A3+Narrative

A3 Narrativetoc

Narrative Introduction
Below you will find Draft 1.0 of the narrative that was created by the WCEA-WASC Core Team, temporarily formatted in this Wiki. All comments and edits should be included at the **bottom of the document** below the narrative. In order to allow for continuity of the document and clarity of revisions, all focus group members should write bulleted notes below the narrative.

Category A: Organization for Student Learning

A3: School Leadership Criterion

To What Extent... Does the school leadership encourage the cultivation of Catholic values and the spiritual formation of the school community? Does the school leadership make decisions to facilitate actions that focus the energies of the school on student achievement of the expected schoolwide learning results? Does the school leadership empower the staff? Does the school leadership ensure shared accountability for student learning?


 * __Focus Group Findings__

Faith and Formation—Our Catholic Identity Central to the Moreau Catholic High School community is its Catholic identity and Holy Cross heritage. It permeates the academics, athletics, co-curricular, and instructional programs. This is best exemplified in the annual rotation of the four Holy Cross Charisms that lend a theme and focus to each school year: Educating Hearts and Minds, Building Respect, Being Family, and Bringing Hope. Students are keenly aware, through efforts of student leadership, the school’s faculty, staff, and administration, of the role each theme plays in the life and mission of the school community.

Moreau Catholic was affirmed of its Catholic and Holy Cross identity through the 2010 Holy Cross Assessment conducted by a visiting team of Holy Cross Congregation members and lay members of Holy Cross schools from the Southwest Province (now Moreau Province) that examined how the school incorporates these values throughout its programs. Building upon the recommendations of the committee, the school added a Faith and Service Coordinator who actively leads the faith formation of the adult Moreau Catholic High School community at its yearly retreat and during each faculty/staff meeting. The coordinator also works closely with the Campus Ministry Team in promoting the school's Catholic and Holy Cross identity in the theology curriculum, retreat programs, and in liturgical celebrations. In addition, the Holy Cross Associates program has continued to grow as a way for the school to explore and strengthen its Holy Cross roots. Delegations from the school regularly attend Holy Cross formation meetings such as the Holy Cross Institute and special events like the Cannonization celebrating for St. Andre Bessette. Weekly schoolwide Wednesday morning mass provides all community members (students, faculty, stafff, and parents) a chance to worship together. The school has a comprehensive four year retreat program culminating with the Kairos experience in the 12th grade. The Kairos program was introduced in Fall 2008. Both faculty and staff serve as adult leaders on the retreats and attend regularly. Students are reminded daily of the school’s Holy Cross heritage with each day’s prayer invoking the blessing of both Blessed Basil Moreau and St. Andre Bessette. In addition, the school celebrates its foundation with an annual Blessed Basil Moreau Day that focuses on raising awareness of the legacy of Basil Moreau and culminates with a schoolwide service project. Holy Cross relics are revered and preserved within the school facility.

Student achievement of ESLRs All areas of Moreau Catholic High School contribute to student achievement of ESLRs. In an effort to make the Holy Cross framework more accessible to students, a reorganization and review of the ESLRs started in the Spring of 2010. Copies of the ESLRs are prominently displayed in classrooms and around the school. ESLRs are integrated into the school’s Foundational Documents as well as the Personnel Guide and Student-Parent Handbook. The Mission Integration Committee of the Board of Trustees invites teachers, department chairs, and program heads for periodic reports on program progress, including student achievement of the ESLRs. At the classroom level, teachers integrate measurable achievement of the ESLRs into their lesson plans and curriculum maps. Student course evaluations at the end of each semester give students a chance to measure their own achievement of the school’s ESLRs in each course. Link crew continues to promote 9 th  grade orientation and success.

