SECTION 4

QUALITY ASSURANCE

 

1. How does the school ensure that the plan for improvement is enacted, monitored, and analyzed on a continuous basis?

 

Given the governance structure of Colegio Maya with a 9 member parent Board organized in committees, especially the School Improvement Committee that includes representatives of the larger school community, quality assurance consists of on-going accountability via committee goal setting, progress reports, active support of in-put and initiatives to make the plan better and ultimately, budget support.  Through a wide variety of systems in place from program based budget planning, curriculum committees, technology support including a comprehensive web site, curriculum mapping software, WinSchool record keeping software, a comprehensive annual standardized testing program, yearly goal setting expected of each individual staff member, department and curricular area,  monthly newsletters, weekly coffees and as much program transparency as possible, Colegio Maya actively assures its constituency that it is a school dedicated to improvement.

 

2. How does the school use and communicate the results of its efforts to improve student learning?

 

As outlined in Section 2, Student Performance Data, Colegio Maya uses many different ways to measure student learning. From standardized testing to building portfolios to quarterly grade reports to systems in place to support students needing extra help, to school wide initiatives in reading, writing, wellness, etc., Colegio Maya actively demonstrates its commitment to improved student learning. Colegio Maya celebrates improved student learning in a wide variety of ways. These include: individual notes/emails home from teachers to parents, secondary showcase curricular assemblies, Star Student of the Month elementary assemblies, new electives to better meet the needs and desires of our secondary students like Knowledge, Theory and Values, Current Events and “Write-On!”,  development of a senior portfolio, instituting the Accelerated Reader program in elementary, annual analysis of standardized test results.

 

3.  How does the school manage its internal systems, e.g., organizational planning, scheduling, evaluation systems, and allocation of resources to ensure that they effectively serve and enhance student learning?

 

Colegio Maya has well developed and articulated management systems in place that all have as their ultimate goal, support of academic excellence and continuous student learning. The 9 member parent Board is guided by a formal policy that is continuously reviewed and available for public view. The administration ‘s organization structure consists of a Core Team including the Director, the Elementary Principal, the Secondary Principal, the Business Manage/Director Assistant, the Curriculum Facilitator and the School Counselor. This team meets on a weekly basis. There is a formal professional development and evaluation policy and plan in place. The elementary is organized by area: Early Childhood, preK-K; Lover Elementary, 1-2 grades; Upper Elementary, 3-5 grades and the secondary by departments. All of these entities meet regularly to share plans and concerns. There are curriculum committees, school-wide in every major curricular area and a formalized cycle in place for development, revision and implementation. There is a well established Student Study Team model in place for teachers and other staff to use to share concerns and monitor individual student needs.