Sep 20 2007
The SAS Self Study- Our Learning Takes Place Best In Context
Shanghai American School is an accredited school. Our accreditation association which has examined and reviewed the programs at SAS in the past is the Western Association of Colleges and Schools (WASC), and has continued to provide our school with support, clarity around our school improvement activities, and now a tool to involve our wider community in a closer look at all parts of our school program. Ultimately, this year learning about our school will take place in context of our work toward teaching and learning. This will be our year to participate in the Focus on Learning Process.
Who is WASC?
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States and Internationally. The Western region covers institutions in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, the Pacific Basin, and East Asia, and areas of the Pacific and East Asia where American/International schools or colleges may apply to it for service. WASC has had a long standing relationship with the schools in the EARCOS region and offers to SAS a six year accreditation term of which a midterm and yearly progress reporting is required.
Why Accreditation through Self-Study?
Accreditation is one of the ways that parents and community members can be assured that the school has be a set of quality indicators for schools, and has submitted itself and the programs it provides to external examination. WASC sums it up nicely on it webpage (http://www.acswasc.org/about_why.htm) when it describes the accreditation process as providing:
- Certification to the public that the school is a trustworthy institution of learning
- Validates the integrity of a school’s program and student transcripts
- Fosters improvement of the school’s programs and operations to support student learning
- Assures a school community that the school’s purposes are appropriate and being accomplished through a viable educational program
- A way to manage change through regular assessment, planning, implementing, monitoring and reassessment
- Assists a school in establishing its priority areas for improvement as a result of the perpetual accreditation cycle that includes
- School self-assessment of the current educational program for students
- Insight and perspective from the visiting committee
- Regular school staff assessment of progress through the intervening years between full self-studies.
WASC asks the schools who present themselves for accreditation to measure their growth against criteria questions in the following areas:
- Organization for Student Learning
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth
- Resource Management and Development
To learn more about WASC criteria and the WASC organization, please go to http://www.acswasc.org/
Continual Improvement is what it is all about!
Quality schools are in a continual process for improvement. The old adage that if you are not moving forward, you’re moving backward certainly applies here. SAS has been examining and moving its programs forward since the inception of the programs we know today were started. School improvement, while often described as messy and sometimes difficult to manage, are also dynamic, student oriented and action-plan based. Within our school, improvement activities occur each day, each minute and each class, with each and every employee. We are all part of the school improvement effort and in that we will all be part of the SAS self study.
EAGLES: Our Expected Student Learning Results
Last year, the Student Programs committee developed a set of expected student learning results (ESLRs) we organized around our school’s mascot the eagles. The EAGLES are the outcomes by which each and every program strives to achieve and form the basis of the educational program for every student.
Empowered to…
o Be life-long learners.
o Take risks, imagine, and innovate.
o Interact with the world around them.
o Demonstrate leadership through collaboration and teamwork.
o Adopt a healthy, well-rounded life-style.
Adaptable…
o Resilient, flexible, self-motivated learners.
o Problem solvers, negotiators and collaborators.
Global-minded citizens who…
o Act with the past and the future in mind.
o Embrace diversity with compassion, empathy, and acceptance of others.
o Respect and support family and community.
o Engage responsibly in the world’s problems.
o Protect and advocate for local and global environments.
Literate individuals who…
o Communicate articulately through reading, writing, speaking, listening, and artistic expression.
o Can analyze information to create new knowledge and develop understandings.
o Use information and communication technologies effectively.
Ethical human beings who…
o Demonstrate citizenship and generosity through authentic community service activities.
o Demonstrate integrity and honesty to themselves and others in words and actions.
Skilled inquirers who…
o Apply content knowledge and skills to authentic situations and broader systems.
o Strive for academic excellence.
o Reason soundly and critically.
o Explore other languages and cultures.
As SAS proceeds through the self study process, it will measure itself against the EAGLES and how we are implementing the use of these expected student learning results descriptors in the programs and activities that we all lead, learn and participate in each day in our school.
Where can I find SAS-Self Study Process News?
I will continue to communicate about our self study process here and in the Parent Talk newsletter on a regular basis, but I am happy to announce the beginning of our Educational Program News Online. Curriculum Coordinator Lynne Coleman and I will be regularly posting news about our school curriculum renewal and the all important self study process. We want to keep you informed and we want to involve you in the learning process.
laughing
so happy, I’m crying
“Wow!”
frowning; boo hoo
grim
nyahhhh!
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