Field 2: Madison Elementary School, Wauwatosa Field 3: Lake Bluff Elementary School, Shorewood Mission and Goals: Field 2:The Wauwatosa School District's mission statement is: "United with parents and the community, the Wauwatosa School District delivers an outstanding education that equips and inspires our students to conquer their challenges now and in the future." Wauwatosa School District has a yearly District Development Plan for Goals, Initiatives, and Projects that can be found on their website. I perceived their mission as trying to unite everyone in their community as a family, and push each other to do their very best. The St. Francis of Assisi value that sticks out to me in regards to the Wauwatosa School District is creating a caring community. Field 3: The Shorewood School District’s mission statement is: “to provide a liberal arts education that prepares students to embrace the challenges of the future. We will foster a love of learning and the acquisition of knowledge and skills that will serve as the foundation and catalyst for a lifetime of learning.” Lake Bluff Elementary mission statement is: “Each child respected. Each child included. Each child nurtured. Each child challenged. Each child successful.” No goals could be found on their website. The St. Francis of Assisi value that sticks out to me in regards to the Shorewood School District is sharing compassion for others. The actual mission of Lake Bluff Elementary is about being an individual and respecting individuality. Demographics of the community: Field 2: The demographics of the Wauwatosa School District are diverse. According to the 2010-2011 school years Wauwatosa enrolled 7,208 students. 69% of students are white, 16% African American, 5.5% Hispanic, 4.2% Asian, and 4.5% two or more. The majority of students are white, but there are quite a few diverse ethnicities that also make up the population of Wauwatosa. Wauwatosa School District participates in the Milwaukee 220 Student Transfer program. However, over the past few school years, the diversity has been relatively the same. This year the percentage of students with two or more races/ethnicities and the Pacific Isle category was added to the report, those two races/ethnicities dramatically increased. Field 3:The demographics of the Shorewood School District are also very diverse. English Language Learners (ELL) makes up about 5% of the total student population. Shorewood participates in the Milwaukee 220 Student Transfer program, over 156 Milwaukee students and an additional 146 non-resident students attend Shorewood schools as part of the Open Enrollment program. A classroom for the cognitively disabled is located at Lake Bluff grade school. New Horizons Charter School opened at Shorewood High School. New Horizons offers a very different, hands-on approach to learning for students who are having significant problems completing graduation requirements in regular academic classes. Shorewood has a lot of different types of opportunities for a broad range of students making their demographics very diverse as well. Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity: Field 2: Madison Elementary had a total of 363 students enrolled in the 2010-2011 school years. According to this table, 58.1% of students were white, 24.2% African American, 5.8% Hispanic, 9.4% Asian, and 1.9% two or more races/ethnicities. The only major difference is the percentage of Caucasian and Hispanic students slightly decreasing, and the addition of the Pacific Isle category and two or more races/ethnicities to the report.The majority of students are white, making a little over half of the population. However, the other close to half are all different types of ethnicities. Field 3: Lake Bluff Elementary is pretty comparable to Madison Elementary as far as enrollment by Race/Ethnicity. 533 students were enrolled at Lake Bluff Elementary in the 2010-2011 school years. According to this table, 67.7% of students were white, 13.5% African American, 4.5% Hispanic, 7.1% Asian, and 6.6% two or more races/ethnicities. Again the only major difference is the percentage of Caucasian and Hispanic students slightly decreasing, and the addition of the Pacific Isle category and two or more races/ethnicities to the report. There is a greater population of white children than at Madison Elementary. However, Lake Bluff has a higher percentage of children with two or more races/ethnicities. Student Performance on the WKCE by Race/Ethnicity: Field 2:According to the table of Madison Elementary students, 44.7% of African Americans, 29.1% White, and 44.4% combined groups (small number) scored Proficient on the November 2010 WKCE Reading test. Scores for the American Indians, Asian, and Hispanic cultures were not available. The majority of Caucasians scored Advanced on the WKCE. The majority of African Americans and small number groups of students scored Proficient on the test. 21.1% of African Americans, 