Facilitator Empowerment

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Facilitator Empowerment

• Alameda Community
• Learning Center

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ACLC Mission Statement

• The Alameda Community Learning Center is an
  educational model that empowers all youth to take
  ownership of their educational experience, to
  celebrate their diverse community, and to
  actively participate as members in a democratic
  society.

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In the ACLC Educational Model, Facilitators are

• Certificated Teachers
• Certificated Counselors
• Certificated Resource Specialists
• Classified Staff Office Managers
• Classified Para-professionals
• CSEA Union Members
• AUSD Employees
• AEA Union Members
• Contracted working professionals

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Facilitators are Educators and Administrators
of ACLC. Facilitator roles

• Teach all educational seminars
• CEO / Development Director / Facilitator
• Lead Facilitator / Facilitator
• Governing Board Members
• Other Facilitator Administrator Roles
• Program Evaluation Committee Head
• Curriculum and Standards Committee Head
• Personnel Committee Head
• Financial Committee Head
• Judicial Committee Head

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Empowerment Means

• Facilitators, Learners, and Parents run the
  school. They are the administrators, the
  decision-makers and the stakeholders who carry
  out the decisions. They are self-directed and
  accountable to the community.

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Why Empower Facilitators?

• Empowered Facilitators Empowered Learners
• Empowered Facilitators provide role models for
  Learner and Parent Empowerment
• Empowered Facilitators, Learners, and Parents
  create schools that fulfill the Alameda
  Communitys Vision for Schools
• Community Empowerment leads to
• High academic achievement
• Youth who believe in the democratic tradition and
  know how to negotiate and compromise
• Youth prepared with the Learning to Learn
  skills needed for success in the 21st century

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How to Empower Facilitators

• Give everyone a voice in Decision-making
• Create a Culture of Listeners
• Give Facilitators Charge of the Curriculum
• Value Innovation that Leads to Success
• Get Facilitators Out of the Box
• Get Facilitators Into the Community
• Opportunities for Flexible Work Schedules
• Compensate them as Professionals
• Give Facilitators Constructive Feedback

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ACLC Governing Board

• Voting Membership
• 2 Elected Learners
• 2 Appointed Parents
• 3 Facilitators (Including Lead Facilitator)
• 1 Appointed Community Member
• Non-voting Membership
• CE0 / Development Director
• AUSD Representative

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Facilitator Leadership with Balance

• Facilitators on the Governing Board have a large
  say in how the school is run with 3/8 of the
  votes, but not absolute power and no veto power.
• Facilitators share decision-making with learners,
  parents, and community in order to accomplish
  tasks.
• Facilitators must excuse themselves from voting
  on issues that are a conflict of interest,
  compensation, etc.

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Governing Board Makes Decisions

• Policy
• Budget
• Personnel
• Organizational Development
• Strategic Planning
• Program Evaluation
• Standards and Curriculum
• Maintaining the Vision of the ACLC Charter

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Facilitators as Policy Makers

• Facilitators, Learners, and Parents created the
  personnel evaluation policy
• Facilitators, Learners, and Parents sit on
  Creative Community Education Foundation (CCEF)
  Board to make decisions about spending donations
• Facilitators, Learners, and Parents created the
  schools
• Exit Policy
• Academic Integrity Policy
• Independent Study Policy
• Grade Challenge Policy
• Open Campus Contract Program
• Concurrent Enrollment Policy at EHS
• Facilitators Review All Documents Including
• SSP
• Annual Report
• ACLC Charter

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ACLC Office Manager/ Registrar Empowerment

• Public Relations
• Informal Counseling
• Transcripts/Grades
• Oversee/implement Honor Roll and Awards
  Submission
• Positive interaction with Learners ALL DAY
• Facilitate ACLC middle school sports
  participation with other AUSD middle school
  sports teams
• Help learners solve social issues
• 6th grade to lunch liaison
• Administrative duties
• Maintain office
• AUSD district meetings
• Work with Lead facilitator and development
  director
• ACLC Governing Board Secretary

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Facilitators Assist in the Management of the
Budget

• Finance Committee, which has facilitators,
  parents and learners, draws up and monitors the
  annual budget for Governing Board approval
• Budget and spending is transparent to the entire
  community.

