Park View Elementary School Case Study

1. Park View Elementary SchoolCase Study By: Becky Chopp & Erin Powell

2. School Demographics Virginia Public School District 506 N 9th Avenue W. Virginia, MN 55792 Grades: Kindergarten, 1,2,3 Student Population: 431 Teacher population: 55 American Indian 8.3% White 98.0% Asian 0.9% Philippine 0.02% Hispanic 1.9% Total: 100.0% Black 5.1% White 83.8% Total: 100.0%

3. Faculty Demographics • Number of School Staff by Position • Teachers…………………………………………………..30.19 • Media Specialists………………………………………0.00 • Other Licensed Professionals……………………2.00 • Paraprofessionals………………………………………14.27 • Administrators…………………………………………..1.00 • Other Staff Including Non-Licensed Staff……7.86 • Total Staff…………………………………………………..55.32

4. Faculty Demographics • Teacher Degree Preparation • Bachelor’s…………………………………………..47.86% • Master’s……………………………………………..51.77% • Doctorate……………………………................0.00% • Teachers Years of Experience • Less than 3 years………………………………..0.00% • More than 10 years…………………………….67.21%

5. AYP Attendancehttp://education.state.mn.us/mde/Data/Data_Downloads/Accountability_Data/NCLB_AYP/index.html

6. AYP Proficiencyhttp://education.state.mn.us/mde/Data/Data_Downloads/Accountability_Data/NCLB_AYP/index.html

7. AYP Participationhttp://education.state.mn.us/mde/Data/Data_Downloads/Accountability_Data/NCLB_AYP/index.html

8. AYP Enrollment http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Data/Data_Downloads/Accountability_Data/NCLB_AYP/index.html

9. Neighborhood Analysis • Clean streets • Clean surrounding businesses • Park well maintained • Wide streets with large sidewalks • Safe crossing areas in front of the school • Safe 4-way stop with lights in front of the school • School is secluded from houses and is located in a large open area, with a view of the park

10. Neighborhood Parkview Elementary School

11. Neighborhood Bus drop off and pick up area in front of the school

12. Neighborhood View of the park from the walking path around the school

13. Neighborhood Safe 4-way stop in front of the school

14. School Environment Analysis • The outside of the building is very well maintained • The two outside playgrounds are safe and well maintained • School entrance is safe and welcoming • Main office is easy to access • The hallways are appropriate for elementary schools and are easy to navigate and are well maintained • The lunch room is clean with a great view and large windows

15. School Environment

16. School Environment

17. School Environment

18. School Environment

19. Classroom Environments • Seating arrangements in the classroom are the teachers preference • Teachers desks are secluded in the back of the room • There are limited alternative work stations • Decorations are appropriate and are the teachers preference

20. Classroom Environments

21. Classroom Environments

22. Classroom Environments

23. Classroom Environments

24. Observation of Students Are observations of students at Parkview elementary school have determined that there are a few different groups of students and families. It is noticeable of the students that participate in different sports where their families are involved. There are no noticeable cliques between different minority groups in this school. From our observations in the classroom all students are treated equally by the teacher. In addition we have noticed that in the class room certain minorities are not always treated as equally by peers as others.

25. Incorporation of community cultures Our observations of school events show that the entire community is included no matter culture, race, or gender. All events are open to any one and are very welcoming to everyone. The PTA events have many opportunities for all children and families. There is one specific opportunity for Native American children that incorporates their culture in the activities that they do. It is the Native American Education program where there is a Native American lesion officer that supports Native American children within their schoolsand homes to embrace their culture.

