Cameron Blouin 1/10/2014 Contextual Factors Analysis

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Community, district, and school factors:

The school that will be analyzed is Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine. The school is set in a small city and is the only high school in the Auburn school district. Based on statistics dating back to the 2010-2011 school year, there were 1,033 students attending Edward Little. The splits between grades were consistent, with the largest grade being the senior class of that year with a student population of 278. The student population of the school is primarily white, non-hispanic while roughly ten percent of the school is two or more races. There were only 17 hispanic, one Asian/pacific islander, and one American Indian attending Edward Little High school in 2010-2011. This shows that the school is not very diverse with most of the school being white. For the small student population that is of different ethnic backgrounds, this could pose a problem to them. It is possible that forms of segregation take place in school and outside of school against these students which is something that needs to be closely monitored. The high school has a large teaching staff which shows an exceptional student to teacher ratio of 11.35 which is 4.62 lower than the national average of 15.97. The Auburn school district resides in Androscoggin County and has eight total schools. There are 3,577 students enrolled in their school system along with 305 classroom teachers. This results in a district wide student to teacher ratio of 11.70 which is still well below the national average. With ratios this strong, there is no reason as to why

each student shouldnt be receiving the one on one time he or she may need. The surplus of teachers should allow for ample amounts of time to be designated with each student. In the entire school district there are 168 ELL students and 620 students with IEPs. This means that 17.3% of students enrolled in Auburn schools have an IEP. As of 2010-2011, 41% of the student body in Edward Little High school was considered economically disadvantaged, or living below the poverty line. 38% of the students qualified for the free or reduced lunch program. Knowing this information, it is important to consider what types of assignments teachers are assigning students. Some of the students may not have access to the necessary resources to complete the assignment such as the Internet. Also, assigning projects that requires the purchase of materials may not be feasible for some due to strict budgets at home. It is also important to take into account that some students may not have a home that they go home to everyday. With the poverty levels being so high, it is possible that students are homeless and that is something that also needs to be heavily considered as teachers are assigning the students work. The student population consists of a high percentage of students with IEPs which means that there are needs that need to be met for students. This may require teachers to differentiate their instruction more since so many learning styles may need to be accommodated. With the ELLs, it is also important that they are getting the necessary resources that will allow them to succeed in school. In the school system it is possible to view the students IEP and 504 guidelines so appropriate accommodations can be made ahead of time.

The school test scores are an area of concern. The math test scores did score along the state average but the concern is the amount of students who tested as partially/does not meet the standards. In math, 52% of the students tested did not meet the standards while 45% did, and only 2% exceeded the standards. The reading test scores fell slightly below the state average and in reading 56% of the students did not meet or partially met the standards. Only 35% met the standard while 9% exceeded the standard. At Edward Little, 22% of the students participate in an Advanced Placement (AP) course. Of the 22% of students, 97% of them successfully passed their AP course. There could be a lot of potential factors coming into play when it comes to the test scores. For example, the teaching methods could be insufficient, or simply the resources the teachers have could not be enough. Classroom factors: The resources the students have at home could also be a major factor considering the socio economic status in the city of Auburn. On top of that, the internet system in the school is subpar. The school has gotten the iPads and it is more of a struggle to plan a lesson using them due to the fact the internet loses connection on a daily basis. It is something that simply be relied on and forces teachers to make lessons without the use of technology entirely. This is something that needs to be addressed if the school expects the teachers to use the technology provided. Another area of concern for Edward Little High School is there college readiness index. E.L. scored a 21.4 out of a possible 100 based on their AP results which show that students may be unprepared for college education. Clearly this shows

that the school itself is underperforming and part of that can be due to the low economic status of the city and student population. Since the school has a low socio economic status in regards to the student population, making sure that the students are heavily involved in their work is something that will need to be done in the classroom. Providing them with the resources that they need will be a must and always being available for support is important as an educator. Being that the student to teacher ratio is so low, there is no reason as to why each student cannot get the support from the teacher that he or she may need. The test scores are one area of concern for me and I think that the students need more resources. Whether it is more technology or more after school programs, something needs to be done in order to ensure that the students are given ample opportunity to succeed. One program that had been around in the past I think should be brought back. Some of the teachers would host what was called, Boot Camp. What this did is allowed students who were failing class time to come after school to do make up assignments or be assigned a project that they would have to do in order to earn a passing grade. This is something that I think can help a lot of students, especially if a student gets a poor grade on a test, they can make up some ground by showing effort in Boot Camp. The mentor I will be working with, Jenny Cyr, has a classroom setup that I personally think works well. The class has six different lab stations which are also used as the students desks for class activities and lectures. They are set up so that each student can easily see the whiteboard and each have a peer that they can work

