Nos es grato comunicarles que nuestro colegio ha obtenido la acreditación por un nuevo período de siete años.

Los esfuerzos que cada miembro de la familia SLS ha dedicado desde el año 2000, han resultado en el desarrollo y progreso continuos de nuestra institución los cuales hoy son recompensados por las autoridades competentes.

Este reconocimiento nos confirma en la tarea de continuar nuestro camino para impartir la mejor educación para nuestros niños y nos anima a perseverar con devoción en la obtención de todos nuestros nuevos objetivos y en el afán de reafirmar a SLS como una institución de excelencia en la docencia, compromiso en los valores cristianos, y veracidad en el cumplimiento de nuestra misión.

(You will have access to the full Oral Report read and written by Mrs. Dena Brent if you choose read more)

SHORELESS LAKE SCHOOL ORAL REPORT

Good afternoon headmaster, teachers and volunteers. I will present to you a few of the observations and thoughts of the Middle States Association Validation Team to Shoreless Lake School. First, we express appreciation to you for the warm and generous hospitality you have provided to us individually and as a team. We have been impressed with your openness, honesty and willingness to improve as educators. We will leave Shoreless Lake at the end of this report, feeling that we have had a full and rich experience of your school.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) is God’s word to us through the ages. It is because the Validation Team believes in the value of planning that we begin our comments by commending the school for choosing the Accreditation for Growth protocol again. The leadership for this decision came from multiple sources, but ultimately originated from Father Alfonso who had the faith in the process to make this a reality for SLS. You have single mindedly focused on the ideals set before you for your students.

By choosing AFG, you have made several commitments.

1.) You committed to focusing on the end result—improved student performance-- as the primary priority for your efforts.

2.) You committed to operating from a vision of where it wants and needs to go with the mission and beliefs serving as a unifying force for change.

3.) You have included other stakeholders in developing the means to get closer to that vision.

4.) You have committed to a process where your progress will be continuously reviewed.

5.) You have agreed to participate in a peer review and external validation process by accepting to outside visitors.

The oral report is a glimpse of what the longer written report will say about the school’s planning processes and the content of the plan. We would like to provide you with a brief summary of some of the major points we will likely make in the written report that will follow in a few weeks.

 Planning Process

First, let me begin by speaking about your planning processes. The planning process has been a healthy and productive process. All staff with whom we spoke found the planning process to be informative and helpful.

Your current Planning Team is comprised of staff and administration. In an effort to engender commitment and encourage involvement by all who have a stake in the school, the Accreditation for Growth protocol asks the school to involve the broadest possible group of stakeholders in the Planning Team. We encourage you to consider broadening your Planning Team to include students, volunteers, and parents of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The Validation Team also believes that the Planning Team process needs to be formalized and institutionalized. At present, the future of your Planning Team seems somewhat unclear. The development of a job description, specified terms of office, and an identified composition for the team would go a long way to making clear the current and future role this team plays. For effective planning to take place, there needs to be a group of stakeholders who monitor and evaluate the success of the plans on a continuing basis, a group who oversees the plan and is the “keeper of the flame.”

Of critical importance to the formalization of the Planning Team’s role in the school improvement process is their involvement in the annual review and evaluation of the plan. Currently SLS does not have a formalized and documented way of handling this very important part of the planning process. We urge you to ensure that written processes are in place to keep the plan alive and dynamic.

One final area that we encourage the school to consider is a process for inducting new staff members into the tradition and ethic of your planning efforts to help them see what it means to the future of the school. The planning process needs to be a way of operating, a way of life, and attitude.

Content of the Plan

Now, let’s move on to the Content of the Plan. Under the content of the plan, the Validation Team will be making extensive comments in the written report on the mission, beliefs, objectives, and action plans. We will make just a few comments today.

A mission statement should describe in broad and visionary terms what the school is and is striving to become. It should be outcome-based, providing clarity on the school’s audience (whom it serves), its action (what it does), its aim (the purpose for which it exists) and its function (how, in broad terms, it will do it). Your mission statement addresses whom is served, what is provided and the expected outcome and purpose for which the school exists. As noted in the original accreditation, the mission statement does not address the broad terms of how this education will be delivered to the students.

The Validation Team’s analysis of the mission statement suggests that SLS clearly uses the mission statement as the guiding light of the school. The Validation Team has heard staff members, students and administrators refer to the development of “an intellectual and scientific formation of the highest caliber” in your students. The rigor of your curriculum requirements underscores this vision. SLS understands informally how this mission will be accomplished but it is not formally included in the mission statement. This might be a topic for an upcoming faculty meeting.

Belief Statements

Belief statements perform a critical foundational role in a strong strategic plan. They are the formal expression of a school’s fundamental values and serve as its ethical code. Beliefs describe the moral character of a school.

Because belief statements are a matter of faith, not a matter of fact, they express the school’s overriding convictions, its commitments. They outline what members of the school community are willing to defend. Because beliefs identify the “line in the sand”, they can be used as a lens through which to examine the worthiness of the school’s potential decisions or future actions.

What the school has written as belief statements adequately fulfills the Middle States requirement to include a set of values as a part of the plan. It has been through your analysis of student results that a new belief statement has been added

“It is our responsibility to provide our students with an academic and spiritual environment conducive to learning that will guarantee our students will fit the Profile of Graduates.”

