Beyond Compliance: Westview's Commitment to Continuous Improvement Through Reaccreditation

Beyond Compliance

WESTVIEW’S COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT THROUGH REACCREDITATION

This year is a reaccreditation year for The Westview School. Throughout this process, we have reviewed the standards and descriptions of good practice and reflected on how well we meet each standard It has been a team effort, as our entire school community has played an integral part in this process.

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON CULTURE

Many of you contributed to the first steps by completing one of our perception surveys sent at the start of the school year. These initial surveys play an important role in the reaccreditation process, and we are very thankful to our staff, students, and families who took the time to provide feedback thoughtfully and honestly. It is always helpful to gather feedback from the entire community, and our findings this year were consistent with the key takeaways from survey results collected in 2021 and 2022

These surveys reveal that staff and families feel connected by the shared mission to provide a nurturing and supportive environment for children with autism. When asked to select words to describe interactions between families and staff or among colleagues, individuals from both groups identified the exact same top 5 words to characterize these relationships: Genuine, Personable, Valuable, Trusting, and Collaborative. Similarly, when students were asked to select words that describe their school experience our upper elementary and middle school students chose these words: Friendly, Welcoming, Exciting, and Safe

In a healthy culture, learners, parents, and educators feel connected to the purpose and work of the school and behave in ways that are aligned to the stated values and norms. The Westview School community affirms that our school includes a healthy culture for learning.

EVALUATE OUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

In addition to surveys, our accreditation agency required us to use a tool called the Educational Learning Environment Observation Tool (eleot) to evaluate our classroom learning environments. Every classroom was observed at least three times and rated in seven domains. Our classrooms rate very highly in Supportive Learning and Well-Managed Learning.

In our classrooms, learners have a congenial and positive relationship with their teachers and are supported by the teachers, peers, and other resources to learn concepts and accomplish tasks. Learners benefit from predictability and routine that supports them in being able to transition smoothly and efficiently from one activity to another. These characteristics are consistent with well-managed classrooms.

STUDY STUDENT SUCCESS

Finally, after collecting feedback from our community and analyzing classroom observation data, we examined student achievement in both social/emotional and academic areas. Data that we analyzed revealed that our students benefit from social skills instruction and behavioral supports and demonstrate increased selfregulation as they progress through our program

Academic achievement data (MAP Scores) in reading, language, and math were also examined. The data shows that as our students progress through the program levels, they are able to transition from concrete thinking to processing abstract concepts and solving problems.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Our experience with the reaccreditation process has confirmed what we see every day Our students are learning and growing socially, emotionally, and academically as they progress through our program. It has been extremely rewarding to be able to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary things that Westview does when we work together and commit to one another’s success. But we are not content to rest on our laurels, which is why we are always looking for opportunities to better support our staff, students, and families.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Our final step in this process will be to develop Theories of Action to maintain our strengths and articulate our plans for strengthening our program We look forward to sharing those with you in the future