Communities and Schools Research Project

1. Communities and Schools Research Project Ashley Mucha EDE 302- Dr. Cao

2. General Information New Lothrop- 48460 Kearsley/Flint- 48506 Longitude: -83.64688 Latitude: 43.047826 Land area: 17.77 sq. mi. Water area: 0.27 sq. mi. Population: 33504 Density: 1885.42 (people per sq. land mile) Housing Units: 14234 • Longitude: -83.98443 • Latitude: 43.131102 • Land area: 33.36 sq. mi. • Water area: 0.03 sq. mi. • Population: 2465 • Density: 73.89 (people per sq. land mile) • Housing Units: 920 Flint has a much larger population, New Lothrop has a larger land area and I think that farm land plays a large role in that. Lots of ponds and creeks in New Lothrop also. New Lothrop is much more rural, many houses are far apart because of all the farm land which is the reason for the population density differences. Information from: zipgraphs.com

3. Marital Status New Lothrop- 48460 Kearsley/Flint- 48506 Years in the Same Home

4. Education New Lothrop- 48460 Kearsley/Flint- 48506

5. Household Income Median Household Income: 45,921 New Lothrop- 48460 Kearsley/Flint- 48506 Median Household Income: 33,163

6. Occupation New Lothrop- 48460 Kearsley/Flint- 48506

7. Ages New Lothrop- 48460 Kearsley/Flint- 48506

8. School Comparison New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary Public- Grades 2-5 323 Students 19 Full Time Teachers 30 Classrooms Great Schools Rating: 6 93% Attendance rate 35% Eligible for free or reduced lunch Average- 42% 21 students per FTE teacher Average- 18 Classroom I observed had 31 • Public- Grades PK-6 • 450 Students • 28 Full Time Teachers • 17 Classrooms • Great Schools Rating:9 • 100% Attendance rate • 23% Eligible for free or reduced lunch Average- 42% • 19 students per FTE teacher • Average- 18 • Classroom I observed had 30 Statistics are from 2007-2009, found at greatschools.org

9. Comparing Communities New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary Located in Flint, Mi Kearsley School District Public One of 4 elementary schools More suburban area Many stop lights Much older and smaller school • Located in New Lothrop, Mi • The only elementary school in New Lothrop • Public • In a very small rural area • Located in a village • No stop light or 4-way stop • School very new, build in 2007 Both Schools: • Are located in a neighborhood with houses very close • Have many houses for sale in the 1-2 mile radius • Have other schools very close to them (NL- Jr/High, Fiedler- Another Elementary and Middle)

10. School Comparison New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary

11. Ethnicity and Race Comparison New Lothrop Elementary/ New Lothrop as a whole

12. Ethnicity and Race Comparison (cont.) Leota Fiedler Elementary/ Flint 48506 as a whole

13. Crime Rates Information from Schooldigger.com

14. Crime Rates- New Lothrop • Crime in New Lothrop (2006): • 0 murders (0.0 per 100,000) • 0 rapes (0.0 per 100,000) • 1 robbery (167.5 per 100,000) • 0 assaults (0.0 per 100,000) • 5 burglaries (837.5 per 100,000) • 10 thefts (1675.0 per 100,000) • 0 auto thefts (0.0 per 100,000) Information from City-data.com

15. Enrollment by grade

16. Enrollment by gender New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary Information from: http://www.education.com/schoolfinder

17. How are they funded? New Lothrop- Mr. Harnish Fiedler- Mrs. Fonger According to Mrs. Fonger, the elementary assistant principal, Fiedler Elementary is funded by the state (54%), local (37%), federal (8%). Also 18 mill, grants, and other donations. This is similar to the schools in the surrounding area. A little more than some of them. • According to Mr. Harnish, the elementary school principal, NL Area Public Schools are funded as a unit. The contributions come from two parts: • State • Local • Also get money from 18mills which is part of the local **Both schools are right near the state average, a little bit above.

