THREE YEAR VISITING COMMITTEE REPORT

WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
FOR

#451, Wolseong-ri, Sanam-myeon
Sacheon, Gyeongnam,
Korea 664-942
March 6th – 9th 2011
Visiting Committee Members
Mr Jeff Auty, Chairperson
Accreditation and Community Service Coordinator, International Christian School, Hong Kong
Ms Alana Steward
Teaching and Learning Facilitator, Tohoku International School
WASC FOCUS ON LEARNING OVERSEAS VISITING COMMITTEE REPORT
Chapter I: Student/Community Profile
Gyeongnam International Foreign School (GIFS) was established in as a privately owned International School offering an American Curriculum for students of all nationalities. The school opened on January 15, 2004 with an initial school population of 16 students and 5 teachers. It is the sister school of Busan Foreign School and is owned by Mr. James Haddon. The school was purpose-built to meet the educational needs of families working in the growing industrial sector. Initially Lockheed-Martin, Boeing and numerous shipbuilding companies were serviced by GIFS. This has now grown to include British-American Tobacco, Eurocopter, Elbit, Seadrill and Det Norske Veritas among others.  The school currently has a small boarding unit for 7.

It is located on the outskirts of Sacheon, a small city (Population approx. 115,000) in the Gyeongnam Province of the Republic of Korea about 55 miles from Busan. It is traditionally an agricultural area and marine and agricultural products are the mainstay of the local economy.  Hi-tech industries play an increasingly significant role. The school is located in a newly designated Special Economic Zone that is tasked with attracting foreign companies to the area. In recent years, aviation and machinery businesses have developed facilities in the estate. The foreigner-exclusive industrial park attracts a growing number of the foreign entrepreneurs.

Vision and Core Values
GIFS seeks to be a welcoming environment where students receive a quality education that prepares them for academic success.  It is truly international and is a place where currently students from 18 different cultural and national backgrounds gather and learn together.  In the classrooms of GIFS there is ample evidence of their vision statement:  Celebrating Diversity – Encouraging Citizenship – Fostering Growth.

Also within the classrooms we see evidence of the core values of Respect, Integrity, Trust, Collaboration and Caring.  Students are highly articulate and willing to express opinions and support them with evidence when talking to the WASC Team about what they see as core issues in building a better school.

Some of these core values, however, seem to have broken down at the level of staff to administration and management levels and also between the parents and the school.

A lack of trust was expressed from parents and students about the senior administration of the school and the integrity of decision making processes.   All stakeholders expressed a desire for school improvement, however, the lack of trust appears to be an obstacle to growth.

In the area of collaboration, the lack of a clearly articulated school-wide curriculum coupled with high teacher turnover have resulted in little progress in curriculum development.  Since the last WASC Visit, teachers have tended to come with their own suitcase full of resources – many of which are excellent – and teach those, rather focusing on completing the curriculum documentation process.

In the area of Integrity, staff and some parents expressed concern.  Despite the school having excellent facilities and numerous resources, poor communications and lack of clearly articulated policies and procedures have resulted in a perception that the school is more interested in profit than good education.






Enrollment

As of March 3, 2011, GIFS student enrollment (by division) consisted of the following:
Pre-kindergarten	8
Elementary School (Pre-K-Grade 4)	38
Middle School (Grades 5-8)	22
High School (Grades 9-12) 	20
Total enrollment 	88

Qualification for initial and continued enrollment is based on national law that governs international schools.  Students must possess sole foreign citizenship.  Korean students must possess a foreign passport as well, or must have lived abroad for at least three.  A small percentage of Korean students who do not meet these criteria are allowed to enter the school, but that percentage is controlled by national laws.  It is not apparent to the Visiting Committee that the school has reached the quota of Korean students.

Students at GIFS come from approximately 18 countries.  Student enrollment has only grown by 10 students in the three years since the last accreditation report.  In fact it has suffered a 27% loss in student numbers in the last year and current indications from parents and their companies is that the numbers could drop even more next year.  This is a critical issue if the school is to sustain itself and maximum efforts need to be put into identifying and addressing parental concerns so that they and their companies continue to support the school.

Faculty

GIFS faculty consists of the administration (2.3), teaching faculty (16) and support staff (12) for a total of 30.3 staff.

Teachers are from the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Ireland and South Korea.  Of the teaching and administrative faculty, 10 have bachelor’s degrees, 6 have a master’s degree, and 1 has a doctorate degree, and the pre-kindergarten teacher has an associate’s degree in early childhood.  Of the teaching faculty most are currently teaching in an area in which they have been certified or trained.  On average, faculty members remain for a short time with foreign staff turning over almost completely every two years.


