Team 1, which includes kindergarten and first grade, has 37 students ranging in ages from 5 to 7 with 12 boys and

15 girls. The cultural backgrounds include Caucasian, African American, Indian, and a multi-racial student. The socioeconomic backgrounds include lower income to upper income; a number of the students are children from Calvin College faculty members. I spoke to a mother who was receiving her masters degree in ESL, was not positive this was her calling, and now is unemployed. The primary language in the classroom is English, and all but one student speaks English at home. One student said to me I speak different at my house, when questioned about the language he did not respond. The abilities in the classroom range from receiving academic support to gifted-and talented. The elementary school has two special education teachers who support students needing extra help during math and pull out for reading and writing. The class is split into five unique reading groups with five different teachers, based on reading levels. The gifted-and-talented students have a teacher who comes on Fridays to teach a group of children who require additional challenges in learning. Five of the 37 students are involved in the gifted-and-talented program. The classroom is shaped like an L; on the south side of the classroom are desks, circle carpet, computers, book reading area, books, and morning whiteboard and the east side is the teachers desk, a

rocking chair, a kitchen-home play area, a whiteboard for kindergarten math, one rectangular and two circle tables, and a counter with creative products used at center time and free time. The classroom instruction is divided into the youngers and the olders. Each teacher takes one group of students to teach the same subject geared toward the age level. The olders are at the desks while the youngers sit on carpet squares working with manipulatives and whiteboard, finishing with the textbook worksheets. Evergreen Elementary Christian School includes kindergarten through fifth grade, which are divided into three teams; Team 1 kindergarten/first Team 2 second/third Team 3 fourth/fifth. The school supports inquiry based learning along with a balanced calendar. Learning is inquiry based, research supported, and project-based learning. Team 1 uses zoophonics, books divided into learning levels, mathematic worksheets, and literacy circles. Greatschools.com lists Evergreen School with a five star community rating. The schools population of students is 95% white. The school follows common core standards while achieving a high standard of inquiry and research based learning.

The local community consists of a median income of $40,500 and the homes with a median price of $81,000, with a socioeconomic status which mirrors the Evergreen School. Four churches are located within two to three blocks of the school along with Grand Rapids Public School, a gas station, and apartments. Most of the students are primarily from the neighborhood, although a few live further away in Grand Rapids. The broader region around Evergreen School includes a lock smith, gas station, Walgreens, a church to the north, and to the south is 28th Street. The students delivered home-grown flowers to the neighbors when the school was first relocated into the neighborhood, but since that time there is no community interaction. The school participates globally by collecting school supplies to a school in Haiti.