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Facilitators Assist in Personnel Matters

• Facilitators involved in hiring decisions and sit
  on the personnel committee with parents, learners
  
• Facilitators receive annual evaluations from
  learners about seminars and personal
  relationships with learners

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Facilitators are an Integral Part of
Organizational Development

• Facilitators were involved in writing the
  original charter and developing the education
  model
• Facilitators fill and were involved in the
  creation of the administration positions of
  CEO/Development Director and Lead Facilitator
  (part time positions)
• Facilitators lead ACLCs major committees
  Financial, Personnel, Curriculum and Standards,
  and Program Evaluation

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Facilitators are Involved in Strategic Planning

• Facilitators were instrumental in expanding the
  school to grades 6-12
• Facilitators are involved in possible expansion
  of the school to include a second campus
• Facilitators have written and received a 250,000
  Dissemination Grant from the State of California
  to share Best Practices Statewide

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Facilitators are in Charge of Program Evaluation

• Facilitators help create the Annual Report
• Facilitators create single school plan for
  underachieving learners
• Facilitators write WASC review
• The school program is evaluated by end of year
  parent and learner surveys and published in the
  annual report

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Facilitators Create Policy for Standards and
Curriculum

• Facilitators have instituted interdisciplinary
  curriculum
• Facilitators have aligned schools standards for
  graduation with the UC entrance requirements.
• Facilitators Align Seminar curriculum with the
  California Standards
• Facilitators review CST scores to recalibrate
  curriculum for learner success
• Facilitators assign learner projects (with choice
  components) to enhance curriculum
• Facilitators have instituted the Learning to
  Learn Curriculum

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ACLC Learning to Learn Curriculum

• Time and Task Management
• Reading
• Research
• Internet Sources
• Non-Internet Sources
• Systems Thinking
• Effective Presentations
• Participatory Democracy
• Ownership of Community
• Judicial System Interaction
• Leadership

• Personal Visioning
• Individual Teamwork
• Oral Communication
• Writing
• Understanding How We Learn
• Teaching Others
• Note-Making
• Whole Team Performance Evaluation

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Facilitators Maintain the Vision of the ACLC
Charter

• Facilitators negotiated charter renewal and MOU
  with district
• Facilitators are participating in Best
  Practices dissemination activities
• Facilitators are asking you to re-engage with the
  Alameda Communitys Vision for Schools

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So What Does a Facilitators Day Look Like?

• Facilitates academic seminars
• Supervises the Community Room (Floor Facilitator)
• Plans curriculum in standard 5 preparation
  periods per week
• Attends Staff Business meeting and Kids meeting
  once a week
• Provides extra tutoring to learners.
• Collaborates with other facilitators, parents,
  and learners
• Attends monthly committee meeting (Financial,
  Personnel, Program Evaluation, or Curriculum and
  Standards)
• Observes other facilitators seminars
• Answers emails and phone calls from parents
• Collaborates with counselor and resource
  specialist
• Attends IEPs
• Writes newsletter articles
• Attends weekly community meeting (CCC)

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Sample Facilitator Schedule Patricia (Science
and Math Facilitator)
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Sample Facilitator Schedule Syl (Humanities and
Judicial Facilitator)
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In Conclusion Facilitator Empowerment

• Allows teachers to evolve into facilitators who
  welcome learner and parent empowerment which
  leads to fulfillment of the ACLC mission
• Creates schools that fulfill the Alameda
  Communitys Vision for Schools
• Creates an environment that empowers learners
  towards
• High Academic Achievement
• Youth who believe in the democratic tradition and
  know how to negotiate and compromise
• Youth prepared with the Learning to Learn
  skills needed for success in the 21st century

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Alameda Community Learning CenterA New
Learning Model

• For More Information
• Alamedaclc.org