Prompt 1

The school that I am volunteering in, is in a very active area in Providence. This area is thriving with the day to day business of students and business people alike. The school is very large, the structure itself is old but strong. The class rooms bookcases and cupboards built into the walls which is a nice touch that no longer exists in newer schools. The teachers have the ability to paint and re-finish their class rooms in any way that they see fit to create the learning environment that they are seeking for their students. The school to me feels over crowded; as I was walking through the halls in between classes there also seems to be a feeling of dis-respect among the students. I over heard many curse words and negative sayings from the students as teachers were standing close by, and nothing was said to discourage the behavior. In a way this setting reminded me of the movie Lean on Me, without the violence.

The classroom that I am in is very eye catching, the colors and the art work that are on the walls creating a very inviting and mesmerizing environment for students to learn and freely express themselves through their work. The students are very focused on the task at hand, and seem to have a sense of pride in the work they are doing. The teacher seems to be very good at recognizing abilities in the students, and working with those abilities to produce great work. She is very down to earth, and creates an environment in which her students feel at ease, and know they can ask for help if needed. Technology is used very frequently in the classrooms at this school, the class that I am working in is a Digital Media class. The students are using Mac Books to produce their art, which I find very interesting. Not only are the students learning graphic design and video making, they are also learning much needed computer skills that will stay extremely useful to them as time passes.

Diversity, freedom of expression, and technology are the three things that I see to be valued at this school thus far. Students are given many opportunities within the schools walls to advance in these areas in ways that I don't believe that many of them have outside of school. In the class room the students are very polite and eager to learn and help each other, which was not what I expected from such a diverse group of students.

The student body is almost spilt evenly between males and females, 46.3% vs. 53.7%. Of these percentages 51.7% are Hispanic, while only 1.1% are Native American. Falling within these percentages are Asian at 6.3%, Black at 29.8%, and White at 11.1%. 87.2% of the student body receives either free or reduced lunch. Behavior within the school is fairly good, with the majoruty of incidents being related to attendance. The overall graducation rate for the school is 61%, showing a fair retention rate. This information was provided by the Providence Public Schools web site.