms as part of their mid-cycle review earlier this year.

According to Emerson, every high school in the territory is accredited by WASC and the concept of getting the elementary schools accredited was introduced last year, something that is encouraged by the Dept. of Education.

Manumalo closed the doors to its high school program last year but, said Emerson, “they were ahead of the game.”