Chapter 4
IV: Progress on the Implementation of the Schoolwide Action Plan
The purpose of this section is to analyze progress on how the school has improved student success and well-being through the implementation of the schoolwide action plan since the last visit and to determine how those actions impact student learning and initiatives for continuous school improvement.
- Explain how the identified student learner needs have been addressed in the schoolwide action plan.
- Provide a summary of progress on school goals and growth areas for continuous improvement identified in the schoolwide action plan. Cite relevant supporting evidence and data.
- Explain how the cited supporting evidence led to your conclusions on progress and impact on student learning. Note: If any recommended growth areas were not included in the school’s schoolwide action plan, indicate why
Maris Stella’s response to the critical areas of concern and the implementation of the action plans has been limited and has not followed a systematic plan due to the challenges mentioned in chapter 2. Namely, the retirement/departure of key members of the leadership team and the changes in governance and leadership. However, Maris Stella School has attempted to address these two areas in the last two years.
Response to the critical areas of focus
- The Maris Stella School and the Catholic Mission should ensure a continuation of the accreditation process through the identification of an accreditation coordinator to monitor the vision.
- After COVID disruptions and staff turnover, a new coordinator came on board in 2023.
- Subsequently, a leadership team was formed to restart and sustain the process.
- The Maris Stella community should ensure that communication of the learning targets and school curriculum is sustained to stakeholders throughout the school year.
- The first part, about 40% of the effort, is done - gathering all relevant documents and making them easily accessible by stakeholders.
- The remaining part is to set up processes and establishing routines that enable communication.
- The Maris Stella faculty and students should work with the ESLRs to ensure that upon graduation all students will be able to meet the goals identified in the ESLRs.
- The lack of a data system is a major issue.
- MSS is conducting trials of an electronic report card system which collects some of the needed data.
- Remaining to be addressed is collection of performance data from external sources such as national achievement tests, curriculum mastery data, and various performance indicator data.
- Once the data issue is resolved, MSS needs to identify its performance indicators and establish reporting processes that reveal achievement of ESLRs based on the data.
- The electronic report card system is about 10% of the total effort.
- The Maris Stella School faculty and administration should ensure that the curriculum is based on learning targets and standards and support the ESLRs. (1 meeting)
- The Maris Stella Community should increase communication to all stakeholders.
- The existing paper based processes (report cards, PTA meetings, informal converstations, etc., are about 10% of what MSS wants to do.
- MSS further intends to establish an information system that leverages technology to increase accessibility and transparency and to retain historical records as a matter of routine.
- The Maris Stella administration should seek ways to fill all positions in the school.
- In 2021 and 2022, MSS survived a critical shortage of teachers due to natural turnover and covid related restrictions. Initially addressed with short term volunteers and short term contracts, the situation was stabilized when the principal, using personal contacts and networking, was able to bring on-board several teachers who had retired from the public school system.
- Currently, MSS is in a better position to react to turnovers with non emergency hiring and has staffed all of its positions fully. Going forward, MSS has to develop a strategy that will enable it to compete with other institutions, primarily the public schools, in attracting and recruiting teachers from the limited national pool.
- The Maris Stella School administration, Catholic Mission, and Board of Directors should monitor consistently and purposely enact the action plans in a timely manner.
Action Plan # 1
Develop a plan to identify goals designed to provide the best possible education for all Maris Stella students.
Growth Target: Maris Stella School will develop a school-wide culture that promotes academic excellence and Catholic values in the next five years.
MSS Response:
- The Base Documents project 2022 created a documents repository website. Documents are being deposited there on an ongoing basis. This is intended to eventually be the official institutional documents repository providing clear and authoritative information about the institution, including academic excellence and catholic values.
- The Documentation 2024 project started building staff capacity to update and manage MSS's institutional documents using the website. This ensures that going forward, documents are valid, consistent, and authoritative.
- Future projects will address staff training to establish a culture of using these resources to inform daily operations, and then expanding to include parents and other stakeholders.
Action Plan # 2
Communicate to the wider community of students, parents, guardians, and teachers, the ESLRs, so as to ensure ownership that will lead to improved teaching and learning.
Growth Target: Maris Stella School will focus on finding ways to share the ESLRs with all stakeholders in the next five years.
MSS Response:
- The written ESLRs are already shared via the website. The next step is formally specify instructional resources and curricula. Then the alignment to ESLRs should be established.
- The inventory projects of the Summer of 2022 initiated the look into instructional resources by conducting an inventory of textbooks and equipment. In the future, the inventory needs to be evaluated and decisions made on how to maximize the alignment of resources to the ESLRs.
Action Plan # 3
Investigate Professional Development opportunities, identified by staff as areas of need to improve the teaching skills of their staff.
Growth Target: Maris Stella School will develop and implement a strategy to recruit and retain best teachers and school staff in the next five years.
MSS Response:
- The Electronic Report Card 2022 project established the capability to collect student performance data. These data can now be part of needs assessment efforts to determine teacher quality objectives.
- The 5 year partnership with REL Pacific, started in August 2022 to improve teacher effectiveness is a strategic professional development opportunity for MSS.
Action Plan # 4
Investigate ways to provide a finance plan to support the action plans as well as short and long-term goals for sustaining operations.
Growth Target: Develop financial plans that keep Maris Stella School fiscally responsible in the next five years.
MSS Response:
- MSS used the general meeting in February 2023 to initiate efforts to clarify roles and responsibilities from the top down in the organization.
- During the annual budget review by the board, it was proposed that the members discuss the reasons for the lack of a financial plan.
Action Plan # 5
Plan and implement ways to manage instruction when face-to-face learning is not possible.
Growth Target: Maris Stella School will develop and implement guidelines for reopening of school following the Directive No.04-20 from the Ministry of Education.
MSS Response:
- COVID was a specific event in time and MSS successfully managed the transition back to normalcy as national restrictions were lifted in 2023 and schools came back to face to face sessions.
- There are no concrete plans to work further on this plan. However, covid mitigation efforts caused MSS to experiment with technology and other instructional approaches. Some of this may be considered for further development in the future.