13.9% White, and 11.1% of combined small number groups of students scored Basic on the test, and very few African American and combined groups scored Minimal. Field 3: According to the table of Lake Bluff Elementary students, 47.4% of African American, 18.1% White, and 31.7% combined groups (small number) scored Proficient on the November 2010 WKCE Reading test. Again, scores for the American Indians, Asian, and Hispanic cultures were not available. The majority of Caucasian and combined small number groups of students scored Advanced on the WKCE. The majority of African Americans scored Proficient on the test. Only 15.8% of African Americans scored Basic, and very few of any ethnicity scored Minimal. Student Performance on WKCE by Disabilities: Field 2:Only 33 students with Disabilities took the WKCE at Madison Elementary in November 2010. 3% of those students scored Minimal, 33.3% scored Basic, 39.4% scored Proficient, and 12.1% scored Advanced. The majority of these particular students scored in the Proficient range. The 111 students without Disabilities that took the test scored: 0.9% Minimal, 9.9% Basic, 35.1% Proficient, and 54.1% Advanced. I don’t believe that students with disabilities testing scores should be compared to students without disabilities because the results of students without disabilities will most likely always be higher. Field 3: 35 students with Disabilities took the WKCE at Lake Bluff Elementary in November 2010. 8.6% of those students scored Minimal, 11.4% scored Basic, 45.7% scored Proficient, and 31.4% scored Advanced. The majority of these students scored Proficient or Advanced. The 221 students without Disabilities that took the WKCE scored: 0% Minimal, 1.8% Basic, 21.3% Basic, and 76.9% Advanced. Student Performance on WKCE by English Proficiency: Field 2: Madison Elementary School had only 13 students enrolled in the tested grades at the time of the test that had limited English Proficiency. No testing scores were recorded for these students at this time. Field 3: Lake Bluff Elementary School had only 7 students enrolled in the tested grades at the time of the test that had limited English Proficiency. No testing scores were recorded for these students at this time.
Phase II
Based on the demographic statistics of your school and classroom, what are the differences that exist between you, your students and their families? What implications does this have on the student learning in the classroom?
Both Madison Elementary and Lake Bluff Elementary are right next to the city of Milwaukee. The schools both bus students from Milwaukee to their school, making the school demographic even more diverse. There is a decent population, maybe a little more at Madison, of African American, Hispanic, and Asian students at both schools. Socioeconomic wise, Madison is more middle to lower class while Shorewood is more upper class. Comparing these schools to the school district I went to: Germantown is a suburban school, consisting mainly of Caucasian students. There were a few Chapter 220 students, but not many. The socioeconomic status is middle to middle-upper class. I come from a suburban neighborhood of all Caucasian families, there is absolutely no diversity within the vicinity of where I live. Germantown also has plenty of farm families/people, which are extremely different than city people. Needless to say, both Lake Bluff and Madison have extremely diverse demographics compared to my neighborhood. Students from these schools are teaching me about cultural diversity, and how that affects student learning in the classroom.
6. How do you integrate the 21st century skills into the curriculum and instruction?
From what I have seen at Lake Bluff Elementary is the use of Smartboards, watching YouTube videos, team teaching/combined grade levels, a lot of different assistive technology, and various modern teaching tools all contribute to the integration of 21st century skills. When I was at Madison Elementary I also saw the use of Smartboards, watching YouTube videos, and some modern teaching tools being used. Madison Elementary really did not have any assistive technology (I was not in the special education room) or team teaching/combined grade levels. It was a more traditional school.
9. How do you support all students in the school into an understanding of cultural competency? Including special learning needs students.
I’ve seen more supporting of all students understanding of cultural competency at Lake Bluff than I did at Madison. Within the special ed. classroom at Lake Bluff there are many different cultures. The special education teacher told me that some of the parents of the students with special needs come into their general education classroom and do presentations about their cultures. There are family tree posters hanging in the hallways concerning where the families originated from. I cannot recall if there was any emphasis on cultural competency at Madison Elementary.
