Week 2- Focus School Meeting

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a meeting at Bridgeport Middle School about focus schools. My PDS was named a focus school this year. At first I was unsure what it meant to be a focus school but after attending the meeting I feel like I have a better idea. My PDS is a focus school because the gap between the "low" students and the core group is too large. When teachers were talking about this during the in-service days at the beginning of the school year I  thought that people from the board of education or the state was going to come in and "take over". At the meeting they said that a group called RESA will be coming one day in September. At this time their "team" will observe classroom, interview students and teachers, and really just get a feel for what it means to be a student/teacher at Johnson Elementary. They will then take this information and make recommendations on how we can bring our low students up to the high students.  The county has assigned one person for each focus school to help with planning and implementation of anything new. At the beginning of this school year, I thought that being a focus school was a terrible thing and the "vibe" at my PDS would change dramatically, but I really feel like it is going to benefit everyone, but mostly the students. Being in a special education inclusion classroom currently, I fully understand this "gap" but that doesn't mean we should lower our standards so that the "low" students achieve, we should give them support so that all students succeed. By attending this event my view and attitude about being a focus school has changed completely. I only hope it truly benefits everyone!

The start of the Internship!

I started my "internship" last Tuesday and it couldn't be going better! Going into the first couple days at my PDS you could tell that the "vibe" of the school has changed. A lot of the older teachers have found a different positions or retired, and the new teachers coming in are a breath of fresh air. From the moment we walked into the building it seemed like everyone was really happy to see us! We had our own packets of papers to look at during teacher meetings and the principals really tired to incorporate us in everything they did. My mentor teacher moved from first grade up to fifth grade and needed a lot of help I was more than happy to give! I know that she was extremely appreciative. Once the students came it seemed like a rollercoaster! The first days of school are a little crazy! I realized how much work it really takes to open a classroom and  to have students the first few days. Since the first meeting my fellow intern and I have had to ask our administration many things. For example we wanted to be put on the teacher email list and right away we were put on! We also had to ask if we were allowed to be put into the teacher sign in system and without any questions... it was done. I think the moment that made me really feel like I was apart of the school "community" was when teachers were given a slip of paper about how Harrison County was going to purchase T-shirts for all staff members. My mentor teacher wrote a note on her slip asking if I was able to get one too. The principal came down to my teacher's room and said that she was going to give me my own slip for a T-shirt but couldn't find me! That made me feel so good! I really feel like apart of the classroom and more importantly the school community! I really feel like this is an awesome start to my internship experience and can't wait to see what else comes from it!