WASC FOCUS ON LEARNING VISITING COMMITTEE REPORT
SAN MATEO ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Chapter V: Ongoing School Improvement

Schoolwide Action Plan:

Integrate ESLRs into curricula, develop and implement measurement tools.
Update curricula to include ESLRs
Distribute curricula to staff
Develop ESLR assessment tools
Pilot ESLR assessment
Refine ESLR assessment
Distribute and implement assessments schoolwide

Expand and improve communication patterns to students, staff, teachers and administrators through a variety of approaches.
Conduct regular staff meetings
Hold monthly Student Council meetings
Distribute monthly schoolwide calendar
Distribute staff Policy Book
Create regular student newsletter
Fifty percent of classes will develop Web pages
Pilot monthly video news and broadcast on close-circuit television news on the Main Campus

Develop and execute projects to improve outreach and expansion to various student groups.
Continue relationship with local newspapers
Continue to explore additional childcare options for students
Participate in theme-based fairs at off-campus locations
Increase advertising for all classes
Continue to conduct community needs assessments
Maintain classroom computers
Ensure cleanliness of facilities in the evening and off-campus
Educate clerical staff regarding all classes and locations
Improve publicity for higher profiled graduation ceremonies

Develop, communicate, and implement yearly, cost-effective, department-specific professional development plans compatible with finances available.

Communicate existing policies on professional development to all staff on
a regular basis
Hold twice yearly meetings devoted to curriculum development
Develop resource list for classes
Conference attendees share info to staff through structured in-service

Do the Action Plan sections address the critical areas for follow-up? Will the Action Plan steps enhance student learning? Is the Action Plan feasible within existing resources? Is there sufficient commitment to the Action Plan, schoolwide and system-wide?

The Visiting Committee finds that the Action Plan proposed by San Mateo Adult and Community Education correlates to the recommendations identified by the Self-Study focus groups. These recommendations included further education of the staff about ESLRs, including the need to measure them; a need for additional cost-effective professional development opportunities, including curriculum planning; more avenues for communication and feedback including staff meetings, email, and newsletters; expansion of support services to off-sites; increased outreach from Secondary programs to ESL; exploring childcare options; improved maintenance and cleanliness of the Main Campus in the evening and off-site locations; computer maintenance.

The Visiting Committee is confident that the steps spelled out in the Action Plan will lead to enhanced student learning by promoting a clear focus on student outcomes. Although all the Action Plan goals are critical to this focus on student outcomes and the School's improvement process, the Visiting Committee believes that the most critical goal involves the integration and assessment of the ESLRs. The other three goals will serve to support student learning by providing a cohesive, inclusive, supportive environment for learning and a well-trained teaching staff.

The Visiting Committee discussed with the Leadership Team the resources available to carry out the Schoolwide Action Plan. The Leadership Team confirmed that adequate resources are available to carry out the Action Plan. The Visiting Committee found that the Plan is feasible and the School has carefully planned for the resources necessary, to the best of their ability. Input on the Action Plan was broad and the Action Plan includes schoolwide stakeholder commitment and responsibility for its implementation. The Visiting Committee finds it to be clear and reasonable in its approach.

What are the existing factors that support school improvement?

San Mateo Adult and Community Education leadership, staff, and stakeholders are in agreement on the areas needing improvement and have collaboratively developed an
Action Plan to address them. The School has the strong support of the School District personnel and Governing Board and is in sound fiscal condition to carry out the Improvement Plan. The School has a highly skilled and devoted staff that is creative and effective in finding ways to support student learning.

What are the major impediments to school improvement that the program will need to overcome in order to accomplish any of the Action Plan sections?

The timeline for the Schoolwide Action Plan is rather short. All goals are planned to be fully implemented by spring 2006. The School might want to consider an extended

San Mateo Adult School W ASC Visiting Committee Report-March 2004 timeline for some of the activities. A potential impediment to School improvement is the potential for fiscal resources to change. The School needs to have a contingency plan in order to continue the plan for improvement if resource availability changes.

How sound does the follow-up process appear to be?

The Visiting Committee finds that the School has developed a sound follow-up process
to monitor the Schoolwide Action Plan implementation. This will include the establishment of two committees, which will oversee two goals each. These committees will be representative of all groups of stakeholders, create annual objectives to clarify their purpose, hold regular meetings, and keep the School community informed of the progress being made on the Action Plan. Each committee meeting will include minutes that will be posted on the School Web site. Progress will be assessed through surveys, interviews, and observation. Regular updates on progress will also occur at the Community Advisory and Student Council meetings and on the School Web site.

Summary Comments:

The School has developed a well thought out, "user friendly," reasonable Action Plan that addresses the major concerns expressed in the Self Study. The Action Plan will support enhanced student learning and support services and is supported by a _ multitude of stakeholders. The School is well positioned to carry out the Action Plan. The Visiting Committee suggests that San Mateo Adult and Community Education evaluate the timeline to ensure that it is feasible.