Previous Objectives

The Accreditation for Growth protocol requires schools to have 2-4 measurable student performance objectives. SLS developed three objectives in 2000 and these objectives have been the driving force for the school for the last seven years.

The first objective underscored the importance of the mission statement in developing “an intellectual and scientific formation of the highest caliber.” In focusing on external assessments you have applied great rigor to your academic standards. Although you have few students, SLS has obtained the highest results from these students. Further the level of English for both students and staff members have vastly improved. SLS is commended for their growth in the area of English and ESL instruction.

The second objective related to the development of the spiritual life of the students. As discussed in the appraisal of this objective, you noticed that the targets you set were difficult to reach. You were able to meet only two of your five indicators of spiritual growth. This is why you are continuing with this objective for the next re-accreditation period. However, it is obvious to the Validation Team that it is in the lives of your graduates that you can most clearly see the impact of this objective.

The third objective concerned the technological competence of your graduates. It is obvious that great improvements have been achieved in the availability and use of technology by your staff and students. However, since you abandoned the rubric for knowledge and skills in computer science, only one measure remained. This measurement was the mastery grade of “B” or better in two computer science courses for all graduates. Out of twelve students who took two computer science courses, only seven received a grade of “B” or better. This data does not meet the standards you set for this objective.

New Objectives

The motto of “always beyond” is again evident in your first NEW objective as academic rigor is expected not only in the high school but now also in the elementary school. This objective will enable students to be ready for the high school program. The new objective measurements for high school with ensure that students will graduate from SLS with the “deepest and most comprehensive education”

The second new objective focuses on laboratory skills. Since this is a new objective, the school will need to pay particular attention to the development of the skills and knowledge rubrics and to how it measures student success on the defined tasks. These skills should be carefully aligned with the revised science standards which will be written.

The Spiritual Growth objective is the fundamental aspect of the school’s Mission Statement. School personnel believe that spiritual strength “helps students try their best to perform in academics. The self-discipline and work some of the students demonstrate in their studies has to come from a higher source” Although indicators of spiritual growth are difficult to measure the Validation Team encourages SLS to formalize and systematize the collection of numerical data for this objective in addition to including narrative verification.

Action Plans

Action plans are the bridges to the future. Implementation of the action plans is the point in the process where idealism and creativity meet the realities of time constraints, the budget and the natural and frustrating resistance that accompanies innovation and change. SLS has outlined the initial steps to reach your new objectives. These beginning plans need to be expanded in scope and detail. SLS can creatively generate and officially document the action plans. Understand that plans change. As you find that certain action steps do not work, think together to find new and different ways to reach your objectives.

Standards

It is the Validation Team’s opinion that the school presently meets all 12 of the Committee on Institution-wide Accreditation standards.

Your philosophy and beliefs are the driving force for all daily operational and instructional decisions that are made by administration and the faculty and as well as a basis for your planning. The Validation Team commends SLS for making the philosophy living and breathing in your students’ lives. “I’m happy here,” commented several students and a parent said, “My son has been so happy here” .

The love and sense of family one feels upon entering Shoreless Lake School is quite apparent. Students truly believe there is “respect amongst students and teachers.” There is also evidence of trust between teachers and students. “The priests are very caring and we feel their love. They never give up on us.” “If we’re upset, we talk to a priest. You can trust any one (teacher) of them.” Very few schools can claim this special relationship.

Consider a small chair for a child. If you have only two legs on the chair, then the chair does not balance well. If there are three legs, it has more balance. However, if you have four legs on the chair, you can sit comfortably without loosing your balance. Shoreless Lake has four legs – staff, administration, students and volunteers. Each contributes a vital part to the vision and mission of SLS. The Validation Team commends SLS for the way you have made your enthusiastic volunteers part of the SLS family.

The school facility contributes to the positive school climate. SLS is a pleasurable and peaceful place. This impacts student learning and encourages focus on personal and academic growth.

A strong staff development program will be the vehicle that propels SLS to “beyond” With an increased focus on varied instructional strategies and classroom techniques, with increased contact with other international school and associations, with continued access to educational media resources, SLS will come even closer to your vision and dream.

As a Validation Team we are asked to make an accreditation recommendation to the Committee on Institution-wide Accreditation at the conclusion of our visit. Our five person team has unanimously concluded that

1.) The school has clearly defined appropriate objectives.

2.) The school has established conditions under which they can be achieved.

3.) The school is working toward achieving the objectives now.

4.) The school should be able to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

We will be pleased to recommend continued accreditation for Shoreless Lake School.

This Validation Team is uniquely yours. We came together for one time and we will probably never work together again as a Validation Team again. It has been my joy to work with four extremely able educators, Rebecca, Margaret, Dan and Dina. I have appreciated their commitment to the AFG protocol and the professionalism they have brought to the team.

It is tradition that the team leaves immediately following the oral report. We do not entertain questions at this time, but ask you to wait until the more fully considered written report is available for your review. This will be after the Committee meets.

Kenya is known for its runners. So as a Kenyan at heart I would give you a little coaching advice. You have started well. Remember that you are not running the 100 m race but you are in the marathon. Keep your eyes on the goal, even though it is several years away.

PACE YOURSELF. With expanded and detailed action plans you can build a good tempo towards the accomplishment of your objectives.

FINISH THE RACE STRONGLY- carry Shoreless Lake School into your vision of the school’s future.

But the best advice comes to us from God’s word, “And so let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us”(Hebrews 12:1-2)

Thank you for this opportunity to serve you, your students and your community.