Administration

The administration at GIFS is comprised of an Executive Director (Mr. John Ha), a Superintendent (Dr. Kelley Ridings), who oversees the academic issues of both GIFS and Busan Foreign School, and an onsite Principal (Mr. David Schult).

Governance

The school is a proprietary school with governance by the owners, their family members, and a school board.  There are not clear policies or delineation of roles and responsibilities in the decision making process.  The school does not have an organizational chart, or clearly understood statements of roles and responsibilities in terms of school governance.

Extra-Curricular Activities
While there is no formal extra-curricular program, staff offer various activities after school.  A late bus is organized for students and staff participating in these events.

ESL Students
There are a large number of ESL students at GIFS who receive additional support.

Learning Support For Students
There is currently a school counselor who also does college counseling, as well as part time special needs assistant.  While the school plans to hire a Special Needs teacher next year, there is no plan to replace the counselor who is leaving at the end of the current school year.


Post-Graduate Plans

In general GIFS has very small graduating classes.  Graduates generally go onto to College in Europe which has led the school to consider the possibility of offering an IB program rather than the current AP.

Parent and Student Perceptions
The school has not completed a recent parent perception survey but does plan to develop a student needs survey to provide better feedback of student perceptions of the academic and social environment.  The team met with students, parents and faculty and a number of key issues were repeatedly raised.  There appeared to have been widespread concern over the renegotiation of the Principal’s contract to one year after just a few months of employment.  This will be the third principal since the last Accreditation Visit three years ago.  As one student put it –‘ I have been in the school four years and have had four different principals – if I was staying for another year that would be a fifth’.  Before the renegotiation of the Principal’s contract most staff had indicated their intent to stay.  However, despite a significantly improved salary and benefit package a large percentage of foreign hire staff have decided not to stay, some at this stage choosing unemployment rather than continuing their time in the school.

Parents expressed concern over lack of accountability, poor communication, lack of evidence of progress toward a completed curriculum, and quality assurance.  They were very concerned with the high turnover of teachers and administration resulting in uncertainty of the future quality of schooling for their children.  They expressed a belief that the school has potential for greatness, but at present is settling for mediocrity in regards to curriculum and instruction.

Facilities
The GIFS school complex consists of three main structures.  The school itself has 18 classrooms currently used, 2 computer labs, and a library. The second building has a large cafeteria and also student dorms and staff apartments.  The third building, which is the latest addition to the complex, is a brand new gymnasium.  The gymnasium building, Haddon Hall, which will have its grand opening on April 8, 2011, has a full scale gym, a climbing wall, boys and girls locker rooms, a fully equipped weight room, and a PTA meeting room/office.  Haddon Hall also has a large multipurpose auditorium in the basement, which can be used for school events, dances, and showing movies.  Plans are being created to allow school community access to Haddon Hall facilities for after school activities and events.

GIFS has both day and boarding students as some of their students’ families live some distance from the school (Geoje -100km, Busan - 133km, Pohang - 213km, Seoul - 311 km). Currently 7 students are taking advantage of the boarding facilities.  The boarding unit is largely unsupervised at weekends with students having to make their own meal arrangements and largely being left without direct supervision.

Most students use the school-provided buses for transportation to and from school. Buses service Sacheon, Jinju, Samcheon-po and Geoje. In the rare cases that the bus does not service a nearby area, families organize their own transport as do some of the boarding students.

Financial Data
The visiting team was eventually supplied with a budget and some explanation was given. It would be helpful for future visits to be supplied with translated, properly audited accounts.  The principal was given a budget at the beginning of the year but a breakdown in communication resulted in uncertainty about what could and could not be purchased.
.

Standardized Test Scores
GIFS has Iowa Test of Basic Skills  (ITBS) results from the last five years.  However, given the small size of the student population and the international nature of the students it has been recognized by the school that this is not necessarily a useful form of longitudinal data and they are looking at other sources. While the data from the previous 5 years of ITBS score results have been disaggregated, the application of this data to inform student learning has not taken place.

The school administers both AP and SAT tests.  However, sufficient data regarding these two assessments was not provided to the visiting team.  The AP results from 2010 were very poor.


ESLO
GIFS has adopted The Habits of the Mind Intelligences as their Expected Schoolwide Learning Outcomes.  A report card outlining each of the intelligences has been created and implemented in the current school year.  There appeared to be mixed reactions from staff, students and parents to the introduction of these 16 ESLO.  They have been recently posted in every classroom, are read weekly through the public address system and promoted in the Principals newsletter.  The change from the previous ESLRs to the current ESLO was made by the previous principal with very little apparent stakeholder input.

