Revised 9/2007

Learning Record Policy and Procedure

Learning Record Policy:

Parents/Students and education specialists meet face to face at least once every 20 school days* to review and document the learning that occurs in each growth area. (If the student must be absent from the meeting due to an unavoidable time conflict, this would be acceptable but is considered the exception rather than the rule). The ES then has 5 school days* in which to write the learning records in WEBfiles (it will show up as late on the 6th school attendance day). For example, if the ES met with a family on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving vacation, then the ES has until Friday of the next week to get the LR submitted. *(Please refer to the school calendar).

Learning Record Procedure:

Determine the Assignment Period

When the ES meets with the parent and student to sign the Student Agreement, there must be an agreement about the time and frequency of the regular meetings. The time indicated on the student agreement is the clock time and day that the actual assessment of the work occurs. Example: Tuesday, 10 am. The frequency agreed upon defines how often this assessment occurs. Example: Once a week, once a month, etc. For some families, meeting once a month is adequate. AESS (Additional ES Services) students require more frequent meetings: weekly or twice a month. The assignment period is the agreed upon time and frequency of the regular assessment meetings between the ES and the student/parent. It is the responsibility of the Education Specialist (ES) in conjunction with the parent (as determined by the agreements the parent signed) to regularly document the learning of each student.

Scheduling Learning Record Meetings

It is necessary for a full-time ES to spread their learning record duties throughout the month by scheduling their meetings in such a way that they meet with a portion of their families each week rather than attempting to meet with all of them at once. In order to accomplish this, the ES must schedule meetings with a portion of their families at the beginning of the year just one week after school has started. It will be a proportionately short learning record for that first week, of course. Another group of families can be met on the second week, and another on the third and fourth, thus establishing a pattern for the rest of the year; meeting each family subsequently 19-20 days thereafter (unless AESS). This will spread the workload out over the month so that any deadlines become more manageable, and the 5 day span required for completing the learning record, is reasonable.

For example, if an ES has 27 students, they should plan to meet 5-7 of them a week so that their work load is spread out evenly throughout the month. Consequently, a full-time ES will not have more than 5-7 learning records with the same ending date. A good weekly schedule might be:

Monday: Meet with 4 students

Tuesday: Complete their LRs, submit any POs, get rollsheets ready for mailing at end of week

Wednesday: Meet with 3 students

Thursday: Complete their LRs, submit any POs, get rollsheets ready for mailing at end of week

Friday: Take all paperwork for the week, copy and mail, call any vendors, input CP set-ups or service POs, complete any research.

This will also show our auditors that an ES that works full time truly spends one hour per week per student... because 7 students per week X 4 hours of service for the month equals 28 hours of work plus any driving time. It is impossible for a full-time ES to do the required job if they are meeting all of their students in one week.

Meet Face-to-Face with the Parent/Student

The first option for learning record meetings is to go to the parents home. Meeting at a public place is used only when it is by mutual agreement between the ES and the parent, when the home is not a safe place to meet or when the ES has agreed to take the family because they were not in their zip code area but meet them at a mutually agreed upon location.

The following activities must occur during the face-to-face meeting:

-assessment of the student's work product to verify that the student has made adequate and appropriate progress toward the attainment of the student standards

-provide educational support and counsel to the parent

-pick up of the hard copy attendance roll sheet which the parent kept for that learning period, and provide them with one for the next period.

-arrange the next two appointment dates and locations with the parent.

-pick up portfolio samples

Assessment of Work Product

It is the responsibility of the ES to evaluate the work product of the student in order to determine if adequate and appropriate progress toward the charter school objectives (the student standards listed in the school charter and the California state standards) has been made during that assignment period. This assessment occurs when the ES meets face-to-face with the parent/student at the end of each assignment period. During this regular, required meeting, the ES will read examples of the student's work, listen to the student's explanation of a concept learned, watch while a student demonstrates an activity, taste a sample of a baking assignment, etc. Writing how the learning is assessed is part of the learning record. As the interview progresses, the ES can either create the learning record on their laptop or take notes needed to prepare the learning record later. Only new learning should be recorded.