Phase III Lake Bluff Elementary is located in Shorewood, Wisconsin, and is where I had the opportunity to do clinical hours for Assessment III. This paper will discuss the cultural proficiency, achievement gap, and parent communication/involvement that I witnessed during my time at Lake Bluff. Cultural proficiency is the level of knowledge-based skills and understanding that are required to successfully teach and interact with students of various cultures. I discussed this topic with my cooperating teacher, and asked what she thought about her co-workers cultural proficiency. She told me that every teacher at Lake Bluff embraces each student that walks through the door’s culture and diversity. I can attest to this because walking through the hallway there are family tree’s and reports on student’s cultural backgrounds, teachers encourage parents to come in and talk about their family ethnicity, and teachers share their culture. One teacher is from Sweden; her class does many Swedish traditions. I witnessed one mother who came in and taught her son’s 4K class how to speak Italian. Knowing the background of their student’s allows Lake Bluff faculty to fully know their students and provide them with a wonderful education. The achievement gap is the difference in performance between low-income and minority students compared to that of their peers on standardized tests. Although I have no statistics to back up my opinion it seems to me that the achievement gap at Lake Bluff is pretty great. A lot of my time was spent in the special education room, and I noticed that the students that needed those services were African American, Iranian, Asian, and low-income students. Then, when I would enter a general education classroom I would observe all Caucasian typically middle/upper class students. I can’t help but think that the achievement gap between these two groups of students at Lake Bluff must be pretty great. However, from what I have seen and heard the parent communication and involvement is vast! Every time I went to Lake Bluff there were parents in and out of the building, and they always smiled and said hello. They have a lot of parent volunteers, family nights, and their spring conferences are student lead, which I thought was very cool. Each student has an assigned time to meet with their teacher; they bring their parent/guardian, show them around their classroom, and have a discussion with their parents and teacher. From what I have seen parent involvement is always positive and not an issue. Overall, Lake Bluff was a marvelous school to have as a field placement. I learned many things that will help me in my career, and I’d love to get hired at a school like this.
Field 2: Madison Elementary School, Wauwatosa
Field 3: Lake Bluff Elementary School, Shorewood
Mission and Goals:
Field 2:The Wauwatosa School District's mission statement is: "United with parents and the community, the Wauwatosa School District delivers an outstanding education that equips and inspires our students to conquer their challenges now and in the future." Wauwatosa School District has a yearly District Development Plan for Goals, Initiatives, and Projects that can be found on their website. I perceived their mission as trying to unite everyone in their community as a family, and push each other to do their very best. The St. Francis of Assisi value that sticks out to me in regards to the Wauwatosa School District is creating a caring community.
Field 3: The Shorewood School District’s mission statement is: “to provide a liberal arts education that prepares students to embrace the challenges of the future. We will foster a love of learning and the acquisition of knowledge and skills that will serve as the foundation and catalyst for a lifetime of learning.” Lake Bluff Elementary mission statement is: “Each child respected. Each child included. Each child nurtured. Each child challenged. Each child successful.” No goals could be found on their website. The St. Francis of Assisi value that sticks out to me in regards to the Shorewood School District is sharing compassion for others. The actual mission of Lake Bluff Elementary is about being an individual and respecting individuality.
Demographics of the community:
Field 2: The demographics of the Wauwatosa School District are diverse. According to the 2010-2011 school years Wauwatosa enrolled 7,208 students. 69% of students are white, 16% African American, 5.5% Hispanic, 4.2% Asian, and 4.5% two or more. The majority of students are white, but there are quite a few diverse ethnicities that also make up the population of Wauwatosa. Wauwatosa School District participates in the Milwaukee 220 Student Transfer program. However, over the past few school years, the diversity has been relatively the same. This year the percentage of students with two or more races/ethnicities and the Pacific Isle category was added to the report, those two races/ethnicities dramatically increased.