Renweb
The school continues to use Renweb for lesson plans, communication to parents and reporting.  Each teacher is required to report grades and produce weekly lesson plan outlines on Renweb on a regular basis so that parents and students can access this information.   However, feedback from Parents was that they find it not user friendly and many staff do not use it extensively.

Support for Personal and Academic Growth.
There are plans to look at student assessment results and also to survey students to be able to develop or modify student services.   A big brother/big sister program has been developed to encourage positive team work and encourage connection between students across the age groups.  There are also various student recognition programs.

This year the school created a position for School Counselor.  However this teacher is leaving and no plans to replace the position have been communicated.
     
Chapter II: Progress Report –
Significant changes since the last self study
A superintendent has been appointed to oversee both GIFS and its sister school in Busan (BFS).  This has positive implications for the long term growth and stability of the school.
Facilities have been dramatically improved with the addition of the new building that contains a full size gym, a separate multi-purpose auditorium and various other rooms.  These facilities will not only benefit the school, but the community at large.
There has been a significant turn-over in staff and administration since the last report and the current staff is largely new to the accreditation process.  As a result some of the things normally put into place in the self-study school improvement process have not occurred.  In terms of actual numbers the school now has its third principal since the previous WASC visit and the current principal has had his contract renegotiated so he will not be returning next year.  This has directly affected staff morale and parent confidence.
The ESLO statements of the school have been totally rewritten and new ones based upon The Habits of Mind Intelligences have been adopted. A new reporting system based upon the new ESLO has been implemented and these reports are sent out four times a year in the middle of the term.   There does not appear to be wide-spread commitment to these new ESLOs from all stakeholders.
The school has only recently started to seriously address the need for a clearly written, well-articulated curriculum.  Prior to a few months ago there does not seemed to have been any real progress on the curriculum.  This is a significant cause of concern amongst parents because when combined with over 90% teacher turn over there is no guarantee of continuity of programs from year to year.
GIFS has modified its staff benefit package and created a significantly improved Base Salary Scale.  At present, this has not affected staff decisions to stay, but the hope is it will positively affect the future longevity of staff.

     
Chapter III: Self-Study

Description of the Follow-Up Process

Despite the changes in leadership and staff, GIFS has produced an annual report each year and reported progress on the five main areas recommended from the previous report.  The mid-term progress report was coordinated by the new superintendent Kelley Ridings with the support of the ‘WASC Leadership Team’ consisting of the Principal and four members of the teaching staff. They met twice a week since January and reviewed the school’s goals.  There are plans to identify areas for focus groups but these groups have not been formed.

Follow up Process and Progress Made

General Comments

GIFS is a school that caters to International students whose families are usually only in Korea for a limited period of time, so it is difficult to grow a school and to gather longitudinal data on student learning and progress.   Also there has been a high turnover in staff and administration.  This has resulted in little consistency in development of programs and school improvement efforts.

Recommendation 1: Curriculum Mapping – Using Rubicon Atlas or some other Mapping system to articulate the curriculum

Findings
In 2008 the school decided not to purchase the Rubicon Curriculum Mapping System, and no real efforts were made for the next two years in developing a curriculum.  Staff is currently working on the development of curriculum using a variety of international and state curriculum standards and benchmarks as a guide. As there is no server on site, so google docs is being used to house collaborative documents.

Areas of Strength in Response to Recommendation 1

1. The school has recently committed time and effort toward developing a set of GIFS standards and benchmarks.

Areas for Follow-up in Response to Recommendation 1

1. Produce a basic outline of current courses and units taught to inform parents and ensure some level of continuity in the teaching program with the new staff coming in.
2. Continue to provide opportunities and support to staff as they articulate the standards and benchmarks with the goal of producing a curriculum which is relevant to the GIFS student body.
3. Complete curriculum documentation to ensure vertical alignment across all grade levels and guarantee consistency in the program despite high turnover in staff and students.
4. Begin to develop and support staff in understanding current practices, such as the Backward Design Model of unit planning, with the goal to produce meaningful units through which to deliver the standards and benchmarks.

Rationale for Follow-Up
Curriculum is an ongoing cycle.  In articulating and documenting sound standards and benchmarks, vertically aligned scope and sequence documents as well as related unit plans, students reap the benefits of a well-rounded program which is not hindered by teacher turnover.  Progression of skills is an important factor to ensure consistent and meaningful growth in student learning.  In order for the school to begin to tackle larger issues, including assessment, a clearly articulated curriculum is necessary.
Recommendation 2: Assessment Implementation

Findings
The school uses the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.  The small numbers of students taking the test and the cultural disconnection of predominately International students taking a very regionally based North American test has been recognized by the school and they are seeking a more appropriate assessment tool.