It is the responsibility of the ES to assess the student's progress and to prepare the learning records. Parents are NOT REQUIRED to keep lesson plans, take notes or write learning records. Parents can choose to keep notes or a journal if they wish. Parent notes can be written by hand or sent to the ES electronically via e-mail. If the parent does document their observations of the child's learning, that documentation can be used as the basis of the learning record along with the ESs own observations. Even with parent documentation, the ES is still required to meet face-to-face with the parent/student in order to assess the work product.

It is the responsibility of the ES to determine which growth areas learning fits in. It would be prudent to discuss the placement of learning in various growth areas and the standards with a concerned parent. Often, such a discussion helps the parent to "see" educational value in activities they had not before considered educational. This enables parents to maximize this Charter School's educational possibilities for their child. Learning may not have occurred in every growth area. This happens often with elementary age students who do not always learn content which would fit under "political" growth area. And it happens with high school students who may be concentrating in a specific growth area to meet graduation requirements or have complete the graduation requirements in an area.

Educational Support and Counsel

These regular meetings provide an opportunity for the parent to ask questions and for the Education Specialist to share different teaching strategies, suggest activities and resources with educational value, offer support and encouragement, or identify appropriate work samples to be included in the student's semester portfolio. The time spent with the parent during the face-to-face meeting is an opportunity to help parents and students.

The ES must become skillful in "interviewing" the parent and student in order to find all learning which occurred. The technique of interviewing is a balance between questioning and careful listening. Every student is an individual. Each student learns in different ways and at varying ability levels. All students in charter schools are required to achieve at least as much learning as would be required in the regular schools in California. Keep in mind that there is no requirement that charter school students learn in exactly the same way as students in traditional public schools. The Charter School gives parents the opportunity to allow their child to learn in ways that are not typical in regular public schools, thus we can meet the needs of students on an individual basis.

The ES verifies that learning has occurred, so it is the responsibility of the ES to learn the various ways learning can take place. There are many philosophies of education and styles of teaching. Again, it is the responsibility of the ES to learn what these philosophies and styles are, and how to recognize the learning that has taken place. Much of this information will show itself during the monthly interview for the learning record if the ES asks the right questions, listens carefully to the parent/student and recognizes the various ways learning occurs. If the parent agrees, ask the student questions about what he/she learned.

Here are some examples of how an ES can view learning in alternative ways:

-A child may not have a lot of papers to show you, but can explain what kinds of birds build which kinds of nests.

-A boy diagnosed with ADD may not be able to sit quietly and take tests easily, but he would love to explain to you how his science experiment foamed over, almost exploded and why.

-A low-level reading high school student may want to share with you the works of a composer he just discovered through listening to an audio tape.

Prepare the learning record

The main purposes of learning records are to document the new learning represented on the attendance roll sheets and how the learning was assessed or evaluated, list by name any major school purchased materials or activities used in that learning period, and document a student's progress toward the charter school objectives (the student standards listed in the school charter and the California state standards). Time spent in preparing this documentation is a significant portion of the ES job responsibilities. Preparation of the learning record requires that the ES complete the following steps:

1) Write the new learning documentation and the way that the learning was assessed or evaluated.

2) List any specific school provided resources (major purchased materials or activities)

3) Decide what standards the student has progressed in

4) Match the beginning and ending dates on the learning record and attendance roll sheet

5) Refer to the Learning Record Checklist to insure that all necessary elements are included

1) Documentation:

**(All CW Learning Records that are for students that have Personalized Learning Improvement Plans as described in the CW Curriculum Policy, must use the word "PLIP" by the activities in any learning area where the student is required to participate in a PLIP, and "CAHSEE PLIP" for high school students that need a PLIP for CAHSEE prep. See "Sample PLIPs".

**All CW Learning Records must also include the means of meeting the NCLB HQT requirements. See HQT Learning Record Documentation for details. The HQT notations should be included in all core growth areas on each learning record: English, Math, Social Science, and Science, for all students taking HQ dept. or High School level courses. This should occur automatically when the selections are made on the HS report card.

