Revised Schoolwide Action Plan- July 2018 1) The College of Teachers will mandate and support work within the teaching faculty to standardize levels of skill development, prerequisites, and expectations for coursework from middle school to high school and within the high school, including tracking and teacher accountability. Assessment: Currently the school has generated an APS Collection Tool to track and monitor student learning relative to our curricular sequence from year to year. The Pedagogical Administrator will research other methods of assessment in Waldorf schools and bring to the College of Teachers some options for a system that may be less onerous than the current APS tool. Student learning will also be measured by monitoring the student and parent feedback to see if there is an experience of cohesion for the students. Responsibility: Pedagogical Administrator, in conjunction with the College of Teachers to oversee and arrange work within the teaching departments. Specific steps: -Pedagogical Administrator will research and review other assessment methods used by Waldorf schools and similar independent schools to bring options to the College of Teachers for decision in early fall. -COT will mandate a period of curricular review in certain skills within the teaching departments with a set time-period and reporting structure. - Pedagogical Administrator will work with teaching departments to arrange for meeting times, track conversations and facilitate decisions flowing back to the College of Teachers as needed. -Departments to take time within their meetings and create cross-section meetings to ensure that review takes place. These conversations will review existing practice, teaching scope in relation to our curriculum, and the needs/progress of the students. Each department will articulate and align content and standards across the grades in their subject area and return to the College for review. As departments report in, the Pedagogical Administrator and others will work to identify and implement any changes that are warranted in the curriculum or sequence. Timeline: June to September 2018: 1st round work in departments with meeting time in August. COT review begins in September 2018 to articulate specific areas where curricular review and bridging is needed.
2018/2019 school year: College mandates work within the departments and full faculty. If individual work with a specific teacher is warranted Pedagogical Administrator brings this to the Professional Development Mandate Group. Each June: Pedagogical Administrator (or other appointed COT member) gathers feedback from faculty departments to present to College to review the work of the year and inform next steps. Resources: Time within the August in-service days. Identification of responsible party within each department, with allowance for substitution time as necessary to facilitate department work. 2) The College of Teachers, Faculty, Staff and other stakeholder groups will support the work towards greater diversity and inclusion in our school. Specific targets for this at the moment are increasing the racial diversity of the student and family bodies and maintaining boys in our classes through the high school. Ways of assessing progress, including student achievement of the critical learner needs, schoolwide learner outcomes, and academic standards: The Business Administrator will use the regularly collected demographic data (such as the yearly report in DASL) to generate a report that can be used as a tool for gauging growth in key areas, such as male/female ratio, cultural and racial diversity, family demographics, etc. The Business Administrator will work with staff departments to compare our school demographics with other comparable local and regional schools, including but not limited to Waldorf schools. Our annual review of admissions and retention will compare to the goals set to measure our progress. Communication and review between the College of Teachers and the teaching faculty will monitor that the targeted group of students is supported and successful in our programs. Responsibility: Business Administrator; to coordinate monitoring and goal-setting among the staff and Board or faculty groups. Pedagogical Administrator, College of Teachers and faculty; to monitor and coordinate programming to meet the students. Specific steps, including professional development: -The Business Administrator will work with staff departments to analyze trends in inquiry, - enrollment, attrition and other measures to bring to action and leadership conversations. -The admissions office will conduct regular exit interviews with families and bring the gathered information to the relevant group (Business administrator or Pedagogical Administrator) to identify trends, challenges and areas of need for focus. -The College of Teachers will support the work of the Diversity and Inclusion Group with the Faculty to identify and address action steps. -The Pedagogical Administrator will work with the Professional Development Mandate Group and the Faculty Chairpersons to ensure that adequate targeted study and faculty learning takes place to support more successful inclusion of specific student groups in our programs. This should include both large group workshops and support for individuals in their work with their classes.
-The Business Administrator will support the work of the Enrollment Committee (or other groups named by the Board of Trustees) and the Admissions Department to increase our presence in the local neighborhood and establish stronger community ties. -The Diversity Mandate Group will strengthen messaging within the school about the value of racial and cultural diversity. -The Business Administrator in conjunction with staff and the College of Teachers will explore and identify realistic targets for enrollment and retention. -The Admissions Director will work in accordance with school culture to define a strategy to reach the targets. -The Finance Committee will work to identify greater clarity and budget planning for Tuition Assistance and explore the possibilities of scholarship opportunities to meet the schools overall goals. Timeline March- September 2018: College to mandate Diversity and Inclusion Mandate Group (currently the Diversity Conversation Circle) and work on a Diversity and Inclusion Statement for the school. Ongoing 2018-2020: Faculty, College, staff and other groups (parent council, students or Board) to participate in learning, planning and active work as agreed upon by the College of Teachers. Summer 2018-June 2019: Pedagogical Administrator to work with the Faculty Chairpersons to identify faculty study appropriate to increasing the success and retention of boys within our programs in a way that addresses the needs of our current students within a developmental context in keeping with our educational philosophy. Beyond June 2019: Review semi-annually and decide on next steps and current needs. Resources Professional Development funds, funding to support speakers and presenters, parent and community expertise and involvement, possible consultants from other schools or organizations. 3) The College of Teachers, Board of Trustees and Administration will support all-school professional development practices in the following areas: a) Ensure: Regular calendaring of professional development workshops Adequate budget for evaluation and mentoring Increased reliability and accountability of teaching to APS standards and Student Learning Outcomes Staff orientation to school mission and philosophy. b) The College will articulate with faculty a plan for how professional development in both Waldorf and other methodologies will be supported: including metrics of focus across school areas, percentages of budget and how resources should be used for both individual and group development activities.