Areas of Strength in Response to Recommendation 2
1. GIFS has consistently carried out the ITBS for over six years.  This has been disaggregated and they are currently analyzing this data.  .

Areas for Follow-up in Response to Recommendation 2
1. The school needs to explore ways in which in-house assessment data can be gathered and used to properly inform student learning e.g., portfolios, formative assessment, corner- stone or bench-mark assessments.
2. The school should continue to explore and research appropriate external assessment tools, which reflect the GIFS teaching and learning program, in order to externally validate student learning and globally inform programs.
3. Greater use of the data already gathered from standardized and other testing to improve programing and student learning.

Rationale for Follow-Up
Assessment should provide tangible evidence and have potential to celebrate student learning.  It needs to take place in a variety of forms and should reflect and inform teaching and learning.  Clear, consistent and regular communication of both formative and summative assessment is an important part of the assessment process.



Recommendation 3: Development of Policy and Budget Documentation

Findings
The major area that has been completed so far is the production of the school handbook as well as a staff handbook. Further policies and procedures are being developed using a Google Doc’s format.  Written procedures are being developed as needed.

The Visiting Team was not able to obtain evidence of documented policies and procedures at the Board and Governance level.  Clear budgeting procedures in terms of decision making have also not been clearly articulated.

Areas of Strength in Response to Recommendation 3
1. The development of a staff handbook and procedures to cover the various activities of the school.
2. The development of a school handbook for parents and students that incorporates school policies, procedures and other information.

.
Areas for Follow-up in Response to Recommendation 3
1. The development of a policy manual and procedures for the governance of GIFS.
2. Clear budgeting procedures and lines of authority in the spending of the budget need to be produced and shared.
3. The preparation of audited accounts at least every three years so they are available for WASC Visiting Teams.

Rationale for Follow-Up
To ensure student learning the administrative team of the school needs to know the parameters and guidelines within which they can operate and also have a consistent operating budget so that the school can build up its resource base. Clear lines of communication and decision making protocols will reduce the potential number of misunderstandings, and will better enable decision making to be based upon student learning.


Recommendation 4: Resource Development

Findings
A significant portion of the school’s resources have been put into the new building which will be a real asset to the school in the future.   Other improvements in resource development have taken the form of seeking local organizations that could support the program either financially or through offering access for out of the classroom learning.  In 2008 the plan was revised and two targets were identified.  Target one resulted in a list of local events that classes could attend.  Target 2 has resulted in teachers preparing a list of resources needed including such things as science supplies, novels, computer programs, manipulatives and PE Supplies.  As a result in 2010 an ordering schedule has been developed on a three year cycle.

Areas of Strength in Response to Recommendation 4
1. The new building.
2. The identification of local businesses and events where learning outside of the classroom can take place.

Areas for Follow-up in Response to Recommendation 4
1. Procedures need to be put in place to ensure teachers have the resources they need in a timely manner.
2. A clear inventory of current resources should be developed.


Rationale for Follow-Up
Within a school it is important that adequate resources are available for teaching and learning to take place.



Recommendation 5: Staff Recruitment and Retention

Findings
Staff recruitment and retention at GIFS continues to be a major issue with almost complete turnover of foreign staff every two years.  This is an area of concern to administration and efforts have been made to carefully monitor reasons for leaving and to act accordingly with improved staff benefits.  There is now also a jointly developed Teacher Evaluation system and this may lead to greater communication and appropriate professional development of staff.  At the beginning of 2010, in a survey, the majority of staff expressed dissatisfaction with the compensation package.  In response, a much stronger salary and benefits package was introduced.

Areas of Strength in Response to Recommendation 5
1. The school is keenly aware of this issue and is making very real efforts to increase teacher retention and to find out the reasons teachers leave.
2. A Base Compensation scale has been developed and significantly improved in the hope of improving staff retention.

Areas for Follow-up in Response to Recommendation 5
1. The school needs to foster a positive climate and professional learning environment for the staff.
2. Continue to gain a better understanding of the reasons for staff dissatisfaction and take appropriate action to alleviate and improve the situation.

Rationale for Follow-Up
For the long term good of the school there needs to be a core group of staff who remain loyal to the school and remain for an extended period of time.  Financial compensation is only one factor in staff retention and while it may be a big factor in attracting new staff often location, opportunities for professional growth and collegiality pay a much bigger role in staff retention.  Proper orientation and pastoral care can be major factors in improving the longevity of staff. The Board and Administration needs to consider all factors if they are to build a strong viable unit of experienced master teachers.

