Organization for Student Learning
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth
Resource Management and Development
School Improvement
100
Ability Advocacy Agility Awareness
What are your School-wide Learner Outcomes, or Learning for Life Goals?
100
In addition to the Courses of Study for our academic students, we provide a functional curriculum for students who require more independent living and functional living skills. These include: Unique, New2You, Touch Math, Handwriting Without Tears, GoMath!, Discovery Education, Reading Horizons, and iReady.
What is the course of study for your students requiring a functional academic program?
100
- Group, family & individual mental health services - Contract with Stanford Child Psychiatry - Sam's Way - Daily access to individual tutoring - Collaborative relationships with adult programs - Transition program and Person-Centered Planning focus
What academic and personal counseling/guidance services are available to students?
100
Our funding comes from contracts with School Districts. Recently, we have revised our rate structure and increased our rates to School Districts. The impact of these changes to our financial development is under review by our Finance Committee of the Board of Directors. As a non-profit organization, we receive individual, foundation and corporate donations, donations from special events and direct mail campaigns, investments from our endowment funds, and land rental. We also receive a small amount of funding through the WorkAbility1 program.
What are your funding sources?
100
Management team meets at an annual retreat to review the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and to generate a prioritized list of initiatives to pursue in the following year. These recommendations are taken to the Board of Directors’ spring retreat, and are considered in the development of the organizational Strategic Plan. Tactical plans of action necessary to deliver on the organization’s Strategic Plan are assigned to the appropriate manager for the development of objectives and timelines.
How have stakeholders been involved in plans for improvement in the past?
200
- Weekly Team meetings - Monthly All-Staff meetings - Monthly faculty meetings - Individual supervision - Professional Development stipends - Lead teacher to help with roll-out of curriculum
What are some of the ways AK Leadership encourages commitment, participation and shared accountability for student learning?
200
Through WorkAbility 1 program, we are able to provide vocational assessment, evaluation of interests and abilities, training in pre-employment skills, job exploration, and paid placement opportunities. AchieveKids staff are extremely active in collaborating with the family and the future environments to ensure a smooth transition. In FY 2016, AchieveKids plans to expand our transitional services to include a more formalized Individual Transition Planning (ITP) process and a modified Person Centered Planning model when our students become 14 years old.
Examples of how AK prepares students for transition
200
- Contract with CSMA - Via Science camp - PA Theater performances & SJ Film Festival - Vegetable Gardens - SJ Family BBQ & PA Awards Ceremony - Visits from Therapeutic Animal program - SJ Summer fun program - Student mentor program
What are some of the co-curricular activities that are available?
200
- Facilities upgrades each year - Continued curriculum development - Expanded Behavioral program and FIT - New Teacher pipeline(s), payment of BTSA program - Transition program expansion - Increased technology (mimio, new apps, data analysis)
What are our long-range plans for the future development of the school?
200
- Stabilized use of 1:1's and emergency procedures - KidNet and new HRIS system - Recent remodeling of both campuses - Increased use of technology (participation in erate) - 35% of graduates moving to less restrictive setting - Development of FIT, SLP Internship program, teacher pipeline - New classrooms for younger children - Increased blended learning and new curricula
What are some of your recent accomplishments?
300
We do not have a master bell schedule indicating standard periods or modules. Instead, each classroom develops its own schedule that best supports the individual learning needs and styles of the students within a particular classroom. Typically, however, our classrooms operate on 30 minute periods.
What is the school's master schedule (indicating staff assignements and length of periods)?
300
Our students are extremely diverse and have significant challenges. Our slo's require that we utilize curricula that are flexible, easily adapted, and able to be delivered in a variety of methods including pen/paper, on-line, blended, direct instruction, small groups, etc. We include social skills instruction, communication and behavioral support within all of our instruction. In recent years, we have started to benefit from written curricula that are technology-based and are more nimble and adaptive. The curricula result in student achievement of our school-wide learner objectives when our students are able to transition to a less restrictive educational and/or living environment
How does our curriculum result in achievement of our schoolwide learner outcomes?
