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Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accreditation Antelope View Charter School is WASC Accredited. The accreditation process can be daunting but ultimately results in a sound program. The following documents were part of the preparation process. WASC will provide a school with literature ahead of time that will assist the school to prepare for the team review. This accreditation must be renewed periodically, so once your files are set up for the initial review, keep them in order and update them as your school's policies and practices change. This will make the review process easy. A California WASC Accredited Charter School Antelope View has earned WASC accreditation through 2008 WASC Accreditation Provides:
What Are the WASC Criteria? The criteria are research-based guidelines of systemic school improvement that address accreditation's central tenet: a school operates with a clear understanding of its purpose. The criteria were developed with the assistance of numerous practicing educational leaders and theorists. The objective was to develop criteria that brought attention to concepts and factors that differentiate between effective and ineffective schools. Since most formal education occurs in an institutional setting, factors that impact institutional effectiveness were considered along with curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment. The criteria have been adapted for various joint accreditation processes. WASC Focus on Learning School-Wide Criteria The basic WASC criteria are organized by the following categories:
A. ORGANIZATION FOR STUDENT LEARNING 1. SCHOOL PURPOSE The school has established a clear statement of purpose that reflects the beliefs and philosophy of the institution. The purpose is defined further by adopted expected school wide learning results that form the basis of the educational program for every student. 2. GOVERNANCE The governing authority (a) adopts policies that are consistent with the school purpose and support the achievement of the expected school wide learning results for the school, (b) delegates implementation of these policies to the professional staff and (c) monitors results. 3. SCHOOL LEADERSHIP The school leadership (1) makes decisions to facilitate actions that focus the energies of the school on student achievement of the expected school wide learning results, (2) empowers the staff, and (3) encourages commitment, participation, and shared accountability for student learning. 4. STAFF The school leadership and staff are qualified for their assigned responsibilities, are committed to the school's purpose, and engage in ongoing professional development that promotes student learning. 5. SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT The school has a safe, healthy, nurturing environment that reflects the school's purpose and is characterized by respect for differences, trust, caring, professionalism support, and high expectations for each student. 6. REPORTING STUDENT PROGRESS The school leadership and staff assess student progress toward accomplishing the expected school-wide learning results and report student progress to the rest of the school community. 7. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS The school leadership facilitates school improvement which (a) is driven by plans of action that will enhance quality learning for all students (b) has school community support and involvement, (c) effectively guides the work of he school, and (d) provides for accountability through monitoring of the school-wide action plan. B. CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION 1. WHAT STUDENTS LEARN The school provides a challenging, coherent and relevant curriculum for each student that fulfills the school's purpose and results in student achievement of the expected school-wide learning results through successful completion of any course of study offered. 2. HOW STUDENTS LEARN The professional staff (a) uses research based knowledge about teaching and learning; and (b) designs and implements a variety of learning experiences that actively engage students at a high level of learning consistent with the school's purpose and expected school-wide learning results. 3. HOW ASSESSMENT IS USED Teacher and student uses of assessment are frequent and integrated into the teaching/learning process. The assessment results are the basis for (a) measurement of each student's progress toward the expected school-wide learning results, (b) regular evaluations and improvement of curriculum and instruction, and (c) allocation of resources. C. SUPPORT FOR STUDENT PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC GROWTH 1. STUDENT CONNECTEDNESS Students are connected to a system of support services, activities and opportunities at the school and within the community that meet the challenges of the curricular and co-curricular program in order to achieve the expected school-wide learning results. 2. PARENT / COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT The school leadership employs a wide range of strategies to ensure that parental and community involvement is integral to the school's established support system for students. D. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 1. RESOURCES The resources available to the school are sufficient to sustain the school program and are effectively used to carry out the school's purpose and student achievement of the expected school-wide learning results. 2. RESOURCE PLANNING The governing authority and the school leadership executes responsible resource planning for the future. The Accreditation Process "Candidate for Accreditation" is a status of affiliation, which indicates that an institution has achieved initial recognition and is progressing toward, but does not assume, WASC accreditation. The "Candidate for Accreditation" classification is designed for institutions that are not yet ready for full evaluation based on the WASC criteria for accreditation. The institution must demonstrate evidence of sound planning and show evidence of the resources to implement its plan. The school must also be willing to meet WASC criteria for accreditation in a reasonable time. On receipt of the application for accreditation by WASC, the Executive Director will arrange with the institution for a two-member team to conduct a one-day visit to the school. At this time, the team will evaluate if the school is eligible for accreditation. Following the visit, the committee will prepare a report to be presented to the Accrediting Commission for Schools at its next meeting, at which time the Commission will act upon the application. The school will then be notified regarding the action of the Commission. If the decision is favorable, the school will be granted candidacy status not to exceed three years. Normally, the school will be expected to undergo their full self-study (full accreditation process) in their third year of candidacy. Candidacy status shall expire at the end of three years, but may be extended up to a maximum of three additional years by Commission action, following a revisit. After the initial visit, schools in which the initial visiting committee found that the WASC