     
Chapter IV: Ongoing School Improvement
A brief summary of the schoolwide action plan
The school wide action plans are attached as an appendix to this document.  It addresses the following areas
1. A Long Range Plan to be Developed
2. Exploration of the International Baccalaueate (IB) Program
3. Articulation of the Curriculum
4. Policy Development
5. Staff Retention
6. Marketing Plan to increase student numbers
7. Professional Development Plan
8. Teacher Evaluation
9. A new Standardized Testing system
10. Improve students school connectedness
11. Develop a systems wide approach for the two sister school GIFS and BIS
12. Improve parent communication


     
Critical Areas for Follow up that require immediate attention
Health and Safety.  There are a number of health and safety issues that were brought to the attention of the visiting team that require immediate attention to ensure a safe learning environment.  These included storage of caustic and hazardous chemicals in the bathrooms for cleaning and in the science lab; regular practicing of evacuation and other emergency drills; the supervision of very young children in the bathrooms when the teacher cannot leave the class; closing of the gates and the movement of construction equipment through the site campus when young children are playing; proper barriers in place to construction work areas such as the area where the bricks are slumping, above the drains, outside the new gym.
Transition and exit procedures for staff and administration need to developed to ensure curricular information and student data is passed on.
Full job descriptions and decision making matrices need to be developed to ensure clarity and avoid communication breakdowns between administration and the executive director.
Clear communication of key decisions along with other efforts including perception management to create a positive climate and reestablish trust between the administration, and the parents and staff.

Existing factors that support school improvement
New administrative structure which includes the role of Superintendent
Commitment by all stakeholders to build a better school
     


Impediments to school improvement that the school will need to overcome in order to accomplish any of the action plan sections
Atmosphere of distrust
High turnover of administration and staff
Poor communication
Lack of clearly articulated curriculum
Lack of school wide goals related to student learning
Lack of documentation of policies and procedures

     
Soundness of follow-up process to monitor accomplishment of schoolwide action plan
At present the Visiting Committee does not feel confident that follow up will occur if the school is left unaccountable for more than one year.
     
Major Commendations
The improvement to the staff salary and benefits package.
The completion of the new gymnasium and auditorium.
Changes in the administrative structure of the school.

Major Recommendations
The school articulate and implement its new schoolwide action plan to incorporate the recommendations made in this report with particular attention being paid to staff retention, curriculum development as well as policies and procedures.
The school takes specific action on the follow-up processes recommended in Chapter III, of this report.
The school gathers information and improves its communication to parents, staff and students in order to build a positive school climate.
The school takes immediate action on the critical areas identified in regards to health and safety, communication and decision making.
The school ensures that processes are put in place to guarantee that future accreditation reporting becomes an integral part of an ongoing school improvement process.
The school hires (or train) appropriate staff and develops clear policies and procedures to ensure full pastoral care and supervision of students in the boarding unit at all times.
Appendices
Appendix 1.  Sample IBTS Data
Apendix 2.  AP and SAT Results
Appendix 3. Revised School Wide Action Plans

Appendix 1 Iowa Test of Basic Skills




Appendix 2 AP Results

GIFS School-wide WASC Action Plan 2011-2014 (March 2, 2011)
Goal
Rationale
How to Assess
Specific Steps Needed
Timeline
Resources
Monitoring and Reporting Progress
GIFS Long Range Plan to be Developed
The school needs to develop a comprehensive long range plan that addresses areas of school growth, marketing, and systems’ improvements.
The leadership team will form subcommittees to
focus on the goals of the action plan.  The sub-committee will form a “Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA)” for each goal to monitor progress.  The PDSA will be presented to the leadership team at least every 3 months.  The leadership team and the subcommittee will assess results and adjust plans accordingly depending on the data presented.
1.  WASC action plan to be created by Feb. 2011.

2. Leadership team to address planning at the start of the school year.
This long-range plan will be developed by September 2011.

Monitored every 3 months thereafter.
Two long range planning days will be necessary to create the long range plan.
The school’s leadership team will review the long range plan quarterly.  The school board will review the progress made toward reaching the goals of the plan at each of their bi-annual meetings.  The leadership team will form sub-committees to address these specific sub-areas of the long range plan.  The leadership team will review the progress made toward addressing the long range goals every quarter.


