Happy February, Academy of Whole Learning Community
On January 27, we hosted our second virtual Annual Parent Meeting and had over 50 attendees. At the meeting, our team talked about teaching and leading during a pandemic, staffing updates, our COVID Response Plan, and our status in the accreditation process.
Teaching and leading during a pandemic: Teaching and leading during a pandemic is not easy. Last year, students had to maneuver from in-class to online learning. Thankfully, we have not had to move to virtual learning at all this school year. We understand that virtual learning takes its toll on students, staff, and families. Due to the high transmission rates, we have to prepare to move online if we need to. Teachers were given a full day to plan cohesive, engaging lessons in case we need to move to online learning.
Staffing Updates: Staffing changes hit us hard in the fall and through the winter. We are thankful that everyone - teachers who worked during their preps, the Behavior Department and the Leadership Team - stepped in to cover for staffing shortages. We are almost fully staffed and expect to fill the final open position, a Behavior Therapist in our Middle School, as early as this week.
COVID Response Plan: A shout out to our COVID Coordinator/Board of Trustees Member/AOWL Parent, Allison Barosko, for leading our COVID Response Plan. Our COVID Coordinator is in charge of the careful monitoring and tracking of symptoms and exposures and timely contact tracing, offering frequent testing, and ensuring our adherence to strict Center for Disease Control and Prevention protocols. We can proudly share that there has been no spread for a second year in a row!
Accreditation: We are currently accredited through Minnesota Non Public School Accreditation Association (MNSAA). The goal of MNSAA is to “Be a catalyst for enhancing the quality of PreK to Grade 12 non public education in Minnesota through a comprehensive accreditation process.” We seek (re)accreditation for a number of reasons, including establishing high standards of quality and excellence for the learning process. As part of the process, we complete an extensive self-evaluation and visionary strategic plan for improvement which helps us be accountable to ourselves and develop partnerships with public and private organizations. It is our commitment to excellence.
We are currently in year 6 of 7 in our accreditation process. The benefits of being an accredited school include: providing a framework for the best possible educational program; having recognized credibility of the quality of a school program; providing long-range strategic planning that focuses on student achievement and ongoing school improvement; making a public statement that the school is willing to be measured against rigorous standards and to engage in long-range strategic planning; and highlight many excellent accomplishments of the school and students.
We are thankful for your continued support as we navigate a second year of the pandemic, and are grateful our families entrust their students to our care. We are looking forward to connecting with our families at the upcoming spring conferences.
Sincerely,
Dr. Grande