Learning records will include descriptions of the major objectives, activities, and means of assessment/evaluation of the course of study covered by the agreement that were used within each assignment period. The course of study objectives are described by the selection of appropriate standards, written by the ES when a specific standard is not available to describe the content of the learning, and supported by the learning activities and means of assessment listed. These activities selected to reach the objectives may include, but are not limited to: reading, research, essays, term papers, flash cards, illustrations, oral reports, demonstrations, participation, group projects, lesson exercises, games, projects, comprehension questions, computer programs, field trips, simulations, discussions, note-taking, videos, audio tapes, coloring, and other educational activities. An assessment/evaluation is any observable activity that shows comprehension of content learned. The means of assessment/evaluation can often be the activity, but if the activity does not denote an assessment/evaluation (as in discussed, completed written exercises and tests, performed skit, etc.) then additional documentation should be included. Because learning records must be written to reflect the requirements of independent study law, just marking standards covered in each growth area is not enough information. The standards must be included, but also those activities and means of assessment/evaluation which support the attainment of the standard.

Example:

Anthony completed three chapters in his Science Text. He read each chapter, and answered in writing the chapter review questions to show comprehension of the key points. He completed an on-line activity unit with accompanying worksheets, and watched a video.

Note in the above example the activity words. Avoid using words like “studied, completed, etc” and use words that “paint pictures” in the mind of the reader of what the student actually did to meet the objectives and standards. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy is helpful.

Learning records should only document new learning, and not repetitive activities unless the student has learned increased skills or abilities, and if so, these should be noted.

For example, writing PE can be difficult, but it can be done. Young children usually do a variety of activities - skating, riding bikes, 2-square, hop-scotch, etc. They often delight in showing their ES the new skills or improved abilities and it can be noted as a teacher comment! For older students, statements like "The student walks daily to complete the requirements of PE 2A" for three LR's in a row, is too repetitive and does not show new learning. You can state "The student walks regularly for increased cardiovascular conditioning walking about 1.5 miles in 25 minutes - and the next learning period it can be said, " increased walking pace to 1.5 miles in 20 minutes." (Or something similar). Students can site heart-rate, distance or time (or all three), and for many sports you can use words like “developed stamina, increased strength, etc”. Usually the learning is there, it is just that we forget to ask about it. Asking the high school student to keep a journal of their activities, noting nuances, can help the ES when documenting the learning in the LR. There are some books and programs for teaching about sports that can enhance a PE program. Division of Independent Study (North Dakota) is an approved vender that has PE courses.

Other activities not typically done through a text book, computer learning, typing, career exploration, art, etc. should be handled similarly.

Document any Contract Program Activity on the LR. Use the words "Contract Programs Activity".

Example:

Contract Program Activity: Johnny went to the zoo. He visited the reptile house, read descriptions and discussed what he learned with his father. He also drew a picture of his favorite reptile.

The documentation of learning should include content of what is learned but not where it is learned. As stated in the Charter School charter, the student's community is the school's campus. And since the Charter School is performance-based rather than rule-based, our purpose is to document what the student learns, not where s/he learns it. The ES documents what the student has learned but does not mention by name organizations, community college, or church related groups. This includes groups such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H or any other community organization.

Example:

Community Service - Ramon helped at the local Food Bank putting received food goods on the shelf, assisting in distributing food, cleaning and organizing the storage shelves, helping carry boxes as needed, and keeping inventory. He wrote a report on his activities with regard to this volunteer service and received a letter of appreciation from the manager of the food bank.

Specific school provided resources must be listed. The major expenses of the school should be listed on the LR, not every single item purchased, such as pencils/paper etc. Specific text titles should be listed if purchased by the school. The Es will need to make a professional judgment on what is primarily being used and important to document. Expenses like "violin", "digital camera", "telescope" should be listed separately, as they are higher ticket items. However, for supplemental items, the following would be sufficient:
" Language worktexts" instead of each individual workbook being listed.
" science kits" instead of each science experiment kit
" art supplies" instead of each item, etc.