Exploration of International Baccalaureate (IB) Program Possibilities
Since 75% of our student population is international in nature, and many of those students come from European countries, it makes sense to adopt more of a European education focus for the school.  This is especially true since many of our students will only be enrolled from 18 months to 2 years and then will move with their families to another country and international school.
The school board will receive bi-annual reports on the progress made toward reaching the IB goal.
The school leadership team will assess progress toward meeting the timeline.  This assessment will take place at least every quarter.
1. Spring 2011 – GIFS conducts a feasibility study to determine if the IB program would work for it.
2. Spring or summer 2011 -Superintendent attends an IB orientation workshop for IB program.
3. Fall 2011 – School information form submitted to Intl. Baccalaureate Organization (IPO).
4. SY 2011-12 – GIFS will submit application for candidacy to IPO.
5. SY 2012-13 – Once recognized by IPO, GIFS would have a one year trial period for implementing the IB program school-wide.

1. Spring 2011 – School conducts a feasibility study to determine if the IB program would work for GIFS.
2. Spring or summer 2011 – Superintendent attends orientation workshop for IB program.
3. Fall 2011 – School information form submitted to Intl. Baccalaureate Organization (IPO).
4. SY 2011-12 – GIFS will submit application for candidacy to IPO.
5. SY 2012-13 – Once recognized by IPO, GIFS would have a one year trial period for implementing the IB program school-wide.
Superintendent must attend orientation workshop for IB program.
Teaching staff must all receive training on how the IB program works and how to instruct using the IB curriculum.
Currently there are $25,700 in fees GIFS must pay to become an IB World School.
Fall 2011 – School information form submitted to Intl. Baccalaureate Organization (IPO).
SY 2011-12 – GIFS will submit application for candidacy to IPO.
Teaching staff training IB program needs to be implemented school-wide.

Curriculum Development
GIFS must have an articulated curriculum for grades nursery through 12th grades for all subject areas.  This will help to assure vertical alignment across all grade levels.

School administrators will assess progress on a regular basis.

Progress will be reported to parents at least every quarter in the newsletter.  Results will be reported at the bi-annual parent meetings as well.
Meetings held every other week one day a week after school to work on curriculum.
At least 2 professional development days will be set aside to work on curriculum issues.
Curricula to be completed by June 2011:
nursery through 12th grade language arts
grades nursery-12th math
grades K-12 PE
grades K-12 ESL curriculum
grades 5-12 science curriculum
grades 5-12 social studies curriculum

Curricula to be completed by June 2012:
science grades nursery – 4
social studies grades nursery – 4
elective courses
curriculum resource guides

Curriculum resources the school currently uses.

Two full days of professional development curriculum development.

After school curriculum development every other week after school throughout the school year.
Administrators will monitor progress after each PD curriculum development session.

Progress will be reported at least every three months to families in the school newsletter.

Progress on curriculum development will be reported to the school board at their bi-annual meetings.
Policy Development
The school has very few written policies and written operating procedures in place other than a student and staff handbook.
School administration will review and collect policy throughout the year.
New policies will be reviewed by the school leadership team at least once every three months.
Policies that are new are being collected currently on a school Google Documents folder.
All written policies will be organized at the end of the school year in a policy manual.
This process will continue in subsequent years.

Policies will be collected and formally written throughout the year.
Policies will be formally organized into a school policy manual in April/May of each school year.
All school staff will have input to formulate needed policies.
Access to policy examples from other schools and school districts.
The policy manual will be reviewed and approved by the Gyeongnam Area International Foreign School System School Board.
Staff Retention
Staff retention continues to be a persistent problem in the school.  At the end 2010-11 school year, 10 of 18 teaching and administrative staff members are leaving the school.  The school will have a difficult time moving to a higher level as long as near 100% turnover happens every two school years.
School climate surveys will be given to staff every semester in order to measure the levels of staff satisfaction in the school.  Results will be disaggregated and used to make adjustments in improving the school climate.
A school staff hospitality team will be created that will organize events for staff for after school hours.
For 2011-12, school climate surveys, to be monitored by the school leadership team, will be given to staff members at least once every 9 weeks to measure staff satisfaction.
August 2011:  A school hospitality committee will be formed.

Quarterly for 2011-12:  A climate survey will be distributed to staff quarterly during the school year.  The leadership team will disaggregate the results of this survey and will create a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) to address the concerns raised in the survey.

Every semester for subsequent school years:  A climate survey will be distributed to staff each semester for the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 school years.