18. Spending per Pupil New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary The Kearsley spends $7,563 per pupil in current expenditures. The district spends 60% on instruction 36% on support services 4% on other elementary and secondary expenditures. • The New Lothrop spends $7,699 per pupil in current expenditures. • The district spends 63% on instruction • 32% on support services • 5% on other elementary and secondary expenditures. Information from: http://www.education.com/schoolfinder

19. How do they deal with funding Shortages New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary They do nothing in the issues of funding shortages, they have no extracurricular activities or school clubs as a result of this. • They have many fundraisers for activities they can’t support with the funding they get. • Mackinac Trip • Odyssey of the Mind • Other groups and organizatons ** They do not cut any activities because they feel they are all equally important for the kids to be involved in

20. Things for students to do New Lothrop Elementary Fiedler Elementary Some sports offered through the community such as, basketball. **The differences in what is offered shows a great deal about how the students are cared for by their school, in my opinion** • Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts/Brownies/ Cub Scouts • Odyssey of the Mind • Club • Wrestling • Cheerleading • Soccer • AAU Basketball • Tutoring • LatchKey

21. Other Information New Lothrop Community Schools Kearsley Community Schools In the Kearsley School District, 13% of students have an IEP. The Kearsley School District serves 1% English Language Learners • In the New Lothrop School District, 8% of students have an IEP (Individualized Education Program). Information from: http://www.education.com/schoolfinder

22. Area Surrounding the School New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary Located in the back of a neighborhood Extremely small parking lot Seems cramped Much older school inside and out The roads have potholes and not very well defined lines around the neighborhood A busy road is within 2 miles • In the same parking lot as the Jr./High School. • Nice Black top • Brand new playground • Located near many housing opportunities • Small neighborhoods nearby. • Newly paved street • Mostly farm land roads are not busy

23. Road Conditions New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary

24. Area directly around New Lothrop Elementary • Religion Center • Affiliated with Elementary • New Playground • Water tower • Junior High/ High School • District Library located inside Elementary school

25. Area directly around Leota Fiedler Elementary • Many houses • A neighborhood • Playground • Neighborhood watch

26. Classroom Observation New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary Narrow hallways Small classrooms Not enough room on the carpet for all students to sit on it Not much room between hexagon tables where the children sit Not all children in the class can see the teacher’s desk Lots of artwork and colorful posters up in the classroom • Large classroom • Enough space for activities • Lots of artwork in the classroom and hallway • Very large hallways • Students seem to work well together • Many different classroom setups; some desks and other types of table

27. Both Classrooms • In both classrooms students do what they are asked of by the teacher. • Teachers interact in a positive ways in both. • In my opinion, I got a good impression from the teachers and feel of the school in both locations.

28. MEAP Score ComparisonFor grade 5 New Lothrop Elementary Leota Fiedler Elementary

29. Homes around New Lothrop Elementary A home for sale Apartments near the school Another neighbor- hood on the other side of NL about 4 blocks from the school My house with farmland all around it A house in the more rural areal Farm next to my house

30. Homes around Leota Fiedler Elementary A home for sale in the neighborhood Nice homes in the area A house that doesn’t quite fit in the neighborhood

31. Home Comparison New Lothrop Kearsley- Flint Homes are much smaller Look more run down Main neighborhood where the school is located but there are many other subdivisions Very small lot sizes • Homes in New Lothrop are larger and mostly old farm houses. • Homes are kept up • Only 2 small neighborhoods • A bit larger lot sizes

32. Resources in the Community New Lothrop District Area Kearsley District Area Subway, McDonalds, and Halo Burger within 2 miles Bowling alley Pizza Places RiteAid Many Gas stations Kroger Liquor Stores Athletic Center Many other small shops for various things. • No fast food • 2 bars/ restaurant • 2 banks • 1 gas station • 1 family owned grocery store • Zumba, Chiropractor, Barber/Hair salon, Gym, Car Body Shop, Pizza Parlor • No Public Transportation

33. Gas Station in New Lothrop- Village East

34. Gas Station Near Leota Fiedler Elementary • BP • Admiral • Kroger Gas Station • And many more within 5 miles from the school.