There is no need to mention the amount of time that learning took place or the dates that earning took place for any activity. As a charter school we are held accountable for the performance or achievement of our students (performance-based) rather than traditional methods of attendance accounting based on "seat time" (rule-based). Portfolio samples require the designation of an amount of time.

You may also include chapter numbers if you wish, but that is not required.

Any references to religious content must be in the context of the study of world religion.

Examples:

Art: Kent learned how to use paper mache by creating seasonal decorations.

Family Studies: Francis is learning how to entertain a large group of people. She planned all aspects of a large family seasonal get together: menu planning, budgeting, making shopping lists, shopping & choosing bargains, creating holiday table settings & center pieces, and the cooking & baking of the meal.

History: Jane is reading about the history of the Mormon culture and their religion. She is also learning about Korea through communicating with a Korean pen pal. She has learned about the Buddhist tradition and the history of the country. Jane is in the process of reading "The Great Wall" . She finds this a very fascinating account.

A learning record can include nontraditional learning as well as traditional. School is more than textbooks. Include anecdotal evidence of learning through activities, outings, etc. Activities and events can help create a more comprehensive picture of student learning. When you are presented with a unique achievement, breakthrough, or insight while interviewing parent or student, celebrate it by including it in the learning record. By improving your interviewing skills, you will discover nontraditional learning which the parent does not include. Many families will not tell you the "fun" stuff because they do not know it counts or they forget: Outings, board games, educational computer games, videos, educational TV, etc.

The learning record can include teacher comments.

Examples of comments might be:

English: Fred shows much improvement writing essays.

Math: Francis writes addition and subtraction problems daily. She needs to improve her times tables by reviewing orally using flash cards.

A properly written learning record should provide a record of student progress which may be used to support the life goals of that student. If a student wants to attend a college, then the ES would write up the learning records in such a way that they could be of use for college entrance, resumes, etc. If a student wishes to become employed in a trade or a specific field of work, the learning record would be written to document the student's interests and achievements in that field.

Example:

Career Exploration: Joe is learning to be in the food services field. He has a new job at a cafe where he will be preparing food, cashiering, counting & balancing cash register, preparing food for catering jobs, waiting tables, washing dishes, cleaning, weighing portions for food platters & dishes, and making sandwiches. This month he focused on learning how to use the cash register.

The information presented on the learning record should be organized. It should stand alone so the reader can make sense of it without having to be instructed in what a learning record is. There is great latitude in how the ES organizes each learning record. Each record will reflect the personality of the ES and the learning style of the student. The ES would organize the information differently for a high school student earning Carnegie units than for an elementary student. An ES would organize the information differently for an "unschooling" student than for an AESS student.

Take time to write your learning record professionally. This includes using your spell checker, organizing the information and making sure that information is complete. First impressions are important. Take a little extra time to create a document that you would be proud to show anyone: one which positively represents the learning achievements of your students.

Copies of learning records may be given to parents upon request as long as the students are enrolled in the school. BUT, after a student has dropped, the request for any school info needs to go to the IEM office for processing.

Remember that the Learning Record:

1. Is one of the most important parts of the ES job.

2. Is an auditable, legal school document that becomes the course of study description for that course.

3. Is looked at by other schools as it becomes a part of the cum file if a student transfers.

4. Is read by college counselors to determine if prerequisites for courses have been met.

5. Is read by the superintendent of the school district and the board to assess the quality of the charter school and the students’ achievements, and may be a determining factor in whether or not a charter is renewed from year to year.

6. Is read by a financial auditor who views items discussed in the LR almost like a PO. (So don’t discuss any material/book in the LR that couldn’t be purchased by the school. The LR must validate the school’s instructional purchases.)

7. Is viewed by a programmatic auditor to determine if we are complying with charter law requirements in stating activities, means of assessment/evaluation, school resources used, and objectives (standards) for each subject area covered.

