Singapore American School WASC Report

Page 2

Introduction SAS is proud of the results that it achieves in academic terms but recognizes that high achievement is not sufficient to classify oneself as a great school. In the interest of preparing students for academic, professional, and interpersonal success, a great school needs go beyond traditional academics to expand its understanding of what is required of a “21st century� Education and monitor the growth and achievement in these areas. Through the process of developing the vision and desired student learning outcomes (DSLOs), SAS has identified seven critical 21st century outcomes: character, collaboration, communication, core knowledge, creativity and innovation, critical thinking, and cultural competence. Of these, core knowledge is the only one that SAS currently monitors. SAS received permission from WASC to conduct a non-traditional focus on learning by focusing the self-study on five of the DSLOs: character, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation, and critical thinking (note: cultural competence was not included in the self-study because it was identified as a DSLO after the process had begun). The purpose of completing the self-study around these five DSLOs was to establish baseline programmatic data to complement the research taking place on reinventing SAS. The gap analysis between these two sets of information will inform the next strategic plan, helping SAS to move to the next level of excellence. Professional learning communities (PLCs) acted as home groups, completing a deep dive into the DSLOs to identify where each one is currently explicitly taught and assessed. Divisions acted as focus groups and met to analyze the results and identify areas of strength and areas for growth. The one exception to this was Chapter IV, Category C. Because the support services renewal was also taking place, support service PLCs acted as home groups to answer the prompts for support for student personal and academic growth and the support services renewal team acted as the focus group to analyze the results and identify areas of strength and areas for growth. To facilitate the 2014 self-study, SAS convened a WASC leadership team that was representative of faculty, classified staff, parents, administration, and board members.

Name

Role

Name

Role

Jay Atwood

HS Technology Coordinator

Anita Langlois

Board Member, Parent

Erin Barker

Academic Data Coordinator

Doug Neihart

HS Deputy Principal

Treena Casey

Director of Curriculum, Parent

Robin Pearson

PS Counselor

Jason Cone

Executive Director of Information Technology, Parent

Devin Pratt

MS Principal

Chris Raymaakers

Grade 7 Math Teacher, Parent

Laurynn Evans

Executive Director of Talent Management

William Scarborough

Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business Operations

Darin Fahrney

HS Deputy Principal, Support Services Coordinator, Parent

Jennifer Sparrow

Executive Director of Teaching & Learning, parent

Marian Graham

IS Principal

Vanessa Spier

Director of Communication, Parent

Crystal Hayling

Board Member, Parent

Dennis Steigerwald

HS Science Teacher, Parent

Jemma Hooykaas

Grade 5 teacher

Selvie Sundari

Grade 4 Instructional Assistant

David Hoss

PS Principal

Kerri Izzo

Parent

Chip Kimball

Superintendent

Ylva Kovacs

Admissions Specialist

Robert Landau

Deputy Superintendent

Josh Symes

Grade 6 PE Teacher

Sue Taylor

IS Counselor, Parent

Lisa Wan

Kindergarten Teacher, Parent

Amanda Wood

Grade 2 Resource Teacher, SelfStudy Coordinator


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Singapore American School WASC Report by Singapore American School - Issuu