a sample section from a five year report - ACAcommunication

The American Creativity Academy was founded in 1997 by a group of visionaries
who wanted to establish a special school in Kuwait that would cater to the ......
Vocabulary words from Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies are also built
into the weekly lessons through journals, stories and comprehension exercises.

Part of the document

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CIS / MSA Five Year Accreditation Report
Based on the 6th Edition of the ECIS Guide to School Evaluation and
Accreditation September 30, 2007
Table of Contents
|Introduction |3 |
|Section A: Philosophy and Objectives |4 |
|Section B: Organization and Administration |8 |
|Section C: School Staff |12 |
|Section D: Early Childhood Program |16 |
|Section E: Elementary Curriculum Program |21 |
|Section F: Middle School Curriculum Program |37 |
|Section G: High School Curriculum Program |50 |
|Section H: Special Needs Education |62 |
|Section I: Guidance Services |65 |
|Section J: Health and Safety |70 |
|Section K: Student Services |74 |
|Section L: Student Life |77 |
|Section M: Library / Media Center |80 |
|Section N: School Facilities |84 |
|Section O: Finance and Financial Management |89 |
|Section P: Assessment of Student Learning and Performance |92 |
|Section Q: Summary of School's Responses at the One and Five |96 |
|Year Stages | |
|Statistical Data Sheet |120 |
|Appendix A - Mission Statement and Core Beliefs |121 |
|Appendix B - Academic Organizational Chart |122 |
|Appendix C - Operations Organizational Chart |123 |
|Appendix D - Current MHS Boys' Campus Staffing List |124 |
|Appendix E - Current MHS Girls' Campus Staffing List |125 |
|Appendix F - Current Elementary Girls' Campus Staffing List |126 |
|Appendix G - Current Elementary Boys' Campus Staffing List |127 |
|Appendix H - Current Kindergarten Staffing List |128 |
|Appendix I - ITBS Test Results Analysis (2004 - 2007) |129 | Introduction The American Creativity Academy was founded in 1997 by a group of
visionaries who wanted to establish a special school in Kuwait that would
cater to the Kuwaiti population. Among their objectives were to create a
school that adheres to and respects Islamic values, inculcates the love of
the Arabic culture and traditions to its students and provides them with
the best possible education. The founding fathers decided to offer an
American education in a unique environment whereby kindergarten could be co-
education and the students would then be in a gender separated school
starting in grade one.
Over the last decade the school has undergone many challenges and
opportunities for improvement. We have used the accreditation process as
our greatest tool for school improvement and we are currently among the top
four American schools in Kuwait. We have a student population of 2300 and
over 300 staff members. Our students have achieved excellent results in
sports, Ministry of Education competitions, interscholastic conferences,
community activities, and overall academic success.
Among the strengths of our school is the strong commitment from the
parents, teachers, administration, and the school owners / Board of
Trustees members. Everyone is dedicated to delivering high quality
education and meeting the needs of our students. The Board has
continuously provided financial support to meet the school's needs for
structural maintenance, resources, personnel, professional development, IT
support, and equipment. The Board maintains close ties with the school
community and supports the Superintendent's role as the Head of the School. Our High School course offerings have steadily improved to keep up
with the growth and development of the school. The staff has collaborated
regularly on curriculum development and has been able to create a standards
based K - 12 curriculum using the Minnesota Standards as a guide. Before
settling on using the Minnesota Standards, the school reviewed the AERO
standards and several other curriculum maps and guides. We opted to work
with the Minnesota Standards because it has ESL components embedded in the
standards. The work of creating the curriculum has been arduous at times
for the staff and release time is always an issue; however we have been
able to produce a document which we are very proud of.
There are still areas in need of improvement, but the first step in
achieving success is recognizing those factors that need to improve. We
have been very candid with our reports and have undergone a thorough
process of reflection, collaboration, and self studies. We are committed
to addressing those issues in need of strengthening and will use each
committee's proposals and plans for improvement to remedy the weaknesses.
This Five Year Accreditation Report has been the product of a
collaborative effort between the administration and school staff. A
Steering Committee was formalized consisting of the chairs from each
section of the report. All staff members who served on one of the initial
self study committees for the accreditation were invited to participate
again. Other staff members were selected based on their longevity with the
school so they could provide details of the school's accomplishments during
the last five years. All staff members who were not sitting members on
committees were invited to offer their support, recommendations, and ideas
to the chairs or any committee member. The names of the committees,
chairs, and committee members were posted by Dr. Vincent's office on the
Boys' Campus and on a bulletin board near the time clock in the Girls'
Campus.
Our commitment to the accreditation process and the success of the
school is unwavering. We are excited about the future and the prospects
that our school will continue to flourish and grow. We have solid plans to
further develop our curriculum, to enhance and enrich our high school
program offerings, provide additional professional development to our
entire staff (Western and Arabic alike), and continuously seek ways to
challenge and broaden our students' horizons so they may truly be life-long
learners. SECTION A: PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES Part One: Responses to the recommendations of the Visiting Team Recommendation 1
"The Board of Trustees form a committee to review the philosophy and
objectives and to define what it understands by "creativity", "American",
"merging" and "Islamic Values"." Response at One Year Stage: Completed
Response at Five Year Stage: Completed Comment:
. The initial ACA Philosophy and Objectives were revised whereby
"creativity" and "merging" were removed and the concept was
clarified as "within an environment in which Islamic values are
respected and practiced."
. We currently have the Values Committee meetings on a regular basis.
The committee sends out minutes of their meetings and report on
the outcomes of meetings at Admin Council. The Values Committee co-
chairs report directly to the Assistant Superintendent who is a
member of Admin Council and serves as a link between the two
groups. The Values Committee is comprised of administrators,
teachers, and guidance counselors.
. "American" refers to the school's use of a standards based American
curriculum. Recommendation 2
"The Administration clearly explains the philosophy to staff, parents and
students on a regular basis and in a variety of ways so that it truly
reflects the mission of the community and binds them together in a common
purpose." Response at One Year Stage: Completed
Response at Five Year Stage: Completed Comment:
. The Mission Statement, Core Beliefs, and Parameters were reviewed
and revised in September 2005. The proposed changes were adopted
in January 2006.
. As a committee we have reviewed the newly adopted documents and
have made further clarifications. Currently the revised version of
the Mission Statement is published in the Staff Handbook, parent /
student handbooks, and ACA Policy Manual. Recommendation 3
"The school Philosophy and objectives in all published literature and on
the web site be the same. Also, all statements in handbooks that relate to
philosophy should reflect statements in the overall philosophy and
objectives. For example the Kindergarten Handbook refers to "our child
centered philosophy" but the statement is not printed or stated anywhere
else in the published literature." Response at One Year Stage: Completed
Response at Five Year Stage: Completed Comment:
All published literature / documents reflect the same version of the
Mission Statement, Core Beliefs, and/or Parameters.
Recommendation 4
"The Administration develop a better screening admission process and
improve its special needs services for such special needs students who are
already in the school." Response at One Year Stage: Part 1 - Completed Part 2 - In
Progress
Response at Five Year Stage: Completed Comment:
Admission:
o Students are screened in grades one - twelve with a standard
assessment tool.
o Students in KG are assessed with a tool created by the school
administration. Services:
o Students