Yuba County Career Prep Charter school develops action plan based off self-study
The Yuba County
Career Preparatory Charter School recently underwent a self-study, which was part of its Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation.
Kristin Ferderber, assistant principal of the school, said they go through the self-study process for accreditation every six years, which includes about 50 prompts, and they develop an action plan that gives them a framework for improvements that could be made at the school.
The accreditation process was also set to include a visiting committee in April, however, due to COVID-19, they don’t have a set time for the committee to visit.
“We had many things emerge in discussions with staff,” Ferderber said.
Some of the mains items included in the school’s action plan, according to Ferderber, included:
– Engagement of students and families: They want to look at their entire enrollment process and provide support for families.
They also want to help their students learn how to be independent study students.
Ferderber said there are a number of reasons students attend the charter school, such as they haven’t thrived in a traditional school setting, so the school wants to gauge how much support students need.
The school is also planning to add more flexibility, where if a student needs more inclassroom time, they can sign up for more classes on campus or they can continue utilizing limited class time.
– Essential skills and social emotional learning: Ferderber said helping to develop things like students’ study and self-management habits can also lead to having a positive effect on their self esteem.
The school has also implemented some positive behavior and intervention support along with academic intervention support.
She said they’re also developing tools where families can identify what skills they think their students need to focus on along with a self assessment for students.
– Community college and career connections: She said they currently have a career and technical education program that includes things like an auto facility, vet tech and welding programs. She said through the different pathways, there are different opportunities for students to make connections in the community that can translate into real-world opportunities. In the future, Ferderber said they’re planning to add to that. The school is also working to connect more with the Yuba County One Stop, which has helped teach students career skills, like applying for a job and how to interview.
Ferderber said the school also outlined the outcomes they want to see for the members of the learning community – which is all stakeholders, including students, teachers and parents – during the self-study process, such as “perceive themselves as supported and self-directed, engaged, lifelong learners who believe the essential skills they gain and the resources available will help them achieve on their chosen pathway of success.”
They also identified school-wide expectations through G.R.O.W.L. – grow, respect, own, work and love.
She said with COVID-19, during the next school year they’re going to have to take safety precautions and with the flexibility model they’re working on, there isn’t planned to be an “overwhelming number of people on campus at one time.”
When school campuses were closing in March, Ferderber said not all changes had been implemented so they worked to continue having individualized learning plans for the students.
“Our teachers were amazing at getting on Google Hangouts and reaching out to the students,” Ferderber said.