2nd Grade

“Classroom of Community Helpers”

November 12, 2007

I. Contextual Factors

A. Contextual Factors

I. Parmelee Elementary is a K through 5th grade school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There are 694 students within the entire school. There are 21 students in our classroom.

II. The school as a whole consists of 26% Caucasian, 15% Black, 3% Asian, 34% Hispanic, and 10% Native American. Within our classroom we have 7 Caucasian students, 4 African American students, 0 Native American students, 10 Hispanic students, and 0 Asian students. Our classroom consists of 10 male students and 11 females.

III. The average income for the district of Oklahoma City is 40,051. The income for the actual school is not available, but I believe it is substantially lower then that average. There is a 22% poverty rate for this district and a 7% unemployment rate. 44% of the students in the district come from single parent home. 88% of the school takes part in either free or reduced lunches. The school also has a mobility rate of 21%. 89% of parents attend parent/teacher conferences, but only volunteer an average of .4 hours. In our classroom 8 students are below grade level, 6 students are above grade level, and 6 students are right on grade level.

IV. The classroom environment is very warm and welcoming. Our class is always very structured and the students know what is expected of them. We have classroom rules, created mostly by the students and proper discipline procedures they helped create. Constructive talking is encouraged within our classroom, which is a great tool in student learning. The desks are always arranged in some type of group because group learning is encouraged.

V. The majority of the community is considered to be very poor. The community also has a very high crime rate. Overall the community does not seem to value or support education. Most parents just send the children to school and do not convey to the children how important it is to get an...