Agenda for 03/23/2015

  1. Welcome-
    • Comment on how the adjustment has been for me at FCS.
      • It has been wonderful working in a community that is so supportive and loving.
    • Address PBIS and mentoring program
      • The launch dates of PBIS at FCS has been delayed. For our grades 7-12, we will be launching the Caleb Code in April. The Caleb Code will be a challenge to our 7-12 students to:
        • Seek Truth
        • Speak Life
        • Serve Others
      • Our K-6 students will be challenged to SOAR:
        • S – Safety
        • O – Ownership
        • A – Attitude
        • R – Respect
          This initiative will be launched in the spring.
    • Auction and efforts towards enrollment
      • To date we have grossed over $138,000 dollars from the Auction. What a great sign from our community that FCS is growing.
    • Open House
      • Later this spring, we will be having an Open House to invite current and prospective families. This will be a time of fellowship and information.
  2. Current Status of FCS Academics
    • Current FCS Standards are a hybrid of previous state standards.
      • Our current FCS standards have the backbone of the California State Standards. From there adjustments were made in the following ways:
      • Things were modified by:
        • Developing a foundation on a biblical worldview- Our standards at FCS have specific learning objectives from the Bible for our students K-12.
        • Increasing rigor- The public standards have served as a backbone not the ending point of our standards.
        • Broadening scope of learning- We often enrich our learning objectives and standards so that our students are exposed to a broader base of education.
        • We will filter all curriculum and standards through our Christian beliefs and foundation.- We will ALWAYS filter our materials, standards, objectives and curriculum so that our biblical worldview is not compromised.
  3. Does Common Core Affect us?
    • History of Common Core – First of all when I talk about Common Core, I am talking about the actual academic standard. The academic goals and objectives. Many times people get the curriculum or the instructional strategies mixed up with the actual standards.
      • We recognize that there are a lot of issues/concerns and questions regarding Common Core. This is the biggest shift in the educational system in our lifetime. This is the equivalent of the US going to the metric system a year from today. While the objective and goal of the move is positive, there is so much work to be done that the task may prove itself impossible.
        What it has done to our public school system- The shift to Common Core has left our public school system in a mode of transition.
      • A complete transition to Common Core is going to take years. The Common Core standards do not have a comprehensive curriculum published yet. Teachers will be taking years to understand the monumental shift and to be able to move from understanding to mastering. I say these things not as a criticism of public schools but as an observation. I have worked in the public system for 18 years (8 as a teacher and 10 as an administrator) and we need a strong public school system. Their challenges are many. Like FCS, our public schools need prayer. They do a lot of good work.
    • Why do we need to respond?
      • College entrance exams – One of the pillars that Common Core was founded on is the premise that a comprehensive education should make kids “college and career” ready. The ACT, SAT and AP exams will eventually be fully aligned to the Common Core Standards. This means that we need to respond so that our students get the best post high school experience possible.
      • Curriculum – Due to the fact that over 90% of all curriculum will be buying Common Core aligned curriculum, it will become difficult to buy anything that is not Common Core aligned. Currently, there is no comprehensively aligned curriculum aligned to Common Core.
      • What can we learn from it – I have had 2 years experience reviewing curriculum, standards and lesson plans that have been aligned to Common Core at my previous job. There is much to be learned by taking a measured response to Common Core rather than being forced to react to it.
      • Potential issues with credentialing WASC – Currently FCS is both WASC and ACSI accredited. WASC is the same accreditation that public high schools in CA have and ACSI is a Christian organization that nationally offer accreditation for private schools. It is possible that WASC will mandate that in order to be accredited, schools must be aligned to Common Core. Right now, most of the pressure comes through loss of funding for schools/districts/states that do not align with Common Core.
  4. Next Steps
    • Credentialing visit – Mid April- our mid-term ACSI/WASC visit is in April and we will be watching to see if they let us know if there will be a significant shift in the next 3 years.
    • Continue to review the standards as a community – After the accreditation visit, we will begin working with the staff to begin to evaluate the Common Core standards.
    • Review available curriculum – As publishers, both traditional and alternative, offer adjusted curriculum, we will review and evaluate.
    • It will happen with you not to you – we will continue to include our staff, parents and governing boards in this process.

The goal of FCS will not change- Our mission will not change.