Running Heading: SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY 2

Service Learning Summary - 2 Rosiland Jackson Ivy Tech Community College

SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY - 2 INTASC Standard, Description and Rationale

Standard #3 Learning Environments The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and selfmotivation.

Name of Artifact: Service Learning Summary 2 Date: March 18, 2013 Course: EDUC 101

Brief Description: For this assignment, I had to observe the environment and culture of the school, to look at the behavior of the students and discipline measures in place for the school. I had to look at the programs and opportunities to the students.

Rationale: To document my classroom observation Standard #3, Learning Environments, I selected to observe the climate and culture of the school, to look at the condition of the building. I observed the overall environment of the school and looked at the interaction between the staff and teachers to access their relationship.

SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY - 2 Introduction Brookside Elementary school is a great place to provide community service. The

teachers and staff appear to come to work prepared to shape the minds of every child that attends this school. They are determined to transform these children into future leaders of this country. This paper will explore the climate/culture that exist in the school, looking at the atmosphere of building, as well as provide the information regarding some programs offered at this school. This school currently resides in a building that was constructed two years ago, and there is no doubt that the brand new building has a positive effect on both the children and staff of Brookside Elementary school. Climate/Culture Entering the building brings on feelings of excitement and joy because the building has such a pleasant atmosphere. Just seeing the children move about and make their way to class shows how the school is run very efficiently. The building is very clean and the staff is very welcoming and helpful. Everyone is very pleasant and have a complete handle on the movement of students in the building. If a student shows up to school late they have to wait to be buzzed into the building and then they must go through the office and receive a pass to go to class. Every visitor must stop by the office to receive a pass before they are allowed into the school. The students receive snacks daily from the school so vending machines are not needed; and they are allowed to purchase popcorn while in class for them to have during recess. Students are rewarded with Brookside Bucks that they can redeem for different items from the teacher. If a student misbehaves they are disciplined quickly and the level of discipline varies, depending on the severity of the action. The discipline ranges from the loss of Brookside Bucks to a call to the student parents. The school has a coded discipline system for behavior;

SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY - 2 each time a student does something inappropriate a clip is moved in the direction leading to

corrective action. The color spectrum ranges from Blue which represents model behavior to Red that warrants a call to the parent. If the student is misbehaving and the parent can not be reached then the student is sent to In School Suspension and must remain there until they are allowed to come back to the class. It is up to the teacher to decide if the student is ready to return to the class and be with the rest of the students. Once documentation is sent home to the parent about their behavior they must return the next day with the documentation signed by the parent, this is a way to keep the student accountable for their behavior and make sure the parent is aware of their childs behavior in class. The school has a relationship with a church in the community, during ISTEP the church sent snacks along with inspirational messages and words of encouragement for the students. Mrs. Engle helped her students write thank you notes to the church thanking them for their kind gesture. Building Atmosphere The library has a very active environment; there are maps and globes all over the place. The shelves are very welled labeled to allow anyone to quickly locate the book they want to check out or read. There is a reading area set-up for students to be actively involved in the reading process. The librarian is a very lively lady that is very pleasant to talk to; she knows where every book is or should be located. The building is only two years old so it is in great condition. The bricks on the building are very clean, the playground equipment is in excellent shape and the children seem genuinely happy while playing in the area during recess. The hallways are full of posters and bulletin boards that have very inspirational and encouraging themes and words to motivate the students to strive for success. During ISTEP

SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY - 2 there were all kinds of poster and notes from teachers and school administrators encouraging them toward achievement on the exam. They offered positive reinforcement to the children

telling them they would be successful because they had prepared appropriately. The walls in the hallways are filled with art work created by the children, each item was chosen by students to be displayed on the wall. The investment the teachers have in the future success of the children is very evident they had the students put on graduation caps & gowns and take pictures. The pictures are meant to serve as the teachers way of saying they believe in the achievements of their students, because under the picture the caption reads graduation class of 2020, 2021 etc. Programs Offered The school has a gifted and talented program that allows students that are excelling academically above their peers to be identified and moved to a more challenging class environment. The teacher accesses the student ability and recommends the student for the program, she has to complete an assessment on the student and forward it on to school administrators for that student to receive consideration for the program. Mrs. Engle recommended three of her students for the program last week, this program will allow these students to work at an academic level fitting for their ability and not leave them in an environment that is not challenging them intellectually. The students that need more assistance with their work are sent to Interventions, these are 30 minutes session during the school day where students can get one on one assistance with school work that may be more difficult for them than the other students. All students get off the school bus and go to the cafeteria for breakfast in the morning; they are allowed to bring their breakfast to class and are given 20 minutes to finish their breakfast while in the classroom.

SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY - 2 The school has a health clinic with a full time nurse that provides basic medical care for the students; students are sent to the nurse for minor medical issues. The nurse also administers medicine to the children that have been prescribed by the students doctor. The schools

volunteer coordinator is Ms. Shelia Richardson she coordinates all volunteer opportunities within the school. Conclusion Brookside Elementarys welcoming environment and wonderful staff make volunteering at the school a great experience and leaves a very good impression on their overall ability to run an efficient school. The building is very well kept and clean, it is great to know that the children do not have to sit in an old deteriorating school that is not functional. The environment created in the school by the staff helps the children understand that they are in a safe and welcoming atmosphere. A welcoming environment is important but at the same time the students have to be disciplined to make sure order is maintained at all times. The students are disciplined as well as rewarded for their behavior and the teachers make sure they keep a healthy balance; they do not want to discipline the students so much to make them afraid but they want the students to realize that order must be maintained. Brookside keeps the students involved by offering incentives and giving them opportunities to excel academically and when the exceed expectation they reward those students by placing them in advance classes through the gifted and talented program. Brookside has created a great atmosphere for the students to learn and excel and for visitors to feel welcomed at all times.