Final Report-Fifth Year Internship

Lansing Area Elementary Team

2013-2014

Lauren Bachi is a Michigan State University graduate who completed a teaching internship at
Elliott Elementary School in the Holt Public School District, Michigan, from August 2013
through April 2014. Elliott is a K-4 school that serves about 375 students. It is a Title I eligible
school with about 56 percent of the students receiving free or reduced price lunch. The school
has a Multi-Tiered Support System of intervention to address the gap in achievement between
high and low performing students on State assessments. This collaborative includes a behavior
interventionist, two academic interventionists, one special education resource teacher, and
several paraprofessionals. The school reflects the diversity of the community in many aspects.
Lauren was in a 3rd grade classroom under the supervision of Roxanne Klauka.

Knowing Subject Matters and How To Teach Them
Standard 1. Acts as an educated person Standard 2. Teaches subject matter
Interns are expected to design, adapt and sequence learning activities that promote intellectual
involvement with content and active construction of understanding. They are expected to take
into account what students know and how they learn, and plan instruction and assessment
together to support student learning.

Comments: Lauren is an intelligent, dedicated, and enthusiastic educator who achieved a high
level of proficiency in her student teaching assignment this year. Lauren mastered the curricula
of the core academic areas and developed the use of best practices in all of them. Her lesson
plans are well thought out and planned, directly correlating with the GLCEs and/or Common
Core Standards. Lauren uses multiple approaches to lesson topics, and tries to incorporate
their prior knowledge and experience. Her lesson plans were extensive and well thought out.
She also utilizes a variety of formative assessments to stay on top of her students progress and
to determine next steps for instruction.

Working with Students
Standard 3. Works with students as
individuals:
Standard 7. Engages families and
community:
Interns are expected to use a variety of instructional strategies to elicit diverse students thinking,
make knowledge accessible and interesting and keep students engaged in learning. They are
expected to monitor students understanding, build on students ideas and adjust their instruction
based on ongoing assessment.

Comments: Lauren has a keen sense of understanding students as individuals with specific
attributes and needs. She teaches students how to support each other to achieve a higher level of
understanding. Her keen recognition of students in the midst of struggle is amazing. She is able
to make minor adjustments to lessons when unexpected situations arise.

Lauren has utilized a variety of communication methods: direct conversations, phone calls, and
notes, to state positive student attributes, as well as areas of concern. She appreciates the
natural diversity of family situations and their impact on students. She effectively prepared for,
and led, a portion of the spring parent-teacher conferences.

Creating and Managing a Learning Community
Standard 4. Organizes and manages a class:

Standard 5. Uses an equipped classroom:
Interns are expected to know how to develop a culture of learning featuring high expectations
and respect for diverse people and ideas. They learn how to set clear norms and expectations for
behavior and develop procedures for the smooth operation of the classroom.

Comments: Lauren has successfully implemented the positive behavior support system (school-
wide and classroom) using a variety of strategies to teach and practice the behavioral
expectations. She waits for students attention before starting a lesson and holds all students
accountable. She expects her students to show responsibility and to respect each other.
Lauren has worked on changing the delivery of some her verbal directions to students,
regarding behavior, so that the message is delivered in a caring, yet firm manner. This isnt
always easy. She has risen to the task and has excelled in the area of management.

Lauren uses the school resources available for her lessons. She is technologically proficient
and comfortable with the SmartBoard and its applications. She did an excellent job using this
throughout her teaching.

Working and Learning in a School
Standard 6. Joins a faculty and school:

Standard 8. Teaches deliberately and learns
from experience:
In developing as professional educators, interns are expected to act in a dependable and ethical
manner, seek out new learning to develop their practice, react appropriately to stressful
situations, give and accept constructive feedback and work collaboratively with colleagues and
families.

Comments: Lauren has become an active member of the school staff this year. She participates
in building and district level professional development, as well as grade level meetings to review
student progress data and to plan for subsequent interventions. She works very well with other
teachers on the grade level team to plan and implement their Team Time interventions.
Lauren is a reflective educator who seeks feedback, with confidence, from her mentor teacher,
her field instructor, and her principal. She strives to apply suggestions and performance
feedback. She is a great addition to a community of professional educators and quickly became
part of the staff. She appreciates the fact that the teaching profession is one of lifelong learning
and continuous improvement.

SUMMARY
We would definitely recommend Lauren for a teaching position in your school. She will add a
spark of magic and change the lives of students. Please feel free to contact either one of us if
you would like more information about Laurens teaching skills.