Ways of assessing progress: Observation of students and faculty consultation within departments to inform the work of the College of Teachers in allocating professional development resources. Semi-yearly review by the Pedagogical Administrator with the HS Pedagogical Committee, lower school faculty and College of Teachers to determine if there are any areas of student need or patterns in learning that show a need for teacher support. Annual review (with more if necessary) by the Professional Development Mandate Group to the College of Teachers to determine how funds have been and should be used to support teaching practices across the school. Means to monitor and report progress: Reports from the Professional Development Mandate Group, classroom staff, administrative staff, parent and student feedback. Yearly Professional Development survey of all teaching staff and within the administrative staff to help identify and align needs and opportunities. Quarterly summaries to the Board of Trustees and yearly summary to parents regarding professional development activities and our priorities in this area. Responsibility: Pedagogical and Business Administrators, Professional Development Mandate Group, College of Teachers, Timeline August 2018, Professional Development Mandate Group prepares a summary of activities and has a joint conversation with the College of Teachers to undertake a SWOT analysis of our current systems and resources. Summer 2018: Pedagogical Administrator to work in consultation with faculty, Mandate Group, Business Administrator and others to create a proposal for resource allocation (funds and time) for the faculty for the 2018/19 school year. Business Administrator to do the same on the staff development side. August 2018: (and subsequent years at this time) College of Teachers vets and decides on the allocation plan for the year for the faculty, and Business Administrator decides on the plan for the year for the staff. Yearly Review within faculty and staff groups and in consultation with parents and students (as age appropriate) to assess how plan is supporting professional growth and a high level of teaching for our students. Resources Professional Development funds from the operating budget Title II funds disbursed through the local school districts AWSNA professional development and training opportunities Other professional training opportunities and community trainings as appropriate
4) School Administration, the College of Teachers and the Board will ensure that planning to meet current and future program needs is regularly scheduled, reviewed, budgeted and shared with the school community. Including: a) A review of the program and facilities needs in the high school science department and the commencement of work to increase usability of the chemistry room in the short term and the full build-out plans in the long term. b) An assessment of the master site plan for both campuses to plan for future growth. Rationale for area based on self-study findings: Coming out of a time of consistent financial reserves and stability the school has gone through a time of intense growth and has experienced two years of challenge in our enrollment numbers and operating cash flow. This has prevented us from completing some key projects at the high school campus, caused a decision not to rebuild a building on the lower campus that was lost to fire in 2014, and necessitated much work to trim costs, examine our staffing and call upon the goodwill and generosity of our parent community. There is agreement among all stakeholder groups that a time of better budget planning, strategic rebuilding of assets and resource management is called for. Means to monitor and report progress: Regular reporting by the Finance Committee and Business Administrator to all school constituencies. Reporting in the Annual report and at the yearly Community Meetings at the minimum. The Business Administrator will ensure that records are maintained regarding progress toward this goal for future Accreditation processes and planning purposes. Responsibility: The Business Administrator, Financial Controller, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee. Specific steps: -The Business Administrator will coordinate activities related to income generation, tuition levels, staffing levels, salaries and benefits, tuition assistance programs, fundraising, admissions and enrollment management- working with relevant and necessary working and school leadership groups. -The Business administrator, in conjunction with the Board and staff will develop a strategic plan for Advancement and, marketing and outreach. -Examination of current Master Site Plan for revisions and to update with the inclusion of the new campus. Ensure stakeholder input in the process. -Maintain growth in accordance with our Conditional Use Permits and assure compliance with those and other code specifications. -Development of a Budget/Resource Management Plan overall and specifically for the high school science room including timelines. Timeline To be determined. Resources
To be determined. B. State any specific additional specific strategies to be used by staff within each subject area/ support program to support sections of the schoolwide action plan. 1. The College and Finance Committee will ensure that the growth and maintenance of the lower school Student Support Program is built into yearly budgets. 2. The BOT will make use of the energy of Booster clubs and events such as the science symposiums to supplement the school s budget in meeting the resource needs for the high school science curriculum. C. Describe the school s follow-up process, ensuring an ongoing improvement process. 1. School Administrators will ensure that the Action Plan items are brought for status update and review within the faculty/staff, and again with the Executive Committee (College of Teachers and Board of Trustees) at central points within the year (planning sessions during the summer, mid-year and early spring). From this check-in and review the next round of action steps toward our goals can be itemized, prioritized and assigned to the appropriate parties. 2. College of Teachers, faculty, administrative staff, and Board of Trustees will ensure that the review of their contributions toward Action Plan items are included both in their regular work as groups and in the Performance Review for both the Pedagogical and Business Administrators. 3. Information about our progress toward these goals will be included in the Annual Report and shared with parents at community meetings.