Kenya Robinson

EDUC 450
01/30/2018

Classroom Context
Whittaker Elementary School
My assigned school is Whittaker Elementary, which is located on 790 Whittaker
Parkway, in Orangeburg SC, 29115. Whittaker is a Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade school.
Their Mascot is a Wildcat and their colors are Blue and White. The average class size is about 24
students and their total enrollment is close to 672 students. The student to teacher ratio of the
school is 18:1. This school is rated a 5 out of 10.
Whittaker Elementary School has a total of 70 faculty and staff members and 36 teachers (52%
with master’s degrees, 47.6% with Bachelor’s degrees, and .04% with Doctorate degrees).
The Principal of this school is Dr. Teresa Jennings and the Assistant Principal is Denise
Simpson.
The school’s mission is to ensure students meet the academic, emotional, and social challenges
of the future by providing them with a safe, caring, stimulating learning environment. Whittaker
Elementary as a whole makes sure that all of their students learn in creative and meaningful
ways. Whittaker Elementary is big on having strong home and school relationships which is
essential to all student’s learning and performance. This school has a variety of ways for parents
to be involved in their child’s learning with a few of being, Family Literacy and Math Nights,
and Parent Tech Night, which enables parents to see what their children are doing in school.
Whittaker believes that teachers and parents together, prepare students for a lifetime of success.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Jennings my first day of clinical experience and from
talking her, she told me that they expect teachers to bring their best every day because student’s
success is top priority, and I agree! From that moment on, I’ve witnessed what she told me with
every teacher I’ve encountered at Whittaker Elementary.

Principal

Demographics
552 students, or 98.2% of the student population at Whittaker Elementary identify as African-
American, making up the largest segment of the student body. A typical school in Orangeburg is
made up of 75.4% African-American students, so Whittaker Elementary has a drastically
different ethnic distribution compared to other schools in the city. The demographic breakdown
of Whittaker Elementary is drastically different from that of a typical school in the state of South
Carolina, which is made up of 34.8% African-American students on average.
There is roughly an equal percentage of males and females at Whittaker Elementary with 49%
males and 51% females forming the student body.
On the math exam, Whittaker Elementary falls substantially short of the average proficiency of
most elementary schools in South Carolina: Whittaker Elementary passing rate: 33%
 On the English Language Arts (ELA) exam, Whittaker Elementary falls substantially short of the
average proficiency of most elementary schools in South Carolina: Whittaker Elementary
passing rate: 21%

My Assigned Classroom
I was assigned to room 42 at Whittaker Elementary, which is Mrs. Ihekweazu’s 2nd grade
classroom. There is a total of 22 students with there being 9 boys and 13 girls. There are 2
Hispanic, 1 White American, and 19 African American students. As soon as I walked in the
classroom, I noticed it to be a warm and inviting environment. What attracted me the most is the
setup of the student’s desks. I loved how they are grouped in a semicircle facing the board with
an extra desk in the center for when they work with the teacher for extra assistance. I also love
how there are a wide variety of different posters in the classroom all over the walls that the
students could use as a reference.

Teacher's Desk

White Board with posters

Students' Desk
 Bulletin Boards

Areas in Classroom

Library Center
Sink/Water Fountain Care Seat
 Materials and Resources

Parent Contacts

Textbooks
Lesson Plans/Resources/Emergency
Manual/Evacuation Route

Ipad Storage

Daily Starter/Writing Journals

 White Board

Smartboard

Computer

Carpet

Teacher’s Desk

Library Center
Group 2

Sink/water
fountain
Ipad Storage
Back Table
Ihekweazu’s
2nd Grade

Teacher
Class
Mrs.

Storage
Care
Seat