Classrooms Today Look Very Different Than Students Essay

General education teachers ought to be included in training paraeducators (Collins and Wolery, 2012). Due to the fact that general education teachers are part of the instructional team for the special education students, they need to be included in training the paraeducators. The paraeducators are in the general education classroom more than they are in the special education classroom in an inclusive classroom. The paraeducators need to have a basic understanding of the strategies established in the classroom and how they can help to maintain any supports.

The authors went on to state that paraprofessionals “reported that they had some familiarity with the concept of self determined behavior for students with disabilities, with even lower levels of access to professional development opportunities pertaining to self-determined behaviors” (Lane, Carter, & Sisco, 2012, p. 246). Paraprofessionals are expected to play key roles in the education of students with severe disabilities, but they are not given the proper tools to complete this task successfully. Teachers, students and paraprofessionals would be greatly benefited if every person involved in the education of a child was properly trained.

Edward Murrow High School is a school that specializes in the performing arts and theater programs with grades 9-12. It also houses 12 classrooms, plus using Midwood field as an extension for classes that need more space, for physical education, which makes the school have one of the biggest physical education programs in the city. The elective classes are usually grade mixed, with the exception of freshman physical education classes and have an average of about 30 students in a classes. The school runs on a band system, instead of a period system like most high schools around the city. For example, the school has A-K band, while other schools have period 1-9. In this school some bands don’t meet every day and there are classes that begin before A band. There aren’t any lunch periods for students, but what they have instead is OPTA, which means “Optional Time Activities” and during this time students are able to go to lunch, study and relax. The neighborhood, which the high school is located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and the high school has a demographic of 28% White (non-Hispanic), 23% Black or African American, 26% Asian, 21% Hispanic or Latino and 0.2% Native American. According to the latest school quality guide of the high school, in 3 categories the school is “approaching target for a great school” and in 4 out of 7 categories the school is “meeting target for a great school”

Mrs. Alice McLoughlin-Doro is a Special Education teacher at Downers Grove South High School in Downers Grove, Illinois. The community is known for its excellent school districts. According to the 2010 census there were 47, 833 people living in Downers Grove with approximately 19,000 households and 13,000 families. The racial makeup of the school was reported to be 88% White, 3% African American, 5% Hispanic, 0.2% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 5% Asian, and 1.6% from two or more races. About 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. The school district report card reports the following racial/ethnic background for the school: 68.1% White, 10.3 African American, 11% Hispanic, 7.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, and 3.2% two or more races. The elementary schools, middle schools, and high school all perform very well academically receiving above state average scores on standardized tests. She has been working there for 10 years and is currently a Case Manager of 17 students, all with an IEP, all with different needs and goals in the LD department. She co-teaches two general education classes in English intervention, all freshman. Although she is a Special Education teacher, she works with all the students. She also teaches a READ 180, Tier 3 reading and english intervention. This is where we will be focusing on for this

To set the demographics, Lacy Elementary School is a 60-year-old neighborhood school. Originally built to accommodate 500 students, the school is now over capacity, reaching a high enrollment of 650 students. Located in an urban school district, a majority of the students qualify for the federal breakfast and lunch program. The district has recently experienced a new rezoning, and in result there are buses now bringing 200 students from the surrounding neighborhoods to the school. Lacy Elementary opens its’ doors at 7:30 a.m., although school doesn’t begin until 8:30 a.m. Teachers are not required to report to school until 15 minutes prior to school beginning, however, teacher assistants or paraprofessionals are paid a stipend to supervise students before and after school. Although they have this opportunity, there are only two individuals who have chosen to supervise in the breakfast program. To provide additional assistance, PTA volunteers and administration are currently helping supervise when able.

The setting is Washington Elementary School in West Orange, NJ. The grade I picked is first grade. The age group in the class is between the ages of five and seven. The subjects they learn are math, language arts, social studies, and writing. But they focus more on reading and math throughout the day. There are 8 girls and 8 boys in the classroom which makes 16 students in total. The class is divided into three racial and ethnic groups which are Latino or Hispanic, African Americans, and Asian American. There are about 1 Asian American, 6 Latino or Hispanic, and 9 African Americans.

Miss Kane’s first grade class at Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School (also known as Coates Elementary) has twenty students and seventeen of them are considered English Language Learners (ELL) (E. Kane, Personal Communication, October 4, 2016). This is very frustrating for both Miss. Kane and her students because it is very difficult to communicate with many of her ELLs. Out of Miss Kane’s twenty students eight students are Hispanic, five Indian, five Black, and three White. Miss Kane’s class is very diverse and this allows students to feel more accepted because not all students are similar. Coates Elementary as a whole is very diverse: Asian 28.86%, Black 18.26%, Hispanic 37.32%, and White 12.08% (Fairfax County Public Schools, 2015). Miss Kane’s classroom reflects similar diversity as Coates Elementary does. Both Miss. Kane and the Coates staff really show their appreciation for diversity and attempt to treat all children equally giving all students equal opportunity. Coates Elementary is a Title I school; about fifty percent of students receive free and reduced lunch (Fairfax County Public Schools, 2015). This school was placed in the center of poverty and many of these students who participate in the free and reduced lunch program are English Language Learners.