35. Businesses near New Lothrop Elementary

36. Businesses near Leota Fiedler Elementary

37. Businesses • The businesses in both areas for the most part are very well maintained with the exception of businesses that are closed down. • The exteriors looked clean and taken care of

38. Grocery Store New Lothrop- Confer’s Kearsley- Kroger Large store Lots of options More sales Cheaper items Staff not as friendly Much more activity going on inside the store. Could be because of the time of day Much larger frozen section People drive or take the bus This store is about 2-3 miles from the school. • Very small store • Not many options • More expensive • VERY friendly staff • Owners are active in the community • Small produce section but it is in scale with the rest of the store. • People walk or drive to the store as it is very close to the school. ** No comparable grocery store in New Lothrop within a reasonable distance

39. New Lothrop Grocery StoreConfer’s Family Food Market

40. Confer’s Family Market • Has all fresh meat from the local area • Cuts all their deli meat and cheeses as people request it • Does not have a fresh bread or baked sections but does have a donut counter near the front • Has movie rentals • Sections are relatively small compared to other grocery stores • I personally use this grocery store, I always see people I know and the staff is always friendly to everyone who enters the building. • People seem to stop in for just a few items at a time. • From my experience at this store the staff offers extra help to any elderly customers and that is the only differences in treatment I’ve witnessed.

41. Fiedler’s closest Grocery Store- Kroger

42. Kroger • Has a much larger produce section • Many more people inside the Kroger • Had carts full of random food items, didn’t see much fresh meat or produce among the items. • Lots of prepackaged meats unlike Confer’s which is all packaged there. • Larger Deli Sections • Sections were larger than the family owned store. • Staff not as friendly • Most people were shopping through each isle getting lots of things for a whole week. • Saw people using EBT Food cards. • I did not see any differences in how the staff treats different customers. • Also has gas as well.

43. Grocery Stores Most people at the Flint store were shopping for a whole week and had full carts it seems to me they set aside one time to get their groceries. In New Lothrop, people stop in as they need things because the store is close to most everyone in the small town. I saw people using EBT food cards in Flint but did not see anyone in New Lothrop using them, this definitely says something about the socioeconomic status differences which also relates to the income of the people in these areas.

44. Grocery Store Cont. • When this project started I planned on comparing Confer’s Family Food Market to Denny’s which was a family owned grocery store about 2 blocks from Fiedler Elementary but it tragically burnt down about 2 weeks after the semester began.

45. Transportation New Lothrop Flint- Kearsley It seems that most people own cars. There is public transportation via Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) • People own cars and that is the main mode of transportation. • Walking • Bicycles • No public transportation MTA Bus Fares General Public $1.25 ADA Certified $0.50 Reduced Fare Eligible $0.50 Transfer $0.10 http://www.mtaflint.org/fares.shtml

46. Transportation New Lothrop Flint- Kearsley Charts/Data from city-data.com

47. Can people get the things they need? • In both of these communities people can get their basic necessities. • In Flint, things are closer in proximity and there are more options. • In New Lothrop, there are not many options and for some things people will have to travel to one of the surrounding towns to get things they want or need. They also have to find their own way to get where they need to go.

48. What I saw people doing in the area New Lothrop Flint People getting their mail Two children playing with sidewalk chalk in their driveway Lots of children walk to and from school because of the close proximity • People walking around the town at different times of the day • Children playing in their yards, even though it’s cold. • Large groups of women walk together for exercise • Many children walk to and from school

49. What the principals see are important qualities in future educators New Lothrop- Mr. Harnish Fiedler- Mrs. Fonger Skills in Language Arts, Reading and Writing. Classroom management ** She didn’t have much to say on this topic because this was her first year as principal. • Always “swimming” going the extra mile and being involved in the school. Not just showing up on time and leaving when the bell rings. • Involvement in the persons own community • Classroom Management • Interview skills are very important to him as well.

50. Other Info • During the course of this assignment Fiedler Elementary was in danger of being closed by the Kearsley District. • A few weeks ago they did find out that Fiedler will be open next year. • To me this shows something about the socioeconomic status of this area, many people are moving out and people aren’t moving in. This makes the number of elementary schools they need less than what they have right now. • Closing one of the schools will greatly impact this area, home values will decrease and students in that schools parameter will have to be bussed to another school.