300
Our past efforts at creating a parent organization have been challenged by two issues: 1) families are spread across three counties spanning 65 miles; 2) It is difficult for our families to get away for meetings in the evenings. We communicate with parents via newsletters, classroom newsletters, Awards ceremonies, picnics, and Thanksgiving feasts prepared by several ambitious classrooms. Our Intake Coordinator provides frequent informational tours.
How do we assure parent involvement?
300
Permanent records are kept in a locked, secure file cabinet. A list of personnel authorized to access these records is posted on the cabinet. Historical student records are maintained in a secure on-site storage container for the required number of years. We recently upgraded our fire safety sensors and our schools are protected with site-wide ceiling sprinkler systems.
How are permanent records secured against fire, theft, etc.?
300
- Classroom observations to discuss impact of training and observe new strategies in use. - Build a professional learning community - Professional Development survey of teachers each spring - Analysis of SANDI, iReady, IEP data over school year
What are some of the methods under consideration to determine the measurable effect of professional development on student learning?
400
- Diversity of student body - Creative & nimble teachers - WorkAbility 1 grant supports job readiness - Extensive community-based instruction - Internship Training site for Florida Institute of Technology BCBA certification program -Placement site for San Jose State Speech and Language Pathology interns, and for National University Special Education Teacher program - Full range of related services provided in-house - Participation in Federal e-Rate program - We own our facilities - Unlike most non-public schools, our employees are members of a labor union, SEIU
What are some of the items that are unique or special about AchieveKids?
400
- Training and tuition stipends for outside programs - In-house training on classroom curricula - Training on IEP and goal development - Workshops on CCSS - Training in Behavior Analysis, PECS, Pivotal Response - Technology support
What are the types of staff development plans in place to enhance the instructional repertoires of teachers?
400
Both of our schools make abundant use of community resources as skill training sites and for community based instruction at local restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, public transportation, banks, libraries, parks, etc. We have formal agreements with over 20 businesses for job training and placements. AchieveKids is very interested in forging collaborative relationships with other organizations in the community.
What is our use of community resources?
400
We do not require that a percentage of the annual budget be placed in reserves. We receive annual private donations of $300,000, on average. We have an endowment fund of $405K as well as a “Fund for the Future” with $76K that is a Board restricted fund which can be used for financial emergencies. We also have a $750K line of credit with our bank and over $10M in facilities equity.
What amount of $ do we put into reserves?
400
- Summative Assessment processes and tools - Professional Development and Performance Review - Development and Implementation of Transition program - Continued roll out of Unique Curriculum, and CCSS aligned curricula - Consideration of School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) system
What are the areas under consideration for a School-wide Action Plan?
500
Employees are reviewed on an annual basis. Our evaluation process is currently under review in order to deep the conversation about student learning. An idea under consideration are discussion points to be used in on-going supervision and in annual performance reviews. Points to discuss with each teacher include: how do their specific students learn, how is the classroom uniquely structured to enhance learning, what is the process used to select specific IEP goals and not others, and how is rigor defined in their classroom?
What is the staff evaluation process?
500
- Quarterly review of progress on IEP goals - Regular review of behavioral data for each student - Curriculum based assessment tools - Classroom observations - SANDI (school-wide) - iReady (school-wide) - Tracking length of stay, and transition to less restrictive environment
What are the various means by which student learning is assessed?
500
- Parents & Districts receive our LLG's at intake - Annual visits to Districts - LLG's are the foundation of IEP goals, in quarterly rpts - Annual report - Enewsletters - Reach for the Stars BBQ - We affirmatively educate community while students learn & work in community settings
How do we educate and involve parents and community about our purpose and our school wide learner objectives?
500
Curriculum: $40,625 per campus ($650/student/year) Classroom Technology: $26,000 for both schools (roughly $1300/classroom)
How much is budgeted for the current year for textbooks and instructional materials?
500
- February: All staff review and input - March: Management review and draft - April: Program Committee review and input - May: Board of Directors review, budgeting and approval - July: Presentation to staff for next year - November: Program Com & Board review of progress
What is the annual process for development and review of School-wide Action plan
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