Accreditation Report Academy for Career Education Washoe County School District Leigh Berdrow, Director 2800 Vassar St Reno, NV 89502-3214 Document Generated On August 28, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary Introduction 2 Description of the School 3 School's Purpose 5 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 7 Additional Information 9 Self Assessment Introduction 12 Standard 1: Purpose and Direction 13 Standard 2: Governance and Leadership 16 Standard 3: Teaching and Assessing for Learning 19 Standard 4: Resources and Support Systems 25 Standard 5: Using Results for Continuous Improvement 28 Report Summary 32 Assurances Report AdvancED Assurances 34 Stakeholder Feedback Diagnostic Introduction 37 Criteria for Assessing Stakeholder Feedback 38 Areas of Notable Achievement 39 Areas in Need of Improvement 40 Student Performance Diagnostic Introduction 42 Assessment Scores 43 Areas of Notable Achievement 44 Areas in Need of Improvement 46 Student Performance Diagnostic Introduction 49 Assessment Scores 50 Areas of Notable Achievement 51 Areas in Need of Improvement 52 Student Performance Diagnostic Introduction 55 Assessment Scores 56 Areas of Notable Achievement 57 Areas in Need of Improvement 59 Student Performance Diagnostic Introduction 61 Assessment Scores 62 Areas of Notable Achievement 63 Areas in Need of Improvement 65 Student Performance Diagnostic Introduction 67 Assessment Scores 68 Areas of Notable Achievement 69 Areas in Need of Improvement 70 Student Performance Diagnostic Introduction 72 Assessment Scores 73 Areas of Notable Achievement 74 Areas in Need of Improvement 75 Increasing Student Data from Assessments Overview 77 Goals Summary 78 Goal 1: ACE High School will collect assessment data from additional sources 79 Activity Summary by Funding Source 83 Create a Professional Development Framework to Analyze Data Collected from Formative and Summative Assessment Overview 86 Goals Summary 88 Goal 1: ACE High School will develop a professional development framework for staff 89 Activity Summary by Funding Source 93 Progress Notes 94 Accreditation Report Academy for Career Education Executive Summary SY 2012-2013 Page 1 © 2013 AdvancED www.advanc-ed.org Accreditation Report Academy for Career Education Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. <br><br> The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. SY 2012-2013 Page 2 © 2013 AdvancED www.advanc-ed.org Accreditation Report Academy for Career Education Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Academy for Career Education, ACE High School, is a tuition free comprehensive high school for 9th - 12th grade students who are interested in a career in construction, diesel technology, or computer assisted drafting and design (CADD). The first year of operation for the charter school was in 2002-2003. ACE was the second charter school to be founded in the state of Nevada. ACE High School is accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), now known as Advanc-Ed.org, and sponsored by the Washoe County School District (WCSD). ACE focuses on academics (reading, writing, math, social studies, and science) through the application and integration of construction skills. ACE's goal: High school graduation, with the ability to pursue post-secondary training in any construction field from management, engineering, architecture, to the trades, such as plumbing, diesel technician, CADD operator, electrician, carpentry, etc., as well as immediate employment. The school is located at 2800 Vassar Street in Reno, Nevada 89502. This address is adjacent to the Reno Tahoe International Airport in an industrial area of Reno The main building that houses ACE is comprised of seven classrooms, library, conference room, CADD lab, science lab, administrator offices, and shop area that can accommodate more than one building trades class. The school moved into this address beginning in the 2006-2007 school year. This facility required $1.4 million in improvements prior to the 2006-07 school year so that the facility would be able to accommodate the needs of a high school. In addition, the diesel technologies classes and the advanced building trades class are conducted at offsite locations. The diesel technologies classes are conducted at Truckee Meadows Community College Edison Campus on a daily basis. The advanced building trades program meets at the class jobsite on Hombre Way in SE Reno when the class is in the construction phase of the house project. Since ACE is a charter school the students that attend the school are not zoned to attend ACE High School. Students choose to attend ACE High School regardless of their zone school in WCSD. Therefore, the student who attend ACE does not necessarily live in the area where the ACE campus is located. In fact, ACE students come from all of the different high school zones in Washoe County. ACE currently has a student population of 196 students. The student-teacher ratio fluctuates between the low twenties to the high teens. For the 2012- 2013 school year, the student-teacher ratio is approximately 18:1. Of the 196 students who attend ACE, 160 are males and 36 are females. Over a three-year period, ACE averages a population of 192 students, with an average of 159 males and 33 females. During this same three-year period, ACE's ethnicity and special student population averages are: American Indian (0%), Asian (0.33%), Black (0.83%), Hispanic (36.5%), Pacific/Islander (0%), White (54.7%), IEP (12.6%), LEP (0%), and FRL (14.1%). The average graduation rate for students at ACE over the three-period is 77.3%. According to student applications the majority of ACE students come from a lower middle class economic structure where one or both parents/guardians work. Upon graduation most ACE students attend the University of Nevada, Truckee Meadows Community College, begin apprentice program, join the workforce directly, or join the military. Presently there are seventeen staff members at ACE. Of the seventeen staff members there are eleven teachers, three administrators, and three support staff individuals. All teachers and administrators are highly qualified in his or her licensed subject as required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Consequently, of the eleven teachers and three administrators at ACE, eight