26. School Climate Analysis After performing the Teaching Tolerance survey using the School Climate Questionnaire we noticed that most of the surveys were pretty equal. In total four teachers did the survey and we both did the survey (Becky & Erin). Most of the teachers agreed that students in the school get along well except for one was a three, meaning she did not agree but she did not disagree. Also all of the teachers agreed that students chose to interact primarily with people that are most like themselves. Teachers agreed that Students in the school understood how to report harassment, bullying and racial abuse to school officials, and that they felt comfortable doing so. In addition, the teachers all agreed that every student in the school feels like he or she belongs and that the school creates opportunities for students to get to know each other. Most of the teachers strongly agreed with one just “agreeing” that all adults and students listen to each other. Every teacher that took the survey strongly agreed that they look forward to going to the school every morning. None of the teachers have ever seen graffiti at the school, nor have they ever heard a teacher or other adult in the school make disparaging remarks about a particular group of students. About half of the teachers have heard a student use a slur or other derogatory put-down, and have heard a student tease or ridicule another student. In addition half of the teachers have seen an analyzed the schools safety date reports, have a conversation with someone about the school’s climate.

27. School Climate Analysis We felt that it was easier to personally ask students about the schools environment because we are working with second graders, and the school only houses kindergarten through third grade. We felt that the actual survey would have been beyond their level of understanding. All of the students that we talked to agreed that they liked their school and they enjoyed coming to school, with a few students making comments about how much they like their teacher. Some of the students stated that they have felt like they were teased at one point in this particular school, and had admitted to possibly teasing a student once or twice in this particular school. When the students were asked if they thought that teasing was a big problem at their school, they said no, but added that it sometimes does happen. All of the students also agreed that they think the teaches listen to them and that they are not afraid to tell their teachers things, such as if they are being bullied or if they know of someone who is being bullied. Overall, when students were asked about the “climate” of the school they stated that they liked it, it was a warm place, and was a “happy” place to be.

28. Overall Summary Overall, between our own observations and our collected information we feel that the school has some diversity but it is not extremely diverse. We also believe that the school may continue to get more diverse because there are more children being adapted by families in this area and more jobs will be coming to Virginia, bringing more families into the area. We also believe that the school has a very positive climate that provides equal opportunities for all students and the school tries very hard to include everyone. We also have noticed how warm and welcoming all of the teachers and staff are at the school, and how happy they are to come to work every morning. Everyone at this particular school truly enjoys their job and puts the students best interest in mind. In addition to the diversity in the school there is an American Indian Education program that helps embrace their culture in school. This program is a positive aspect to the school and is very useful to the American Indian children in the school. We think that some potential opportunities for the school to increase the inclusiveness of welcoming nature of the school culture, would be to have some more education programs for different cultures. They already have a lesion that works with American Indian children in the American Indian Education program, but there are no other opportunities for other minorities in the school. It would be important to the students and beneficial to the school if they had more programs provided for other minorities in the school such as African American children, Hispanic children, and Asian students.

29. Checklist • __X___ analysis includes information gathered from school report cards from • MN Department of Education or WI School Report • __X___ information on AYP • __X___ information on school demographics • __X___ analysis includes information gathered about neighborhood (businesses, • residences, infrastructure, etc.) • __X___ includes photos if appropriate • 3.__X___ analysis includes information about school environments (classrooms, • school grounds, common areas, classrooms) • __X___ includes photos if appropriate • 4.__X___ analysis includes information on students in school • __X___ in class • __X___ outside of class • __X___ includes how students group themselves • __X___ includes how students and/or student groups interact Self-Evaluation

30. Self-Evaluation Continued • 5.__X___ analysis includes information on community cultures and individual students' backgrounds • __X___ includes information from school or community events • __X___ how students are or are not included in school "culture" • __X___ how does school deal or not deal with individual student needs • __X___ opportunities for students not part of school's dominant culture • 6.__X___ analysis includes school climate analysis (from Teaching Tolerance survey) • __X___ summary of perceptions and differences in perceptions between teachers and students • __X___ summary includes how many surveyed • 7.__X___ Overall summary of your findings. • __X___ summary of findings, connecting issues from class to how they played out in your school context • __X___ description of potential opportunities to increase inclusiveness and welcoming nature of the school culture

31. Assessment Rubric We feel that our case study is either a 3 or 3+, we have put a lot of effort into the reports, and included extra information to help one further support our findings. We have included all of the required information and some extra information and pictures.