Demographic Profile

Part I: Introduction
My student teaching internship was completed in a suburban Elementary School in Central Virginia. I was privileged to work with an experienced teacher, having taught for 35 years, and 20 energetic first graders in a inclusion classroom. The total school population of the Elementary School is about 600 students. The county stretches over about 400 square miles.

Part II: The School and School System

The School System, in all, has five high schools, seven middle schools, seventeen elementary schools (PreK-5), and four pre-school programs. The total student population at the Elementary School is about 600. There are 277 boys and 334 girls. Population of School System and School by Gender School System Elementary School Male 12,151 277 Female 11,497 334 Total 23,648 611

The chart below shows the diversity among the students attending the schools in the county in comparison to the local elementary school. Although the majority of the students are White, Black and Hispanic also make up a large part of the student population. At the Elementary School you can see that the Hispanics are the second largest population, resulting in a large number of students who are English Language Learners. Population of School System and School by Race & Ethnicity Ethnicity American Indian Asian Black Hispanic White Native Hawaiian Mixed Race System Total 74 693 4546 2300 15,260 36 676 Elementary School 1 22 124 134 321 1 8

Teacher Diversity of School System There is 1, 159 certified teachers that hold licenses in the county. The tables below show the gender and race of these teachers. Gender Male Female Number of Teachers 224 935 Percentage of Teachers 19.3 80.7

Race and Ethnicity of County Teachers Race/Ethnicity White Black Hispanic Asian American Indian Mixed/Other Number of Teachers 1047 49 25 12 4 22 Percentage of Teachers 90.34 4.23 2.16 1.04 0.35 1.88

The countys annual expenditure is about $ 9,300 per-student. The percent of students receiving free or reduced lunch in the school is 52%, compared to 33 % at the district level. The percent of students with disabilities in the school is 12.2%, while the district percentage is 10.6%.

Part III: My Classroom

My inclusion classroom consists of twenty energetic and lively first graders. There is a wide range of academic levels across all subjects, especially literacy and math. Many of the students receive pull-out accommodations, such as speech, reading resource, Special Education services, SCOPE, and Social Group.

Below is a table showing the different races and ethnicities in the classroom. Although the school itself has a large population of English Language Learners, we as an inclusion class do not have any of those students.

Race and Ethnicity of Students in the Classroom Race/Ethnicity Caucasian Black Hispanic Asian Middle Eastern Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Mixed Race Total Number of Students 12 6 0 1 0 0 1 20 Percent of Students 60% 30% 0% .05% 0% 0% .05% 100%

A large part of my class gets pulled out for resources and accommodations. Two students, which are in Special Education, are pulled out daily for Language Arts and Math instruction. These two boys also get pulled for Speech services as well, thirty minutes on a daily basis. Both students are very enthusiastic and enjoy coming to school, although have difficulty in communicating thoughts and answers. Although not explicitly outlined in their accommodations, both students receive read aloud when they are in the classroom and often also need one on one support. In order for these two students to be successful and have valuable experiences in the classroom, I am careful in the grouping for centers and other activities, as well as deciding what activities students will participate in. In addition to those two students, one other student also receives Speech services, daily for 30 minutes. That student also gets pulled out for Reading Resource in the afternoon, daily for 30 minutes. When the student is pulled in the afternoon she often misses Science and Social Studies instruction, language arts in the morning.

Four other students are pulled out for Reading Resource for 30 minutes a day, while one student receives a hour of services. These resources sessions serve as a remedial interventional instruction. Students review the basic foundations of the skills they are learning, such as letter sounds and word families. Since the beginning of the year, I can see vast improvements in these students reading fluency, comfort with reading, and, most certainly, confidence. Also in the variety of instructional levels, I have one student that goes to SCOPE, gifted and talented, once a day for 30 minutes. This student is far ahead of her peers in nearly all areas of learning. Her writing almost always far exceeds the first grade level and reading is beyond grade level as well. Often this student finished with her work before others, at which time she likes to help her classmates when appropriate. Another student participates in Social Skills group every Tuesday. This helps her with basic social and life skills needed to be a successful learner. Due to the number of students who leave and return throughout various times in the day, instruction is sometimes segmented for those students. With these dynamics, as a teacher, we are forced to prioritized instruction our students receive. Giving this student the necessary services and resources he or she needs to be successful often causes the student to miss instruction in other areas. Teachers, as I have experienced, struggle to find the balance. Although my class is full of diverse learners, I encourage all my students to try their best in everything they do, giving them care and support along the way.

Part IV Reflection
This demographic study has been very influential in the way I teach. Having completed the demographic portion before teaching the IMPACT unit, I paid close attention to

the things I learned. The schools percentage of free and reduced lunch is higher than the county average. Because of this many students cannot complete at home assignments, nor have parents who can help them fix or complete homework or projects. Getting to know my students and talking to them about their lives in the most valuable experience as a teacher. This also allows the students in my classroom to feel welcome, included, and cared about. Creating a classroom environment where every child feels welcome is key to student learning and success. Throughout gathering data about the school system and the school, I also learned that the county was much larger than I expected. There are over 23,000 students who need meaningful education and over 1,000 educators who are responsible for their learning. Knowing this data about not only the school system, but the school and classroom itself is very informative and help to understanding those we teach every day.