staff members hold a Master's degree. In the latest three year period there has been noteworthy staff turnover. At the administrator level, ACE's former assistant principal became the school's principal. The assistant principal position was filled by an ACE teacher who began as a dean then advanced to the school's assistant principal position. Changes in the teaching staff are seen in the hiring of four new teachers in the last three years. These positions include two English teachers and two building trades teachers. It is important to note, the director of the school, as well as one of the school's founders, is still in her position as the driving force of ACE. SY 2012-2013 Page 3 © 2013 AdvancED www.advanc-ed.org Accreditation Report Academy for Career Education There are unique challenges that ACE encounters while trying to serve its stakeholders. Two of these challenges are (1) student transportation and (2) the ongoing economic downturn in the Reno/Sparks area related to construction. Unlike the WCSD schools, ACE does not currently have the financial resources to provide transportation for its students. When parents and students make the decision to attend ACE, they must consider the fact that they are responsible for student transportation to and from school each day. The school provide daily shuttle service to and from the diesel and advanced building trades programs during the school day for those students who participate in these career programs. The school does try to assist in a small way by providing free Citifare bus passes for eligible students. Unfortunately, this does not solve the transportation issue and some students cannot attend ACE because their families do not have the financial means to provide their students transportation to and from school. This hurdle directly effects ACE's enrollment. In 2008 with a significant downturn in the economy greatly impacted the construction industry in the Reno/Sparks community. This impact effected ACE's recruiting efforts because a portion of the community were reluctant to send their children to a school whose major focus was on the construction trades. This lack of understanding of ACE's educational model and learning opportunities within in the industry by the community is a ongoing struggle for the school in educating people about ACE and charter schools in general. Reno, Nevada is located in Washoe County. Washoe County is the second most populated county in Nevada and the seventh largest county in the state. The land area of the county is 6,342 square miles. Washoe County borders California to the West and Oregon to the North. Surrounding Nevada counties to Washoe are Humbolt, Pershing, Churchill, Storey, Lyon, and Douglas. According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), Washoe County has a population of 425,710 residents. The ethnicity of this population is: American Indian (0%), Asian (5.5%), Black (2.6%), Hispanic (22.7%), Pacific/Islander (0.7%), and White (65.5%). SY 2012-2013 Page 4 © 2013 AdvancED www.advanc-ed.org Accreditation Report Academy for Career Education School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Academy for Career Education - ACE High School School Profile ACE High School is comprehensive high school for 9th - 12th grade students who are interested in a career in construction, diesel technology, or computer assisted drafting and design. ACE High School is accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) now known as Advanc-Ed.org. ACE focuses on academics (reading, writing, social studies, math and science) through the application of construction skills. Our goal: High school graduation, with the ability to pursue post-secondary training in any construction field from management, engineering, architecture, to the trades, such as plumbing, diesel technician, CADD operator, electrician, carpentry, etc., as well as immediate employment. ACE meets all the requirements established by the State of Nevada and standards set forth by the Washoe County School District (WCSD). An ACE diploma is equivalent to any other public high school diploma in Washoe County and will actually have more value within the construction industry because of its Career and Technical Education endorsement. ACE currently has 196 students enrolled and a teaching staff of 12 top educators from the local area. All teachers are licensed, highly qualified as measured by NCLB, possess multiple credentialed areas of expertise, and have several years of experience in the classroom. They are dedicated to the success of each and every student. From 2003 to 2010, ACE's advance building trades construction students, performing all the work themselves, built a house each school year. However, due to current economic conditions in the local housing market and nationally, the program has adjusted to these conditions by constructing a home on a 2 year time schedule. This new time table allows for more depth of instruction of building practices and current innovations in the construction field. ACE houses have sold at or above market value every year with the high value of $325,000. Proceeds from the sale of the homes go directly to the following year's program. ACE CADD and Diesel students work with technology in state-of-the- art labs. These programs use tools and techniques that are current and industry standard. (cid:9) ACE is not an -at-risk school or a dumping ground. However, students who don't do as well in a traditional environment of "answering questions at the end of the chapter" may do very well in our hands-on and meaningful learning atmosphere. ACE is an opportunity for high school students to pursue a successful career in the construction industry that employs more then 5 million people in the United States and offers some of the most lucrative and widest assortment of professions, including design, management, skilled trades, human resources, planning, public relations and many more. ACE represents the future in education - a partnership with industry to provide better educational opportunities for our students, while simultaneously building a better workplace. ACE is tuition free, offer small class sizes, have a more intensive focus on fewer subjects for mastery, in a hands-on, applied learning environment. SY 2012-2013 Page 5 © 2013 AdvancED www.advanc-ed.org