8. Is compared to the transcript by the programmatic auditor to be sure it supports the awarded grades and credits.

2) Student Standards

The Charter school objectives are the student standards listed in the school charter and the California state standards. Each student must make adequate and appropriate progress toward the attainment of the standards. Each learning record must document the student's progress towards the standards. Below each growth area text field on the learning record in WEBfiles is a list of the state standards for that growth area. You will note that the school student standards are melded into the CA State Standards that are listed in the learning record. (See How to Create a LR for directions). The ES evaluates learning by indicating the standards in which progress has occurred during the learning period by checking it while creating the LR. The learning records have a view for the state standards called the “yearly” view that shows all standards covered for each growth area for the current year for each student. Since the standards fulfill the requirement of listing objectives, the information regarding content does not have to be repeated in the learning record documentation written by the ES. If the content learned does not have standards to demonstrate the objectives, the ES must write the objectives (or content) in the documentation.

When marking a standard on the learning record, the ES is not judging if the student has mastered the standard, but is noting those standards that the family tells/shows/demonstrated to us that they worked on that learning period. We can emphasize that not all standards in each area must be covered if the family has chosen NOT to study a part of a curriculum that they find inappropriate for their child (as in Health Education). What we do expect to be covered are those essential standards in the core subject areas that will be tested by STAR/CST/CAHSEE and are critical to each student’s graduation/future success. Each growth area of the student's learning record has a yellow button on the top right labeled "print yearly standards". Print a copy of the yearly student standards for each student in each growth area where learning occurred, and keep in student's file.Your students' progress may be assessed by administration at the end of the year. Some ESs may opt to put the files on a disk rather than printing all of the yearly standards for each student. Go to How to pdf files in Citrix for more information.

It may be helpful to have a copy of your student’s table of content. (Ask parents to supply you with a copy, or make a copy prior to giving the family their textbooks). This helps the ES to choose the correct standards when completing the LR. Some texts have tables of content and/or correlations on their website for an "easy" selection of standards achieved in each chapter.

The amount of learning (or progress toward the attainment of the student standards) must support the number of days of attendance assigned by the ES. As a charter school we are held accountable for the performance or achievement of our students rather than traditional methods of attendance accounting based on "seat time". It is the responsibility of the ES to verify that adequate and appropriate progress has occurred to justify the number of attendance days assigned to a student. If a student has earned 5 days of attendance, their learning record will not show the same amount of learning as a student who earns 20 days attendance. The definition of a day of attendance for a charter school student is one in which the student has performed what was required of him/her by the charter school. Remember that the requirement will vary for each of student, depending on the student's needs and abilities. The requirements for individual students are discussed with the parent at the time the student agreement is signed. The parent keeps the attendance roll sheet during the learning period, marking those days on which learning occurs. However, it is the Education Specialist who determines how many days of attendance that student's learning period represents. A parent may feel that their student earned full attendance and the ES may judge that the work product does not support the number of days claimed. An ES can disagree with the parent's claim of attendance. Since it is the ESs job to assess and document the student's progress towards the student standards, it would be unprofessional of the ES to assign attendance credit to a student who has not met those requirements.

3) Match Dates

In order to accurately match the dates on the learning record and the attendance roll sheet, the ES be clear on the difference between the assignment period and the learning period recorded on the learning record. The assignment period is the time identified by the ES and the student/parent between face to face meetings. The assignment period can be weekly, bimonthly, monthly or any other amount of time agreed to as long as it is at least five days and no more than 20 days. The learning record includes documentation of learning that took place on 20 or less school days. The learning record can include a learning period of one or more assignment periods.

Example: ES meets a family on 1st Thursday of every month at 10 am. There has been only one assignment period includes in this learning record: 18 days from 1st Thursday in September to the 1st Thursday of October. The attendance roll sheet corresponding to this learning period includes those same 18 days.

Example: ES meets an independent study student every Wednesday at 4 p.m. There are four assignment periods included in this learning record: 17 attendance days from 1st Wednesday to the 4th Wednesday. The attendance roll sheet corresponding to this learning period includes those same 17 days.

Example: ES meets a family every twenty days. There has been only one assignment period includes in this learning record. The attendance roll sheet corresponding to this learning period includes 20 days.

High School learning records have specific guidelines. Please read this document for the writing of high school learning records.

For more examples of how to write a learning record, see Learning Record Do's and Don'ts.