Natalie Agostinelli

Guion Creek Elementary school report

1/29/17
Core 2

Last week on Tuesday January 24 and Thursday January 26 we visited

Guion Creek Elementary School. Guion Creek is located on 52nd street in the

city of Indianapolis. Guion Creek is a part of Pike Township and one of the

largest schools in Pike. This school has around 754 children from

Kindergarten through fifth grade. They also have an early childhood center

for children through the ages 3 to 4 from six a.m. to six p.m. They take pride

for their high ability program, which consists of over seventy children who

are considered exceptional learners. The teachers here have high

expectations for their students and believe that all their students have. the

power to succeed and they will do whatever it takes to make success

possible for their. students. The teachers at Guion elementary make it their

priority to give all children a friendly, welcoming and safe environment and

education. Each child that walks into their school is their responsibility from

the beginning of the day until they go home.

Guion Creek elementary has several grant programs to fund their

school. For example, one grant that helps the school function is the Title I

grant. This program helps the school get free and reduced lunches. It also

provides support for children who are at risk of failing out of school. Another
grant program is called the Title III program. This program helps students

who do not speak English get the same education as the other students.

These different programs that fund Guion Creek Elementary positively

impacts the school. These funding programs have given them more

opportunities than they would have had otherwise. Not all schools are given

these many funds. Sometimes schools run mainly from the taxes from the

community.

Only about 6% of students at Guion elementary have some type of

learning disability. Throughout the school there are three resource teachers

with two assistance. This makes it possible for students with disabilities to

get the proper support they need. This percentage is low compared to other

schools around the same area.

From observing many different classrooms and talking to different

people at the school, something I have noticed about the students is their

manners and their involvement in the. classroom. In all the classrooms, I

went into, most of all the students were involved in the lesson and when the

teachers asked questions most students wanted to answer. You could also

see the diversity in the classroom. There were different races and different

abilities in the classrooms. This did not change the involvement in the

classroom. While talking to these students I felt that I had a decent amount
in common with them. For example, the first day we went to visit Guion

elementary we judged a science fair. Each child had a different experiment

that they completed and they made a poster board and shared with us what

they. accomplished. I was excited to see when the children were going to

share with us and could instantly tell how nervous they were as soon as I

walked into the classroom. Every time in elementary school when my class

would do a science fair or any type of presentation I would. get nervous just

like these students did. While listening to their presentations I remember

exactly what it felt like to be in their shoes. Remembering this I tried to be as

understanding as possible during the presentations even if they seemed

nervous. Another thing I found I had in common with most of the students is

there work ethic. Growing up, school has always been important to me and I

saw that in the students last week. From seeing multiple different science

experiments, I could see in all of them how much effort the students put into

these projects. They all wanted to do well and it truly showed through their

projects.

I was incredibly impressed with Guion elementary, with both the

students and the teachers. The teachers wanted to badly for their students

to succeed and the students want to succeed as well. If I could share

something with these students about my experience so far in college would

be how important it is to continue pushing through even when it gets

difficult. I would tell them how important it is to work hard and get an

education. I would also share how much you learn in college and not only

school wise. You learn so much about yourself and about who you are as a

person and learn how to grow as an individual.

I enjoy learning about the brain in this class because I think it helps

when we get to. observe the classrooms. It makes more sense knowing how

the brain works to understand why the students act the way they do. During

one class I was sitting in on, one student was not listening to the teacher.

Because of this, he was sent to sit in the corner alone. I could tell there was

something going on with this child. After learning about the brain and

especially how a childs brain works I started realizing things that could

possibly be going on with this student. He could be suffering from issues at

home which cause him to act out in class or he could be. struggling with the

curriculum thats being taught in class which is causing him to get.

frustrated. Having learned about the brain makes me understand why

students might be acting out in class and makes observing classrooms make

more sense.

After this visit I have gained a better understanding of effective school

leadership. Every teacher at Guion Elementary wanted their students to

succeed. They all truly cared about their students and wanted them at
school with them. This helps the students want to be at school as well and

want to learn. While talking to the principal she said this was the part of her

school that she believes is the most special and what sets her school apart

from the others. I enjoyed our visit to Guion Creek elementary. I thought it

was an amazing school with amazing teachers who truly cared about the

success of their students. I enjoyed sitting in on all the different classrooms

and observing how the teachers support their students. I would love to go

back to Guion Creek elementary one day.