Staff empowerment Faculty and staff members often feel empowered in a myriad of ways to support and reinforce the values of student achievement. Moreau Catholic enjoys a culture of professional autonomy within the context of collegiality and accountability. In the classroom, at the direct instructional level, teachers are empowered to design, implement, and assess their own instruction toward meeting the stated outcomes of their discipline and the ESLRs. Backward design is used to creatively reflect the ESLRs in formative and summative assessments. The school encourages teachers to be innovative and creative in the development of curriculum and instructional practices. Faculty have expressed a desire for more input into the broader schoolwide decisions that affect teachers and students directly.

Through a well-funded, internal professional development budget and in partnership with Hayward Unified School district, the school accesses $38,000 in No Child Left Behind funds toward professional development. Teachers choose from a variety of options: online courses, workshops, and conferences to improve their instructional practice and stay abreast of current research on improving student learning.

The leadership of the school invests in the faculty and staff through the continual dissemination of professional growth opportunities. Best practices and initiatives of Moreau Catholic instructors are shared at faculty and staff meetings as well as the board level.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Accountability for student learning: commitment, and participation. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Moreau Catholic High School views the education of the whole student as a partnership among school, students, parents, and community. Within the Student-Parent Handbook, the MCHS learning community mission statement delineates both teacher and student responsibilities. The school leadership employs a variety of tools to foster shared accountability among students and teacher, but not explicitly with parents. However, various technologies are employed to provide a level of transparency to foster shared accountability among all constituents. While the use of PowerSchool and Moodle allow students and parents access to student progress and course curriculum, email and phone calls continue to be instrumental in informing and engaging parents in their student's academic success. The Counseling Department uses Naviance Family Connection to communicate college, scholarship, and summer enrichment information to families. It also provides a course planning program from parents and students to plan for college admissions and high school graduation. Opportunities for teachers, counselors students, and parents to meet and troubleshoot student progress is ongoing throughout the year. The school providing a formalized Student, Parent, Teacher Conference opportunity in the fall.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students are encouraged to be advocates for their own progress and achievement. The school’s academic integrity policy begins as a learning opportunity for students through and online course for first-time offenders. Students meet with counselors to track progress and develop action plans for improving their achievement. The Academic Support Center is open and accessible to all students for peer tutoring assistance and additional support with academic subjects.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Faculty continue to examine ways and means to examine and refocus efforts to impact student learning. Through a continuous process of curriculum mapping, teachers are encouraged to reflect on the effectiveness of their instructional strategies. Departments meet regularly to discuss progress on department and Strategic Plan goals and provide mid-year updates to the Assistant Principal of Instruction and Academic Council. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">__Evidence__


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Holy Cross Charisms


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2010 Holy Cross Mission Assessment Report
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Faith and Service Coordinator Job Description
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Holy Cross Associates Agenda/Minutes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Holy Cross Institute
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Weekly Eucharist
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Retreat Program
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kairos Retreat
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Blessed Basil Moreau Day Agenda/Program
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fr. Moreau Relic in Lobby Seal
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Key in Chapel Altar


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Library services & staff
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Academic Integrity policy
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Curriculum Maps
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Link crew
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Academic Council minutes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Leadership meeting minutes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mission Integration Commitee
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Flip classroom
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Introduction of Native Spanish class.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Student- Parent Handbook
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Learning Community Mission Statement
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Powerschool
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Moodle


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Curriculum Maps ||

**Focus Group Comments**
Please insert any comments or edits to the narrative in this space. These comments will be integrated into future versions of the narrative.

- do we have a service learning coordinator? isn't it project based learning coordinator? need to change this in evidence? - Holy Cross relics: need to mention cloth on it and key in evidence Now in evidence - weekly Eucharistic liturgy in evidence Now in evidence - need professional development list as evidence for this too (like A1) - curriculum mapper - link to academic integrity As evidence, what is needed here? - more info on academic support center? Does Serena have any? Evidence or more info in the narrative desired? - Under staff empowerment, first sentence, change to "Faculty and Staff members often feel empowered in a myriad of ways to support and reinforce the values of student achievement." Done