Kim_Stoginski

Phase I
 * Brown Deer Middle School

The Community **  The village of Brown Deer is one of Milwaukee County’s northern suburbs, also known as a North Shore Community. The village is 4.5 square miles just north of the city. The current population is 11,715. According to the census of 2000, the village of Brown Deer is a growing community with an estimated 5,134 households. The average income for a household in the village of Brown Deer is approximately $30,500 per year. As for education, the village of Brown Deer is served by the Brown Deer School District.

 The mission statement is for the Brown Deer School District. This mission statement is for the four schools that are a part of the Brown Deer School District. The mission statement is: “The School District of Brown Deer is a learning community committed to graduate students with skills and a sense of purpose to adapt, thrive, and excel in a changing world.” The goals for the Brown Deer Middle School are also the same as the District’s goals. Their goal is: “by the 2012 school year, 100% of our students will be proficient/advanced in all content areas with an emphasis in reading, writing, and math as identified by teacher SMART goals.”
 * The Mission Statement **

__Gender __  //Table 1//
 * Student Demographics **

Brown Deer Middle School is made up of approximately 51% males and 49% females. Over time the male/female population has increased and is now steady around an equal number of male and female students.

__Economic Status __  //Table 2//

For the most recent school year, 30% of students were eligible for a subsidized lunch and 70% were not. As time has elapsed, the number of students who are eligible for this lunch has increased.

//Table 3//
 * Student Performance on WKCE **

In math, 39% of students are testing at an advanced level, 43% are testing at a proficient level, 8% are testing at a basic level, and 10% are testing at a minimal proficiency level. More than 80% of the students are testing at a proficient level or above.

//Table 4//

In reading, 39% of students are testing at an advanced level, 45% are testing at a proficient level, 11% are testing at a basic level, and 5% are testing at a minimal proficiency level. More than 80% of the students are testing at a proficient level or above.


 * Teacher Qualifications ** [[image:Teacher_Qualifications.jpg]]

For the third year since 2002, 100% of Brown Deer School District’s teachers are fully licensed. There are 39 full time teachers this year, and all of them have met the qualifications to be a teacher in the Brown Deer School District. 80% of the teachers at Brown Deer Middle School have been teaching for 5 or more years.

//Table 6//
 * Student Behavior **

There has been a drastic increase in the number of students who are habitually truant in the Brown Deer School District. From 1996 to 2008, the average number of students who misbehaved was around 1.5%. As of the 2008-2009 school year, the percentage has increased to almost 5%. In 2009, the number of students who are habitually truant tripled from the previous school year.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> WINSS website: [] Brown Deer School District Homepage: []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resources **


 * Phase II - Data Collection Process**

As you walk through Brown Deer Middle School, you see various evidence that the school performs culturally responsive practices. Multicultural artwork hangs in the library, the halls, and in the classrooms. The library has a variety of multicultural books available for students to check out. There are also posters of multicultural children reading books hanging in the hallways of the school. The school also recognizes and celebrates various cultures. For example, during February, Black History month was celebrated. Books were displayed in the library, and in Mrs. Bolling's class, the students talked about the importance of the culture and the history.
 * Data Collection**

In Mrs. Bolling's class, race, class, and culture are addressed in many ways. She emphasizes the fact that no matter what culture, class, or race a person is, everyone deserves respect. Being that Mrs. Bolling teaches Social Studies, I've had the opportunity to witness her discussing different cultures, classes of people, and races with the students. In one of my lessons, I was actually able to incorporate a lesson of cultural diversity into the classroom. We were talking about early explorers, and since the text book mainly discusses white male explorers, I introduced the students to women explorers, African American explorers, Asian explorers, and Native American explorers.

After observing the literature in Mrs. Bolling's classroom, I've come to the conclusion that multiple cultures, classes, and races are represented. Her classroom is very diverse, and Mrs. Bolling is aware of what her students enjoy reading, and what books are on her bookshelf. When I asked her how she chooses what books to include in her classroom, she told me that she tries to includes a variety of literature that the students can relate to. She chooses books from the CCBC book lists. If a student shows an interest in a certain book, she will try to get the complete series for that student to read. The books in her classroom represent multiple cultures, such as African American, Native American, and Asian. Mrs. Bolling says she makes sure that she always has something available for every student in her classroom. When I asked Mrs. Boling about how important the issue of multicultural representation is during the book selection process, she said it was on the top of the list. She wants to encourage her students to read about all different cultures in her classroom.

I would rate Mrs. Bolling's classroom as culturally proficient. She incorporates a variety of cultures into her instruction, and is very aware of the impact that learning about diversity has on her students. She provides numerous multicultural literature, encourages her students to learn about different cultures, and displays posters and artwork of different cultures throughout her classroom.

1. What did you discover? Were you surprised? Briefly talk about an area you either found positive, supportive, or maybe toxic.
 * Phase III - Discussion of Findings**

During my time at Brown Deer Middle School, I made a couple of discoveries. My first impression of the school, based on Phase I, was that the school was culturally diverse. The first couple of times that I visited the school I saw how diverse the students really were. There were many cultures that are were represented in the student population. What I was surprised to discover was the lack of cultural celebration throughout the hallways and the school. There were plenty of art works displayed throughout the hallways, but I felt that in such a diverse population, culture should be a little more visually represented. In Mrs. Bolling’s classroom, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much emphasis she put on culture throughout her instruction. Whether the students were learning a Social Studies or Science lesson, Mrs. Bolling tried to include a variety of culturally related materials for the students to learn about and use. The most positive and supportive way that Mrs. Bolling used to promote and encourage multicultural celebration/learning was through her classroom library. She had two full bookshelves and a cabinet filled with literature for every subject that she taught. There were multicultural books and books with different perspectives. There may be a lack of culture outside of Mrs. Bolling’s classroom walls, but inside those walls is a supportive and encouraging environment of diverse cultures.

2. Discuss how you as a new educator in the building could begin to contribute, shape, or change the school culture.

As a new educator, I would ask to be in charge of a bulletin board in the hallway in which I could display multicultural materials for all students to see. Such materials would include book lists, artwork, and information on the displayed culture. I would want to promote culture in more of a way than just offering multicultural literature in the library. I would also be sure to have a variety of multicultural literature in my classroom. During silent reading, the library would be available for students to select books to read. The library would include multiple perspectives of certain topics. I would highly encourage my students to read these texts. Throughout my instruction, I would include multiple perspectives and even invite my students to share their own personal stories. Sharing personal stories helps to create connections, and I would want my students to participate and become excited when learning about the different cultures and viewpoints of their peers. I would like to create a learning environment where all cultures and diversities are celebrated.