with during in class activities. Each station has extra ac power outlets coming down from the ceiling which while convenient, is also distracting since they hang low enough that they can impede with the students vision of the board. The class itself has two whiteboard which both are setup for different purposes. One is used for in class lecture where notes are placed on the board, while the other is used to write up the class agenda and homework assignments for the day and upcoming weeks. Word walls are heavily used in the classroom which outline the information students need to know during the lessons. As of right now, words for earth science are on one of the word walls while the other consists of information of plant and animal cells. The lab equipment the school has access too seems bleak with most of it being outdated. Some of the microscopes seem as if they havent been used in years which is concerning since they are an integral part to biology. The class I will be working in also does not use textbooks which I was shocked to hear. Especially in a classroom which is so content heavy such as biology, the use of a textbook is something I would have expected. But, I did notice that the textbooks in the school are outdated, most of them being more than ten years old, which has information that is no longer accurate. This is something that I think the school needs to fix, but being what school budgets are, and the socioeconomic status of the city, I do not see this as their top necessity. Recently, the school decided to provide students with iPads instead of laptops. I personally think this is a mistake. The iPad does have limitations and can be more distracting than a standard laptop. Working on the iPad is also more tedious than a laptop when it comes to typing. Ms. Cyr has spoken with me and is concerned about the abilities of her students when it comes to using the

technology. She feels as if the students are under prepared. Personally, I think that the school needs to have more classes revolving around technology so that proper exposure is occurring, especially since it is simply going to become more and more advanced in the near future. The teachers also dont seem to have a handle on the technology. Between departments the use of technology is very different and is limiting what students can and cannot do. One strategy the school uses I question heavily. The school has requested that all teachers do exit tickets for every lesson that they teach. This means that in this particular school, the teachers are expected to handout piles of exit tickets daily and have to take the time to look through all of them. To me, this is a waste of class time for the students and the teachers. Having to designate time for the tickets is taking away the learning experience every day. Instead, the school should implement a reflection at the end of the week instead which would allow more class time to be used during the week which could also help out in the test scores of the students down the road. The students in the school are grouped based on academic success. There are four different tiers in which students are placed at. 2, 3 (college level), 4 (honors), and 5 (AP). This breakdown provides students who need more assistance the proper learning environment while the students who need to be challenged more have that chance with the honors and AP courses. The level 2 classes are very slow in terms of teaching content. There tends to be resistance from the students which leads to behavioral issues. The classes that I have are all level 3 which is the standard college

prep class. But, according to the teachers I have spoken with, most of the students should not be in the level 3 and in fact still in level 2. Apparently, there are certain individuals in the school committee that are incorrectly placing students which has been a reoccurring trend. This leads to more struggles for the students and can be more work for the teachers since it may take more time than originally planned to teach their lessons. I have a handful of students in both my physical science and biology classes that should be in higher level classes. They clearly are not being challenged enough in these classes. For example, one student just came back to school for the first day since Christmas break. He simply sat down in the back of class and just started doing his makeup work without needing to do any of the readings which provided the answers. He was simply just able to do it. The school though needs to get this particular student situation figured out. Not showing up to school for weeks at a time and still being given the opportunity to pass all of his classes seems unfair. By observing a class it is easy to to see which students are simply bored while class is going on. The reason, they are not being challenged. The students who seem to completely disregard the lecture and then can fill out a worksheet based on it, should not be in a level 3 class. Between my biology courses, I have three juniors who are retaking the class. One of them is simply because his school attendance is inconsistent and does not show that he cares about school. Getting him to school on time is an everyday struggle. The two other students seem to have hit their stride in terms of their effort in class. On their last quizzes they scored a 93 and a 100 respectively. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue.