Google Documents access in order to make the climate surveys.
The school leadership team will create a climate survey quarterly.
The school leadership team will monitor the results of the climate survey on a quarterly basis.  The team will use PDSAs to address concerns raised through the climate surveys.
Marketing Plan
The school’s enrollment has declined by 27% since last school year.  The school needs to find improved ways to market itself to attract new students.
A school marketing team will be formed that will create and monitor a school marketing plan.
At the start of the school year, a marketing team will be formed.  They will meet on a monthly basis at minimum.
The marketing team will create a marketing plan.  They will create a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) to monitor and evaluate progress toward meeting the goals of the marketing plan.
The school’s website needs to be updated so that it reflects the school’s marketing needs.

May 2011:  An advertising campaign will be developed that will utilize new and existing advertising and promotional resources for marketing the school.
August 2011:  A marketing team will be formed that will meet on a monthly basis at minimum.
Quarterly:  The marketing team will report to the school leadership team about the school’s marketing plan.

Financial resources will be needed to support the school’s advertising plan.
The school’s website needs to be updated.

The marketing team will create a marketing plan.  They will create a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) to monitor and evaluate progress toward meeting the goals of the marketing plan.
Quarterly:  The marketing team will report to the school leadership team about the school’s marketing plan.

Professional Development Plan
School staff need quality and sustained professional development opportunities in order to enhance the level of school wide instruction.

The school system’s administrative leadership team will use the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) process to monitor the effectiveness of PD throughout the school year.  PD implementation will be the focus at least once every quarter during the school year.
By the end of the 2010-11 school year, a master professional development calendar will be developed for GIFS for the 2011-12 school year.
Staff will receive basic training on how use the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) process in order to be able to better implement and monitor the continuous improvement process.
The primary PD focus of the 2011-12 school year will be curriculum.
June 2011:  A master professional development (PD) plan will be established.  A master PD calendar will be created at the same time each subsequent school year.

August 2011:  Staff will receive basic training on the PDSA process.  They will then use this process to monitor and report progress on the goals of the school development teams they are assigned to.

Starting August 2011:  A schedule of regular monthly trainings, observations, and consultations will take place between the school’s teaching staff and the reading and math coaches who will be working with the teachers.

Also, the online evaluation system the school will purchase has a professional library function.  This function can be used to create significant PD opportunities.  Video clips can be used in staff meetings to start discussions about certain aspects of instructional enhancement.  Individual PD through this system can be targeted to differentiate between staff members in order to meet their specific PD needs.

For the 2011-12 school year, curriculum will be the major area of school wide PD.

March 2012:  Staff will be able to attend the KORCOS Teacher Conference.

Reading and math coaching consultants will work with the elementary staff to provide them with strategies to enhance instruction in these curricular areas.
The school will need to purchase a subscription to Skype to use multi-person calling (for consultations and mini-trainings involving staff between both schools in the Gyeongnam Area International Foreign School System.

PD implementation will be focused upon at least once every quarter during the school year at the school system administrative meetings.  PDSA will be analyzed at these meetings to determine the level of implementation of the school’s master PD plan.
Teacher Evaluation Method
The school system has revised its compensation plan for the coming school year.  Starting with the 2011-12 school year, compensation and teacher performance will be directly linked.  The current evaluation plan does not lend itself well to a rigorous evaluation system that will address instructional improvement.
Data from the online system will be shared with the system’s leadership team to report on the level of implementation of the system school wide.  Also the data will show areas of instructional strength and what areas need improvement (both at a school system and a school level).
School system   administrators need to choose an evaluation tool that matches the schools’ needs.
School needs to purchase a site license for the chosen online evaluation tool.
Professional development training needs to be set up for August through January of the 2011-12 school year.


March 2011:  The administrative staff will have reviewed different online evaluation tools and will make a recommendation on which one to purchase based on our school system’s needs.

August 2011:  School system administrators will be trained initially on how to use the new online evaluation system.  New teaching staff will be familiarized with the new system and how it will work at the start of the school year.

August 2011 – January 2012:  Administrators will be fully trained in using the new evaluation system.

2011-12 (ongoing):  Throughout the school year, building administrators will use the online library tools to show videos, have article discussions, and hold online discussion forums about how to enhance instructional delivery in the classroom.

$4000 for an annual subscription to purchase a site license for the new online evaluation system.
Online evaluation tool.
Online professional library available with the evaluation program.
School system administrators will meet as part of the system leadership team to assess the effectiveness of the new online evaluation system.  Data from the online system will be shared with the system’s leadership team to report on the level of implementation of the system school wide.  Also the data will show areas of instructional strength and what areas need improvement (both at a school system and a school level).

