Jamie Vogenthaler

Chicago Public Schools Externship Reflection

For the first school I was assigned to, I went to Otis elementary. The school was
predominantly hispanic, and had a recent student body adjustment due to the school closings in
Chicago a couple of years ago. As for the specific class I was working with, there were about 11
students, 4 girls and 7 boys. They were in grades 4-6. There was one Special Education teacher,
one aide, and two paraprofessionals. There was also a speech pathologist that pulled kids out 2-3
at a time throughout the day.
The second school I went to was McCutcheon Elementary, located in Uptown. This
school was seemed to be mostly hispanic, white, and african american. Most of the student body
was comprised of students that lived in the four surrounding homeless shelters. There were 12
students in the K-2 class. Two of them were girls, and 10 were boys. Finally, there was one
special education teacher, a nurse that tended to one of the students, a student teacher, and two
paraprofessionals. One last thing that I would like to mention is that there was a therapy dog in
the classroom. The dog detected seizures that one of the students had.
One thing that I took away from the article was that some students have been being
placed into a special education classroom because of their cultural differences - such as language
barriers. In order to eliminate this I think there should be a better understanding, in the general
education classrooms, of cultural awareness. One way that this can be implemented, in both
general education and special education classrooms, to provide the best least restrictive
environment is to have teachers have a stronger relationship with parents.
Another thing that I learned through my time at the externship is the help of gapping the
language barrier. In the first school that I went to, one of the paraprofessionals spoke spanish but
the special education teacher did not. The teacher I worked with said that this was a huge game

changer because not only did it show the students ability to participate, but it showed their
knowledge that the teacher didnt know of.
I think that there are multiple ways teachers can encourage a sense of belonging and
support for all. One of those ways is by simply having students share their culture, homelife, and
customs with the class. By having an open place to talk and encourage conversation, students
will realize the importance of their backgrounds and accept differences amongst each other.
Another way teachers can encourage a sense of belonging for all is by implementing a
Culturally Responsive Instruction, CRI. As I talked to the teacher I worked with on my second
day of the internship, she brought up a great implementation of CRIs. A component of an
effective CRI is using cultural knowledge, and prior experiences. She mentioned how whenever
her or other teachers in the building get a chance, they do things in the community or host after
school activities. By doing this, you get to know your learners outside ofa classroom setting,
understand where they are growing up and what they are doing not in school hours, and creating
your own experiences in their neighborhood (assuming the teacher is not from the
neighborhood).
The biggest takeaway I had after working in the cluster classroom setting, was how much
of a difference paperwork and differentiation can make to a classrooms efficiency. When the
paraprofessionals know what they are doing and are in sync with the special education teacher,
the classroom can work in harmony. Every student had their own way of learning in the
classrooms I was in. When they were in centers/rotations, because the adults of the room knew
how to adjust to each student and how to take data, everything was completed and the students
were learning to the best of their ability.

At both of my placements, I asked the respective teachers what it was like to teach in
CPS their first year. One teacher said that she had a good running curriculum passed down from
her predecessor and the other one said that there was something in place but after the first year
she redid the curriculum with a group of teachers brought together for her type of classroom. I
know that a curriculum could be the same for years and adapted and accommodated for, for
different students. My question, is how long does it take to perfect these adapted curriculums at
the beginning of the school year when having a new class?
I had a marvelous experience in both classroom settings I taught in! I have a stronger
interest in working with younger grade levels after my experience, and am excited about
returning to CPS. As far as working with students with severe disabilities, I believe that in my
future, even if I dont end up in a low incidence classroom, I would like to come up with after
school activities and other ways to work with them. I would also like to figure out a way for my
students to work with students with severe disabilities outside of just specials. I would like to put
together lunch programs like they have at otis, and other opportunities for inclusion.
Another thing that I learned that I will take forward with me is to never assume anything
about your students. Of course, never assume that they will behave a certain way, or react to
something in a certain way. You must always be on your toes. But more importantly, do not
assume anything about their potential or current knowledge. If you push students to higher
levels, and expose them to new information the possibilities are endless.