Nikki+Staral

Nikki __ School Profile- Data Collection Process (Phase 1) __ 1. Wilson Elementary, Jenny Poole, Grade 4

2. Mequon, WI is a city in Ozaukee County, just north of Milwaukee. Mequon has one of the lowest crime rates and one of the lowest tax rates in the Metropolitan Milwaukee area. The city is full of beautiful bluffs, stately homes, farmland, and lots of ample space. Around 50% of the land within the city is actually farmlands. The other 50% is full of facilities and services, such as Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital, an industrial park, a movie theater, golf courses, parks, and over 300 businesses.

3. Wilson’s mission is to make sure that all children succeed. They feel that in order to achieve this, both the ongoing cooperation with family and school needs to take place. Wilson believes in having students feel a sense of responsibility and belonging by providing a supportive and nurturing environment. Wilson also looks at every single child’s strengths and tries to stimulate those talents by providing opportunities to do so. Overall, Wilson wants to prepare their students for the real world and for them to feel part of a community.

4. Analysis and Summarization


 * Student Demographics-Table 1**

// Looking at this graph, it is evident that throughout the years, there has been more males than females. There was only one year, in the 1997-1998 school year, where there were a few more females than males. However, besides that one school year, there seems to be a consistent percentage of genders enrolled at Wilson //
 * Student Demographics- Table 2**

// This graph shows the ethnicity of the students enrolled at Wilson from 1996-2009. Every school year, whites are the majority. The second highest enrolled ethnicity depends on the year; sometimes it is black and sometimes it is Asian. //
 * Performance- Table 1**

// This graph depicts the retention rate compared to both the district and the state. All three comparisons are under the 1% retention rate, however Wilson is still significantly lower compared with the elementary schools at the state level. //


 * Performance- Table 2 **

// This graph shows the results of the fourth grade WKCE/WAA scores from 2008. From this data, it is evident that the students did the best in Social Studies since no one goes below a basic and it has the most advanced scores. //


 * Teacher Qualification- Table 1 **

// This graph shows how qualified their staff was at Wilson Elementary by looking at whether or not all the staff had a full license to teach. There was only one school year, from 2003-2004, where they had a teacher(s) not having a license to teach. There were no emergency licenses given. //


 * Student Attendance- Table 1 **

// This graph shows the attendance rate from 1996-2008 each school year categorized by race/ethnicity. For the most part, it seems that Wilson has a good attendance record, where they never went below 90 (with the exception of one). //

__Phase II:__ Walking into Wilson Elementary parents, children, and citizens will notice a banner stating, “Wilson School, a place to learn, love, laugh, and live.” Learning is expected of all students, no matter what their learning ability is. Loving is to accept all children and adults, celebrating their differences and uniqueness. This motto is portrayed throughout Wilson. The school does a great job of creating a positive environment where students are all learning and laughing together as one whole community. While I was doing my clinical they had a school wide theme of the Olympics. Each grade picked a country and supported them through the games. This event promoted diversity and cultural awareness. Not only did the whole school support diversity and cultural awareness, Mrs. Poole did as well. Although there is only one African American student in Mrs. Poole’s class she had multiple materials addressing various cultures. She had a poster of Martin Luther King and also a poster of a young black girl saying, “I know I’m somebody ‘cause God don’t make no junk!” This poster sums up what Mrs. Poole tries to integrate into her classroom. She creates an environment where everyone knows there somebody, no matter what difference they might have. All Mrs. Poole’s students relate to her and seem to confide in her. Mrs. Poole also addresses cultural knowledge by having a diverse classroom library. She had a whole section dedicated to being different or unique. Some books include, //Children Just like Me, Eating Enchiladas, Flat Stanley, Amazing Grace,// and some books by //Patricia Polacco.// As a whole, Wilson celebrates diversity in a great way. The only thing that I am unsure of is how they value inclusion. I was teaching Mrs. Poole’s low math students and there was not a single special education student. I heard that Wilson was a great school dealing with special education, but I did not get to see this first hand. Wilson also has a lot of handicap accessible areas, but none at the main entrance.

__Phase III:__ While I was doing my clinical work at Wilson, I noticed that this school really works at trying to be a community. Both the teachers and the students really seem to work nicely with each other. It is really important for teachers to be able to collaborate, and to model that for the students. Being able to work well with others is essential through many careers and schooling and I think this is modeled at Wilson Elementary. The students portray a sense of security, where they feel comfortable talking about anything. I noticed that there was only one African American boy in the classroom. I asked Mrs. Poole if anything is every brought up about race or if he ever seems to feel singled out. She replied by saying that no one really brings up the issue about race. I guess that might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the environmental factors. Should the teacher bring up that the boy is African American and single him out? If Mrs. Poole creates a safe and welcoming classroom, then there should be no need to address the different races or economic status within the class. The important thing is to celebrate diversity and make sure everyone feels part of the community. One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that during the Olympics, each classroom picked a country and put a flag outside there classroom to represent that state. When I asked Mrs. Poole if each classroom did something with the country they were represented, she responded with a no. I found this rather shocking and disappointing. This would have been a great teachable moment that was lost. Through my clinical work at Wilson, I feel that this would be a great school to become a part of. I feel that I would be able to fit right in with the community and not be afraid to collaborate with my colleagues. By being a teacher at Wilson, I think I would be able to be a great support for a school that values diversity and individuality. By Cardinal Stritch doing such a great job of modeling the importance of diversity and to be part of a community, I know how effective this is to be modeled in my own teaching.