For the Fall of 2016, I worked at Cornatzer Elementary School in Davie County. Cornatzer Elementary School was a Title I school where 60% of the students were considered economically disadvantaged and qualified for free/reduced lunch. I worked in a 1st grade classroom that was composed of 25 students; out of those 25, 15 were male and 10 were female. The majority of the class was Caucasian; however, there were 4 Hispanic children, and 1 of two or more races. During a typical week, we had 5 children who received pull out services. Specifically, we had one student who qualified for English Language Learner (ELL) services, 3 students who solely needed speech services, and 1 student who received speech and behavior interventions.

The school that I work in is located in Frederick, Maryland. We have nearly 800 students that attend Kindergarten through 5th grade, and with diverse backgrounds. The school is located in a very prosperous neighborhood, with several additional sections of townhomes and apartment complexes which house Section 8. All of these are within walking distance to the school. In Frederick County there are over 2,500 ELL students and more than 11,000 that are FARM (Free And Reduced Meals) students. Our graduation rate is superb with an over 93% graduation rate and a 3.5% dropout rate. This

Winston Salem, NC 27105. Petree school is a minority school and African American make up over half of the school population. There is about 428 students who attend grades pre-K to fifth. The school is currently surround by very urban community. The majority of the Students that attend school lived in low poverty areas and is very poor. Social economic impact our students lives tremulously so as a school we provide free and reduce lunch for our students. We also work with the foodbank of northwest and provide back pack bag to students in need to take home every Friday.

Houston Elementary is a predominately white school. 413 white students are enrolled in Houston Elementary, which is nearly 98% of all students. This is most likely due to the fact that many of the current residents in Houston are part of a family who has been in the Ozark area for many years. Although the population in Houston is mostly composed of white families, there are families from different ethnic backgrounds present. The Elementary school has two black students enrolled, two Asian students, and two Hispanic students. Therefore, all together 1.5% of Houston’s elementary students are from an ethnic race different from that of the white students. Many of Houston’s students are faced with poverty; this means that the students’ families are dealing with financial challenges which are often due to loss of jobs or lack of available work. This financial strain can make it difficult for families to afford to pay for their children’s lunch every day. This need is the result of a program which offers free or

I interviewed several service providers in my school, Stephen Knight Center for Early Education, that included the psychologist, special education teacher and a general education teacher. I interviewed Ms. Iris, the school psychologist, Ms. Kathy, the special education teacher, and Ms. Hilary, a general education teacher. Ms. Iris’ responsibilities include working with students who have social emotional needs. This can include behavior challenges, learning new social skills, managing grief, etc. She works directly with parents and teachers to provide resources regarding the child’s well-being, and ensure good attendance by setting up plans. Ms. Iris works with children in general education, counseling groups, and one-on-one situations, including special education minutes. Ms. Hilary is a general education classroom teacher. She is responsible for the well-being of her students academically, socially, physically and developmentally. Ms. Hilary also advocates for families and students to receive the support that they need to feel successful in their first years of school. Finally, Ms. Kathy is the staffing

Currently, I am student teaching at Alfred E. Zampella PS #27 School in the district of Jersey City. The school is located in a busy city, next to John F. Kennedy St. which is especially busy in the morning and during rush hour. This results in several late students on a day to day basis. On the other hand, this school is also highly accessible and as a little over a thousand students. The school has grade levels from kindergarten to 8th grade, and has a mix of general, special, and inclusion education classrooms. Typically, families that enroll their students into this school are of lower-middle socio-economic class, and tend to be majority Hispanic, Indian, and African American, with few Caucasians and Asians. This school provides a variety of special programs for their ESL students and special need students. Students may be offered speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, ESL programs, reading recovery, and counseling.

PS. 45 is a school in in Staten Island New York, serving 900 students, 61% of the students are economically disadvantaged. This is a diverse school where 5% of students are Asian, 17% Black, 48% Hispanic and 27% White. They have a population of English Language Learners that take up 6% and 23% of the school's population have disabilities. I am observing a 4th grade classroom at P.S. 45. This class is a general education class with 26 students, two of these students are English language learners and two others struggle with focusing. There are also a number of students in the class that need extra support.

The modern classroom has many challenges that face it. Shrinking budgets, less parental involvement, higher expectations, and growing class sizes, just to name a few. If this list was not daunting enough you also have the special needs students that have an array problems in your classroom that need specialized attention, lessons and seating. There are many forms of diverse learners from students who suffer from ADHD to physical disabilities to students with autism to ones that are bullied in school. There are so many things going on in our students lives we sometimes forget they have lives, pressures and disabilities that affect their performance and attitude in our class that have a profound impact on how they learn. For this paper I