APPLICANT 1

Applicant and School Environment Narrative

Alejandra Travieso

TEL 311: Instruction/ Management in Inclusive Classrooms

23, September, 2018

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School Environment Narrative

Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School markets themselves as a school focused on

“every student achieving their maximum potential to become the problem-solvers,

creators, and visionaries of tomorrow” as well as “ [committing] to 100% success for

every student by providing engaging and challenging educational environments which

inspire and cultivate their passion for learning, leading, and achieving transformative life

outcomes” (About Us). Kyrene Del Pueblo is focused on making sure that their school is

a safe learning environment that will not only enable but also encourage learning and a

passion for learning in their students.

Kyrene is in the Chandler area. Fifty-seven percent of the school population is

white while twenty-two percent is Hispanic and seven percent is black, with the

remaining fifteen percent being Asian, American Indian, more than two races, and

Hawaiian Native/ Pacific Islander (Explore). The school is made up of fifty-three percent

males and forty-seven percent females, with only twenty-six percent of the families being

low income. Ten percent of the population is classified as having a learning disability and

a nineteen to one student to teacher ratio (Explore).

As a 7th and 8th grade intern for mathematics at Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School

in the Kyrene School District. Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School is a sixth through eighth

grade school that has ninety-one percent of their teachers having more than three years of

experience. All teachers are a certified full time teacher. Shown through the qualified

teachers at Kyrene, fifty-five percent of the students were proficient in English, fifty

percent were proficient in Math, ninety-eight percent in Geometry, ninety-five percent in

Algebra 1 and seventy-six percent in Science.

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The students at Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School “are making more academic

progress from one grade to the next compared to students at other schools in the state”

(Explore). The students at Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School are making huge strides in

their education; the pass rate for Algebra 1 at Kyrene is ninety-six percent, when Algebra

1 is a class generally reserved for freshman or sophomores in High School.

I teach two Math 8 courses, one Algebra 1 course, and one Math 7 and 8-

combined course. In each of my classes there are anywhere from 25 to 30 students. As a

result of the amazingly high test scores at Kyrene, the focus of the math teachers are to

continue what they have been doing, as it is continuously showing progress.

The area where Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School lacks is in the technology

department. Sixth graders at Kyrene have access to iPads the only grade at Kyrene who

were given the previously promised iPads for all students. Each teacher at Kyrene has

sixteen laptops, however that is not nearly enough laptops for the amount of students they

have in a class, which can be upwards of 30. As a math teacher I was given thirty TI-83’s

and twenty TI-84s but when I asked for ten scientific calculators I have not yet received

them, and I have even collected around forty calculators on my own for my students to

utilize. I have worked so hard to acquire calculators for my students because, as teachers,

we are not able to require our students to go out and buy their own graphing calculators,

or any other calculators for that matter.

As a school, Kyrene does utilize a lot of different programs for their students to

encourage learning outside of the classroom and within technology. Throughout the

school, they utilize iReady, Star, Illuminate, Edulastic and Mathia. Mathia is the program
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that is used in the Math department, but each department has at least one software that

they are able to use to encourage learning in their students.

Biographical Description of Applicant

Alejandra Travieso has been teaching at Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School for

one year. She earned her certificate in teaching in Arizona and went back to school in

California to finish up to transfer process. She is also pursuing her masters in

administration at Cal Poly Pomona in California. Alejandra wants to change the

perception of math, as it is so commonly thought of as terrorizing. She wants to change at

least one persons perception of Math and life during her time as an educator. As an

educator, Alejandra has always been very goof with children along with a passion for

math, these passions have led her to the desire to teach math. However, she would also

like to help out children in Elementary Schools and intends on going back to school to get

her elementary degree.

Project based learning is an important tool to be utilized in the classroom.

Especially in a math environment, project based learning enables students to take a hands

on approach for their learning. To fully understand what is being taught to them, some

students have to work on their own for an extended amount of time, to finally have that a-

ha moment where, from then on out, they fly easy, project based learning allows this.

Without students who are engaged in the class, no amount of effort will change the way

their students feel and get them to care about their class. As an educator it is our

responsibility to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to make a class that is

not only educational but engaging and, sometimes, even fun for the students.
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I have not had much experience with technology integration, as when I was in

school, we did not use technology much in the classroom. However, I am ready and

willing to work hard on integrating technology in the classroom to create an environment

that children of this generation can relate to.

The role of the teacher is to facilitate an open and honest learning environment

that not only encourages students to succeed but also instills in them that being wrong is

not an end all be all, it is their next step to being right. The role of the parent is to

encourage their students to not only pursue their dreams and college, but to also take an

active role in their students education. The role of the community is to also encourage the

students of tomorrow but to also help them to take a positive path in life, instead of

dragging them into a life that can be violent or negative.

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Citation

About Us / Vision Mission. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2018, from

https://www.kyrene.org/Page/43656

Explore Kyrene Del Pueblo Middle School in Chandler, AZ. (n.d.). Retrieved September

23, 2018, from https://www.greatschools.org/arizona/chandler/878-Kyrene-Del-

Pueblo-Middle-School/