criteria were already being fully addressed may be granted interim status. Similar to the candidacy status, a school is expected to undergo a full self-study in the third year of the interim period. Each institution is evaluated based on the WASC criteria and the appropriateness of the school's stated purpose, school wide student goals, and the degree to which it accomplishes these. The full accreditation process has three stages: the self-study, the visit, and the follow-up. A school's philosophy and the WASC criteria serve as the underlying bases for these stages. Self-Study While WASC publishes its own evaluation instruments, an institution that applies for full accreditation may be provided with a choice of documents that have been designed in cooperation with educators from the various schools/organizations to meet their unique needs. The entire staff and representatives of the student body and community are involved in the preparation of the self-study, which is accomplished over a period of several months. WASC provides special self-study coordinator workshops to assist schools in conducting the self-study. During this phase, all staff members candidly assess the school's strengths and areas needing improvement with respect to the criteria. The steps of the self-study are:
Working through numerous committees, staff members summarize their finding of this in-depth assessment that becomes part of a school self-study report. At least four weeks prior to the visit, this completed self-study is shared with members of a Visiting Committee composed of fellow educators. Full Self-Study Visit The visiting committee is usually composed of three to eight people, one of whom is the chairperson. A typical visiting committee is composed of a school principal, a district office administrator, a classroom teacher, a school administrator other than a principal, a representative of a college or university, plus additional members who may be representatives of a state department of education, a county office, or board members. A student may be added to the committee at the request of the school principal. Members of the visiting committee will have attended special accreditation workshops conducted by WASC. Subsequent to analyzing the self-study report, the visiting committee spends three and one-half days at the school to provide an outside perspective on the quality of the curricular and instructional program provided for students. The visiting team members review student performance data, confer separately with each school committee, observe the school in operation, visit classes, and dialogue with individual administrators, teachers, students and others. Then the visiting committee prepares a report for the school outlining its findings. After the visiting committee report is discussed with the school steering committee and shared with the entire staff, it is formally submitted to the school and the WASC Commission. The visiting committee also recommends a term of accreditation based upon the school's philosophy, the WASC criteria, the self-study, and its findings during the visit. Commission Action and School Follow-up The Accrediting Commission for Schools meets at regularly scheduled times to consider granting accreditation for schools. Prior to each meeting, the Commission members review the visiting committee reports and the recommended terms for the schools. At these sessions, the school's self-studies are available for reference. The resulting decision of the Commission on a term of accreditation for each school is the composite judgment of the Commission members after examining the data concerning the school. The term of accreditation is based in part upon the appropriateness of the school's stated purpose, goals, and objectives for an institution of its type and the degree to which these are being met. Another determinant for accreditation is the degree to which the school meets the WASC criteria and other accreditation term factors that are established as general guidelines to determine the effectiveness of a school's educational program and services. The Commission also takes into consideration the following: the degree to which the school addressed recommendations of the last visiting committee; the school's use of appropriate student outcome measures to demonstrate evidence of student learning and success; the degree of involvement of all members of the school community in development of the self-study; and the capacity of the school to implement a school wide action plan resulting in ongoing improvement. The cycle of self-study, visit, and follow-up is normally repeated every six years, a full term. However, schools may receive other terms that include one, two, or three years or denial; in addition, schools may be required to take and report on remedial actions as a condition of continual accreditation. To support and encourage continual school improvement, the Commission will communicate with schools during the cycle through written reports and short visits. Only Commission decisions regarding terms of accreditation of three years or less may be appealed. The chief administrator of the district and school must make any such appeal by letter specifying the basis for the appeal within sixty days after notification of the Commission action. After the visit, the SC and chief administrator meet immediately with the Leadership Team to review the Visiting Committee Report and begin the follow-up process. The Leadership Team coordinates the refining and implementation of the action steps for each section of the school wide action plan. The narrative suggestions and critical areas for follow-up left by the Visiting Committee should be integrated into the school wide action plan. A copy of the modified school wide action plan must be sent to the WASC office. Some schools may continue to use the school wide focus groups from the basic WASC process as "change agent" committees in the follow-up process. The leadership team involves the total staff in annual assessment of progress, including data analysis about student learning in relation to expected school wide learning results and curricular objectives; this may result in modifications of the action plan. If the school annually reviews its plan and progress, the reports generated will comprise the major portion of the next self-study. Most schools will conduct one more annual review in relation to their expected school wide learning results, curricular objectives, and WASC criteria, and refine their action plan areas for the next three to five years. At the midpoint of the term of accreditation, the Leadership Team prepares a third year progress report summarizing the school's major accomplishments of the school wide action plan and other changes since the visit. The Governing Authority reads reviews and formally accepts the report which is forwarded to the Accrediting Commission for Schools. Depending upon the term of accreditation, a school may be required to have a one or two day review by two or more members of the original Visiting Committee. Recommendations The following are some recommendations with regard to the ongoing nature of the accreditation process:
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