Field 3:The demographics of the Shorewood School District are also very diverse. English Language Learners (ELL) makes up about 5% of the total student population. Shorewood participates in the Milwaukee 220 Student Transfer program, over 156 Milwaukee students and an additional 146 non-resident students attend Shorewood schools as part of the Open Enrollment program. A classroom for the cognitively disabled is located at Lake Bluff grade school. New Horizons Charter School opened at Shorewood High School. New Horizons offers a very different, hands-on approach to learning for students who are having significant problems completing graduation requirements in regular academic classes. Shorewood has a lot of different types of opportunities for a broad range of students making their demographics very diverse as well.
Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity:
Field 2: Madison Elementary had a total of 363 students enrolled in the 2010-2011 school years. According to this table, 58.1% of students were white, 24.2% African American, 5.8% Hispanic, 9.4% Asian, and 1.9% two or more races/ethnicities. The only major difference is the percentage of Caucasian and Hispanic students slightly decreasing, and the addition of the Pacific Isle category and two or more races/ethnicities to the report.The majority of students are white, making a little over half of the population. However, the other close to half are all different types of ethnicities.
Field 3: Lake Bluff Elementary is pretty comparable to Madison Elementary as far as enrollment by Race/Ethnicity. 533 students were enrolled at Lake Bluff Elementary in the 2010-2011 school years. According to this table, 67.7% of students were white, 13.5% African American, 4.5% Hispanic, 7.1% Asian, and 6.6% two or more races/ethnicities. Again the only major difference is the percentage of Caucasian and Hispanic students slightly decreasing, and the addition of the Pacific Isle category and two or more races/ethnicities to the report. There is a greater population of white children than at Madison Elementary. However, Lake Bluff has a higher percentage of children with two or more races/ethnicities.
Student Performance on the WKCE by Race/Ethnicity:
Field 2:According to the table of Madison Elementary students, 44.7% of African Americans, 29.1% White, and 44.4% combined groups (small number) scored Proficient on the November 2010 WKCE Reading test. Scores for the American Indians, Asian, and Hispanic cultures were not available. The majority of Caucasians scored Advanced on the WKCE. The majority of African Americans and small number groups of students scored Proficient on the test. 21.1% of African Americans, 13.9% White, and 11.1% of combined small number groups of students scored Basic on the test, and very few African American and combined groups scored Minimal.
Field 3: According to the table of Lake Bluff Elementary students, 47.4% of African American, 18.1% White, and 31.7% combined groups (small number) scored Proficient on the November 2010 WKCE Reading test. Again, scores for the American Indians, Asian, and Hispanic cultures were not available. The majority of Caucasian and combined small number groups of students scored Advanced on the WKCE. The majority of African Americans scored Proficient on the test. Only 15.8% of African Americans scored Basic, and very few of any ethnicity scored Minimal.
Student Performance on WKCE by Disabilities:
Field 2:Only 33 students with Disabilities took the WKCE at Madison Elementary in November 2010. 3% of those students scored Minimal, 33.3% scored Basic, 39.4% scored Proficient, and 12.1% scored Advanced. The majority of these particular students scored in the Proficient range. The 111 students without Disabilities that took the test scored: 0.9% Minimal, 9.9% Basic, 35.1% Proficient, and 54.1% Advanced. I don’t believe that students with disabilities testing scores should be compared to students without disabilities because the results of students without disabilities will most likely always be higher.
Field 3: 35 students with Disabilities took the WKCE at Lake Bluff Elementary in November 2010. 8.6% of those students scored Minimal, 11.4% scored Basic, 45.7% scored Proficient, and 31.4% scored Advanced. The majority of these students scored Proficient or Advanced. The 221 students without Disabilities that took the WKCE scored: 0% Minimal, 1.8% Basic, 21.3% Basic, and 76.9% Advanced.
Student Performance on WKCE by English Proficiency:
Field 2: Madison Elementary School had only 13 students enrolled in the tested grades at the time of the test that had limited English Proficiency. No testing scores were recorded for these students at this time.
Field 3: Lake Bluff Elementary School had only 7 students enrolled in the tested grades at the time of the test that had limited English Proficiency. No testing scores were recorded for these students at this time.
