2009-2010 Self-Study WASC Action Plan - Julian Charter School

SCHOOL CULTURE AREAS OF STRENGTH
• Staff recognized by all stakeholders for the quality of teaching
and concern for students and families.
• Personalized learning plans are developed collaboratively.
• Small campuses provide direct home/school connections.
• A variety of support services are available for all students.
• Flexible units of time enable interdisciplinary project-based
teaching and learning and developmentally appropriate
practices for supporting the whole child (e.g., length of instructional
blocks, sequence of learning activities, physical and
emotional safety, engagement with school and community).
• JCS continues to focus on improving programs and meeting
the needs of all students.
• Close partnerships with parents and families encourage
parents to invest time into their child’s education.
• Educational facilitators are in close contact with their
assistant director and, at high school, the academic counselor
so the entire academic team is in frequent contact regarding
students and student support. (More than 80% of an assistant
director’s e-mail is directly student related.)
• JCS values the input of all parents as stakeholders and strives
to maintain and grow a number of programs to promote
parental involvement.
SCHOOL CULTURE AREAS OF GROWTH
• Improve communication between vendor course instructors
and educational facilitators.
• Implement a more cohesive parent-to-parent mentor system
and increase parent professional development opportunities.
• Increase use of community resources, community business
partners, and develop internship programs to support students.
• Continue to share work products and information about school
programs with stakeholders to increase awareness; seek ways to
gather more formal and informal feedback from stakeholders.
• Provide appropriate technology infrastructure and tools that
support student acquisition of 21st century skills.
• Continue to explore ways to engage and support all students
with additional career and technical options.
• Ensure that educational facilitators are knowledgeable about
support services available to students through the school and
the community.
Chapter 4: Self-Study Findings: School Culture and Student Support
92 Julian Charter School Focus on Learning 2009-2010