In late 2008, WAB underwent an accreditation evaluation visit from a team representing the four educational organizations that accredit our school- CIS (Council of International Schools), IB (International Baccalaureate Organization), NCCT (National Centre for School Curriculum and Textbook Development – China) and NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges).
The purpose of the visit was to review all aspects of the School’s operations – policy, philosophy, personnel, curriculum, facilities, governance and management, student services, student support services and the relationship of the School to the host country, China.
The team used as its starting point, our self-study, completed over the preceding 12 months, which involved the school and stakeholder groups in rating ourselves against a set of standards for accreditation and identifying what we do well and where we can develop to become even stronger as a school. The role of the Visiting Team was to verify the outcomes of our self-study, to recognize our strengths as a school and give some guidance as to where and how to improve.
At the completion of the 3-day intensive visit, the team prepared a report, which was submitted to the accreditation authority Boards, for review and a decision as to whether to re-accredit our School. WAB was reaccredited by all of the bodies, which is a significant achievement.
What follows below is a summary of the commendations of the Visiting Team, and the recommendations for WAB’s development.
Commendations:
• The School for developing a Statement of Philosophy and Objectives which demonstrates a strong commitment to the development of the whole child and respect and understanding for the host country.
• The School's commitment to the principles defined in the IB mission statement.
• The School for providing opportunities for learning about issues that have local, national and global significance, leading to an understanding of human commonalities as evidenced by active student involvement in authentic and relevant learning experiences.
• The Board for realigning its structure to provide the school with sound direction, continuity and effective support.
• The School for implementing a new financial management system, with appropriate expertise, that enhances and clarifies financial operations.
• The Board and the Director for their strategies to recruit, develop and retain a high quality faculty and support staff.
• The School, in collaboration with the ESOL Centre and its staff, for providing comprehensive language support to those students who have limited English language acquisition.
• The School for providing a campus infrastructure and support mechanisms that significantly support student learning.
• The School and Staff for offering an extensive array of sports, arts, community service and after school activities, with a commitment to continued programme evolution based on the input and interests of the students.
• The School for developing a comprehensive programme enabling the students to explore Chinese Society in and beyond the city.
Recommendations:
Part of the role of the Visiting Team is to identify for our school directions for future developments. The following is an outline of the key recommendations for WAB for the next 5 years and the steps which have been taken to date to move the School forward:
- Continue the development of the non-IB courses in the High School, with a focus on documentation of the curriculum. This is well underway and is happening through collaboration between the High School Administration team and teachers of the courses. Our IBDP Coordinator’s position has changed to, ‘Curriculum Coordinator, Grades 11 and 12’, bringing all courses under the aegis of one coordinator for the upper grades. This ensures improved understanding and advocacy for high school courses.
- The Strategic Plan for the School to be collaboratively revisited, to bring it into closer alignment with the mission of the School. The mission statement itself is currently under review, with stakeholder input being sought, following which the Strategic Plan will be reviewed. Four key dimensions for the next plan have been identified, with members of the Senior Educational Leadership Team and the Business Management Team leading the development process.
- The Professional Development policy of the School be reviewed. This has been completed for teaching staff and is in the final stages of review prior to presentation. Professional Development policies for non-teaching staff will be reviewed.
- The School proceed with the development of its written curriculum across the three IB programmes to continue to improve alignment and coherence. Atlas Rubicon, a curriculum mapping tool, is being introduced across all three school sections in the timeframe 2010-2012. This will enable WAB to comprehensively document the curriculum in a database that is searchable and can be interrogated, which will improve curriculum coherence.
- The Board further develop its communication with the school community and conduct a review of its Constitution, with a view to moving towards a Policy Manual format for existing Board policies.
- The remuneration levels for non-teaching staff be reviewed to ensure that WAB offers an employment environment which is both competitive with similar organizations, and fair. An international consultancy group, the Hay Group, has completed an audit of these levels and has passed back recommendations, which have been shared with non-teaching staff, with changes to be implemented over the next two years. In addition, Performance Management Procedures for non-teaching staff are under review/development.
- The Administration review Professional Staff Contracts to ensure consistency and equity across the School.
- The supply of electricity to users within the School to be evaluated and upgraded. The Properties and Facilities Departments of the School have undertaken significant work in this area, to upgrade and improve how electricity is accessed within the School.
- The School review evacuation procedures and their implementation. The Middle/High School evacuation procedure has been reviewed and modified to reflect the opening of the bridge across Wild Duck Lake and changed access to the High School campus. Crossing via the bridge and using the road, depending on best and quickest egress, has made the evacuation process much quicker and more efficient.
- The Chinese Language Program be reviewed and evaluated, by the Senior Educational Leadership Team and the Chinese Studies Department, with the goal of further strengthening this essential part of our programme. This will happen as part of the regular curriculum review cycle, beginning next academic year.