Personal Narrative: My Inner City School

I am elated to have the opportunity to apply to California State University of Fullerton's Master of Literacy and Reading program. I graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in 2013. There, I received my Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies, with an emphasis in Spanish, as well as my Multiple Subject Credential. After graduation, I taught Kindergarten for two years in Greenfield, California. It was there that I learned my passion for teaching reading skills to English Language Learners. I soon realized the joy and cohesiveness literacy can bring into a classroom. For the past three years I have taught first grade at a small rural school in Shandon, California. I was extremely honored to be chosen to travel to Kansas City in July 2017, to

It was early July in Southern California: the sun was high, the air was warm, and the palm trees were swaying. Unfortunately, the bright sun could not light the darkness of the pit I had been slowly falling into during my tumultuous school year at my new charter school. On that day, when the other girls were tanning beachside, I was sitting deskside. I was trapped in a tiny, moldy, yellow-carpeted education office at the school I had transferred to the year prior. Like my fading hope, the dusty chandelier was barely hanging on from the ceiling. The room’s peculiarity added to my anxiety, as I felt failure lingering in the musty air. Though I had been sheltered by my parents’ optimism, I knew what I would soon hear: “I am so sorry sweetheart,

In the past year, a lot has changed for me. I lost a grandfather to cancer, then a month later an uncle to a gruesome semi accident. My grandmother on the other side of the family barely remembers me due to alzheimer's, and my mom lost her job but is now working over 1300 miles away in Florida. If someone would have asked me at the start of my Junior year what I expected to happen, I wouldn’t have listed any of those. As anticipated, it was not easy dealing with a downfall of events like that, but the way I was raised helped me cope with it all. I started out at a small private school, where Religion was just as important as Math and English. How we were to act was drilled into us, and after I switched to public school, there was a noticeable

Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

I use to go to Bethesda Elementary before I moved here. The reason I moved was because I would go to Thomas. H. Pyle Middle School while the kids at BE would go to Westland Middle School. If I continued going to BE in sixth grade when I moved to Pyle I would not know anyone. The reason I moved to Bradley Hills, and not any other school that was going to Pyle was because Bradley Hills had a renovation that allowed more kids to come.

I moved to Crawford my 7th grade year. I attended Crawford Middle School that year. That year went by exceptionally well, but the next year the school closed for 7th and 8th graders, so I had to join Hotchkiss Middle School. I found the Hotchkiss kids very welcoming, and friendly. I instantly became friends with almost all of them. There was just something so welcoming about that school from the friendly teachers who all cared very deeply about each individual student. The happy and friendly attitude wasn’t just at the school, it seemed everyone everywhere was just so happy to be in a beautiful place. Hotchkiss has always been a home for me from that day on because of the welcoming attitudes.

To know how lead, first you got to learn how to follow. Knowing that quote help me understand my mentor Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was my coach at first when I started Middle School at Paul Public Charter School. Mr. Smith had taught me to not put sports over education and to respect others.

I knew my transition from an ordinary visitor to a volunteer would be a new and exciting experience. My task in the Summer Reading Program was to register patrons, explain how the program works, and give out prizes at the end of each week. The number of children who registered for the program impressed me. I enjoyed working with these children, since I knew exactly where they got their excitement from. I would look forward to seeing the smiling faces of the children as they received their prizes. Their faces made me reminisce about the joyful moments I had as a child when I couldn't wait for the grand prize week of the Summer Reading Program.

This crucial four years of Highschool is what shapes up a person. Things like friends, families, and new experiences are what teach life lessons and morality. I believe that through the service activities I have taken part of this few years, I learned new qualities about myself and new aspects in life. I have learned the role of a leader, all the charitable things service can offer, and I have built a character. What impacted me the most was the “Jessey J Mcray Elementary School” program, and the Service Day activity I did in freshman year. Volunteering is a great way to bring people together and it provides physical and mental rewards for whoever decides to do it.

As I started running out the car I noticed I had forgotten my posters I had for my classroom. It was so much going on in my life, that I didn’t believe I could make it this far. "Mrs. Stacy, do you need help carrying your stuff to your classroom?" Said Mr. Jacob who had settled his classroom right across from mine. "Oh your help would be soo useful at this moment Mr. Jacob!" As I gave him the two big boxes of books that were filled with rain and mud from the thundery rain I ran back to my car to get my posters. Mrs. Stacy was just starting her career at Tennessee in Hicks Elementary School. An art teacher who had just graduated and moved away from the big city lights and into an old small town. She was just getting used to Mercy Town, a few miles away from an old cemetery.

Dick Clark once said, “Music is the soundtrack of your life.” With this quote, I remember walking into Baldwin Road Middle School’s orchestra room as a 6th grader. I noticed as you walked in, there was a black piano. The back of the room showed a mirror that filled the entire wall. Then in my hands, was a beautiful broken, rusted violin. Opening its case, I never realized how such a small fragile wooden object could make an enormous sound. I wasn’t the only one in the room. I could see about 30 other kids, sitting in seats, taking in the aroma of our first orchestra class. “I will be with these kids for the next 7 years.” I thought to myself.

On 02/06/2018 at approximately 1916 pm Hrs. I Officer Mather the on call officer for the week was notified by the alarm service of a possible Criminal Mischief that occurred at Santa Rita Elementary. Reported by the head custodian of Santa Rita Elementary Oscar Reyes DOB: 06-30-1957. Upon arriving at Santa Rita I met with Oscar who led me to the back of the school on the east side and showed me double door that south of the school with the bottom window cracked.

When I was born, my mother threw away my father’s marijuana pipe because it was, what she called, “time for him to grow up.” However, this never deterred him from continuing to drugs and alcohol resulting in him never consistently being in the picture. After twelve years of marriage, my mother divorced him. Leaving her a single mother of three children, all under the age of five, to put through private school because the Baltimore Public School system was not as good as the private schools. However, she still managed to find time to take my sisters and I to our soccer and lacrosse practices, games, and tournaments while squeezing in family visits at least once a week.

Recently, I met with the head custodian, Mr. Antontio Rhodes and accompanied him on a school grounds tour and interview on the maintenance of Magee Elementary School. Mr. Rhodes spoke with a sense of pride as we walked the perimeter of the school. The state of the art learning institution contains 76,063 square feet and 35 classrooms which accommodate K-4th-grade students. In addition, the school has rooms for special education and inclusion rooms, physical therapy/occupational therapy, dyslexia and music classrooms. Furthermore, the school has four computer classrooms, intervention labs, a library, cafeteria, and gym all under one roof. Mr. Rhodes keeps the school immaculate by using an organizational cleaning and staff delegation schedule.

Watching the Latin news on Univision at 11pm sharp on the weekends had become a daily routine for me and my parents. Living on the East Side of San Jose, my neighborhood isn't known as the safest part of the city. I noticed that I would see police on my way home and the incidents would show up on the news. This was saddening to me. In my neighborhood I, see patterns of up to two or more families living in an overcrowded house and adults often not having a higher education. In society’s eyes, the life of a young Mexican girl living here has already been determined and I won’t live up to their expectations.