One trend I have noticed with my students in particular is their participation in after school activities. I was pleased to see that a high amount of my students participate in sports or clubs outside of school. In my classes, basketball and hockey are popular sports for the students. One in particular has had a hard time with school in the past and chooses to ignore much of the assigned work. Luckily, I have been able to make a strong connection with this student being that I can relate to hockey. He openly communicates with me in class. I also have met this students by coincidence at work. I was able to meet his mother who I was able to talk with for a little while which was great in terms of making connections to the student. Based on what I have seen from the students thus far, it is clear that some students are putting in more effort than others. The trick is to motivate all students in class and make sure that expectations are clear. Quizzes seem to come as a surprise to the students as if they were never told that they would be having one. I am looking to make sure that everyday there is a recap after the lesson so that all students know what to expect in the next class. One strategy I want to try to utilize is making lessons that allow for hands on learning and collaboration amongst peers. I have noticed that the students are much more engaged with content if they are doing lab activities. The students who are performing above the class expectations and usually don't pay attention, get involved with the labs and their peers which makes for a better class participation and learning environment. It is clear that students today do not do well with auditory learning, at least not for an extended period of time. So I will do my best to limit the amount of lecture time that occurs in class. This is a challenge in a science class since it is so content heavy, but an effort will be put

forth. Also, I need to fine a way for students to take quizzes seriously. Students tend to disregard the scores of their quizzes. Failing grades do not seem to be a concern to the students and even when given opportunities in class to make up the quiz for a better grade, they do just as poorly. So finding a way to motivate them and show how their grade is important is a must. The use of pre and post assessments are going to be a must throughout these classes. Especially with the range of abilities from the students. Simply getting an idea of what a majority of the class knows and does not know at the beginning and end of lessons will allow me to modify my lessons as needed and also to review certain aspects of the lesson with students to make sure they have an understanding. Reflecting on these lessons will be a necessity. From pre-assessments that we have done so far, it is clear that some students have had previous exposure to content. I have very few students with IEPs in my classes. The ones that do have one, it is simply that they sit in the front of the class in order to help them pay attention. There are quite a few students with some health risks with the major one being asthma. But there is one who has a series heart condition in which he has a emergency device on him at all times in case he feels like something feels wrong. This is something that needs to be taken very seriously and I need to make sure that I have the proper background on in case I need to handle a situation. Also, I have one student who was born with a physical birth-defect. She was born with one hand and this leads to her having a hard time in certain activities. For example, she has to have help from a teacher or peer while doing cutting activities. This is something that is

not serious, just sometimes accommodations will need to be made to ensure she does not feel left out from activities in class. To conclude this CFA, I wanted to mention that back in 2009, Edward Little High School was placed on probation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The reason for the probation was the schools poor kitchen quality and their heating system did not meet standards. The heater in Ms. Cyrs class is far too noisy to run during class times. The students who sit in the back of the class cannot hear the teacher which is a large learning barrier. The heater has to be turned off during the day which results in a cold classroom, especially in the winter. This needs to be addressed by the school sooner than later. To be fair, the school itself is old, built back in 1960, and these problems will arise on older building. But, this could be negatively affecting students experiences in school. Again, the economic status of the city may not be able to support the construction of a new school, but maintenance of the building needs to be better to help ensure a safe and healthy learning environment.

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School District Information:

Total Schools:

Total Students:

3,5 77 305 .70 11. 70

Classroom Teachers (FTE):

Student/Teacher Ratio:

ELL (formerly LEP) Students: Students with IEPs:

168 620

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Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity for Edward Little High School
American Indian/Alaska Native: 1 Asian/Pacific Islander*: 1 Hispanic: 17 Black, non-Hispanic: 0 White, non-Hispanic: 912 Two or More Races: 102

* combined Asian and Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander categories

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Locale: City: Small (13) Type: Regular school Magnet: no

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Total Teachers (FTE): 91.00 Total Students: 1033 Student/Teacher Ratio: 11.35

The test scores breaking down proficiency distributions for both math and reading.

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A breakdown of the ethnicity of students for each grade as well as the total number of students enrolled at each grade level.

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Bibliography U.S. News. Education, High Schools. Edward Little High School. http://www.usnews.com/ education/best-high-schools/maine/districts/auburn-school-department/edward-little-highschool-8838/test-scores. Retrieved January 7, 2014

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National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/
district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=2302610&DistrictID=2302610. Retrieved January 7, 2014