The overall results will also be shared with the Gyeongnam Area International Foreign School System school board (without revealing individual student results).
Revamp Standardized Testing System
The school needs an improved standardized testing system.  The school’s current standardized test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, has limited value.  The test itself has biases against non-American students.  The data provided by the test is of a very limited value for school staff.  The data provided gives no specific ideas of ways that teachers can improve student performance based on results.  There is no easy way to measure student growth over time.

With the new testing system, students will be assessed twice a year.  Results will be disaggregated and will be reported to staff and parents/guardians.
An annual subscription needs to be purchased.


April 2011:  A new testing system will be purchased for the school.

May 2011:  First testing will be done with students.

November 2011:  Staff will be trained on how to fully use the system and utilize the data provided from the testing.

SY 2011-12 and each following school year:  Students will be tested twice a year (pre- and post-test).


Online standardized testing system.
The school’s administrative team will disaggregate the testing results and will report them to both faculty and parents/guardians.

The overall results will also be shared with the Gyeongnam Area International Foreign School System school board.
Improve Students’ School Connectedness
Because GIFS is a small school, and because Sacheon (where the school is located) is a small community, the school needs to develop a better approach to creating a school community so that students feel more connected to the school.
School climate surveys will be given to students every semester in order to measure the levels of student satisfaction in the school.  Results will be disaggregated and used to make adjustments in improving the school climate.
A school staff hospitality team will be created that will organize events for students for after school hours.
For 2011-12, school climate surveys, to be monitored by the school leadership team, will be given to students at least once every semester to measure their satisfaction.
The hospitality committee will use the PDSA (Plan, Do,  Study, Act) process to monitor and act upon necessary areas of concern.

April 2011:  A schedule and procedure will be established to show how the new gymnasium can be used for after school activities involving parents and students.
September 2011:    A full after school program will be developed for student needs (sports, academics, tutoring, and extra- curricular activities).   This plan will also include a list of activities that will be targeted for the school’s dormitory students.
Once a semester:  A student climate survey will be distributed to students in the school.


List of local resources that would be of educational interest to students was created from previous WASC annual reports and will be used by the teaching staff for planning these activities.
The school’s climate survey will monitor the results of the student survey.   The hospitality team will create a PDSA to measure and monitor implementation of the team’s plan to improve student connectedness to the school.  The team will report the results of the survey to the school leadership team
Develop a System’s Wide Approach for the Gyeongnam Area International Foreign School System
There are two schools in the school system.  Both operate largely independently of one another currently.  The two schools should develop more of a systems’ wide approach in order operate for cost efficiency and effectiveness.

The school system’s leadership team will develop a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) to monitor and implement a system’s wide approach between both schools.
Administrators will determine areas where both schools can develop a system’s wide approach.
A PDSA will be created to help assure this approach is implemented whenever possible to use it to create more efficient and effective results.
May 2011:  An administrative retreat will take place in order to address planning for next school year.

August 2011: System administrators will be trained on using the system’s new evaluation system.

Starting SY 2011-12:  At least one monthly administrative meeting will be held that involves all the school systems’ administrators.

Common curricular area teachers between both schools in the system will meet every two weeks to develop curriculum.
Skype is needed for having full inclusion in various staff meetings (between administrators and between curricular groups).

Sufficient numbers of speakers and webcams are needed for staff computers to have Skype meetings.
The school system’s leadership team will monitor the development of this system’s wide approach.

Parent Communication
Parents/guardians would like to receive more direct communication from teachers about their students daily and weekly progress.
In the 2011-12 school year, parent groups will be asked what their opinion of how the new student assignment planner process is working.  Based on this feedback, revisions to the process may need to be made.
Student assignment template needs to be selected and photocopied to be used for the remainder of this current school year.
Teac hers will determine a protocol for using the student planners to communicate with parents / guardians on a daily/weekly basis.
For the remainder of the current school year (2010-11):  Student planners will be made available to students.  These planners can be photocopied from an online template.

March 2011:  Teaching staff will arrive at common expectations about how to use the assignment planning books to communicate with parents/guardians.


August 2011:  Student planner books will be made available to all students.  Elementary teachers will communicate daily with parents/guardians through these assignment planners.

Assignment planners will be made available to students.  For the remainder of the school year, these planners can be photocopied from an online template.   Starting with the 2011-12 school year, assignment planner books will be made available to each student.

March 2011:  A protocol for using the assignment planners will be developed.

November 2011 and February 2012:  Parents/guardians will be asked at the bi-annual parent meeting about their opinions of the assignment planner process.  School staff will also review how the student assignment planner process is working.  Based on parent/guardian and staff input adjustments will be made to the process accordingly as needed.
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