Phase II
- Based on the demographic statistics of your school and classroom, what are the differences that exist between you, your students and their families? What implications does this have on the student learning in the classroom?
Both Madison Elementary and Lake Bluff Elementary are right next to the city of Milwaukee. The schools both bus students from Milwaukee to their school, making the school demographic even more diverse. There is a decent population, maybe a little more at Madison, of African American, Hispanic, and Asian students at both schools. Socioeconomic wise, Madison is more middle to lower class while Shorewood is more upper class. Comparing these schools to the school district I went to: Germantown is a suburban school, consisting mainly of Caucasian students. There were a few Chapter 220 students, but not many. The socioeconomic status is middle to middle-upper class. I come from a suburban neighborhood of all Caucasian families, there is absolutely no diversity within the vicinity of where I live. Germantown also has plenty of farm families/people, which are extremely different than city people. Needless to say, both Lake Bluff and Madison have extremely diverse demographics compared to my neighborhood. Students from these schools are teaching me about cultural diversity, and how that affects student learning in the classroom.6. How do you integrate the 21st century skills into the curriculum and instruction?
From what I have seen at Lake Bluff Elementary is the use of Smartboards, watching YouTube videos, team teaching/combined grade levels, a lot of different assistive technology, and various modern teaching tools all contribute to the integration of 21st century skills. When I was at Madison Elementary I also saw the use of Smartboards, watching YouTube videos, and some modern teaching tools being used. Madison Elementary really did not have any assistive technology (I was not in the special education room) or team teaching/combined grade levels. It was a more traditional school.
9. How do you support all students in the school into an understanding of cultural competency? Including special learning needs students.
I’ve seen more supporting of all students understanding of cultural competency at Lake Bluff than I did at Madison. Within the special ed. classroom at Lake Bluff there are many different cultures. The special education teacher told me that some of the parents of the students with special needs come into their general education classroom and do presentations about their cultures. There are family tree posters hanging in the hallways concerning where the families originated from. I cannot recall if there was any emphasis on cultural competency at Madison Elementary.
Phase III
Lake Bluff Elementary is located in Shorewood, Wisconsin, and is where I had the opportunity to do clinical hours for Assessment III. This paper will discuss the cultural proficiency, achievement gap, and parent communication/involvement that I witnessed during my time at Lake Bluff.
Cultural proficiency is the level of knowledge-based skills and understanding that are required to successfully teach and interact with students of various cultures. I discussed this topic with my cooperating teacher, and asked what she thought about her co-workers cultural proficiency. She told me that every teacher at Lake Bluff embraces each student that walks through the door’s culture and diversity. I can attest to this because walking through the hallway there are family tree’s and reports on student’s cultural backgrounds, teachers encourage parents to come in and talk about their family ethnicity, and teachers share their culture. One teacher is from Sweden; her class does many Swedish traditions. I witnessed one mother who came in and taught her son’s 4K class how to speak Italian. Knowing the background of their student’s allows Lake Bluff faculty to fully know their students and provide them with a wonderful education.
The achievement gap is the difference in performance between low-income and minority students compared to that of their peers on standardized tests. Although I have no statistics to back up my opinion it seems to me that the achievement gap at Lake Bluff is pretty great. A lot of my time was spent in the special education room, and I noticed that the students that needed those services were African American, Iranian, Asian, and low-income students. Then, when I would enter a general education classroom I would observe all Caucasian typically middle/upper class students. I can’t help but think that the achievement gap between these two groups of students at Lake Bluff must be pretty great.
However, from what I have seen and heard the parent communication and involvement is vast! Every time I went to Lake Bluff there were parents in and out of the building, and they always smiled and said hello. They have a lot of parent volunteers, family nights, and their spring conferences are student lead, which I thought was very cool. Each student has an assigned time to meet with their teacher; they bring their parent/guardian, show them around their classroom, and have a discussion with their parents and teacher. From what I have seen parent involvement is always positive and not an issue.
Overall, Lake Bluff was a marvelous school to have as a field placement. I learned many things that will help me in my career, and I’d love to get hired at a school like this.