Michael Martinez

Setting and Context

It is a new year. The date is January 12, 2015 and it is the start of week two of
a sixteen week student teaching experience. This experience takes place at Fossil
Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado. As a teacher, it is very important to
know about the community in which I will teach. You could be the best teacher in
the world, but if you arent teaching in a town you want to be a part of, youre going
to have a rough time. To get a better grasp of what the community is like I must
look at the surrounding region. By examining the setting and context of my student
teaching experience, I will gain a better sense of the culture of the Fort Collins
community. Gaining this knowledge is beneficial to building relationships with my
students, their parents, and my co-workers.
Fort Collins is located in the state of Colorado. In 1876, Colorado became the
38th state to join the union. According to the 2010 Census, it was the 22 nd most
populous state in the country. Colorado is home to numerous microbreweries and is
well known for its beautiful Rocky Mountain landscapes. The state capitol is located
in the states largest city, Denver. As of 2012, the Denver metro area has an
estimated population of 2.6 million. Colorado is home to the Denver Broncos and
numerous other professional sports teams. On a good day and when traveling by
car, Denver is about an hours drive from Fort Collins.
Fort Collins is located in an area of northern Colorado known as the Front
Range. The Front Range refers to the area just east of the Rocky Mountains between
Denver and Wyoming. In 2013, the estimated population of Fort Collins was 151,
330. Median household income was $51,446 while median family income was $74,
313. Fort Collins is located in Larimer County. The population by race/ethnicity in
Larimer County was 90.5% White, 0.8% Black, 0.7% American Indian, 1.9% Asian,

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0.1% Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 3.2% Other race, 2.6% Two or more
races, and 10.6% Hispanic. Hispanic is an ethnicity meaning that the 10.6% is
comprised of members of the other seven races listed. According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Larimer County for December 2014 was
3.5%. Forbes lists the Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Area as the #5 best place
for business and careers in the United States. Colorado State Universitys main
campus is located in Fort Collins. New Belgium Brewing Company and Odell Brewing
Company are headquartered in Fort Collins. Fort Collins also has a variety of high
tech companies with offices in the community. Fort Collins is also home to the
Poudre School District.
The Poudre School District (PSD) serves Fort Collins and some of its
surrounding areas. There are 51 schools within PSD. For the 2012-2013 school year,
there were 26,085 students enrolled in PSD schools. 30.79% of those students
participated in free/reduced lunch programs and 7.55% were part of English
Language Learner (ELL) programs. PSD had a graduation rate of 86% and a dropout
rate of 1.44%. For the 2012-2013 school year, PSD had revenue of $213.28 million
and expenditures of $213. 07 million which amounted to $8,087 per student. Nearly
75% of students in Poudre School District reported their race as White. The second
highest population of students was Hispanic/Latino, which accounted for roughly
18%. PSD is home to ten high schools, four of which are comprehensive, including
Fossil Ridge High School.
Fossil Ridge High School is located in south east Fort Collins and is home of
the SaberCats. As of October 2013, Fossil Ridge was the largest high school in Fort
Collins with 2,085 students, in grades nine through twelve, enrolled. Of those 2,085
students, 85.7% were White, 3.8% were Asian Islander, 3% were Two or more races,

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1.1% were Black, and less than 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native and Native
Hawaiian Pacific Islander. 6.4% of students were classified as Hispanic. Fossil Ridge
has over fifty academic organizations, activities, and clubs. This does not include
the twenty-one varsity sports that they have. Fossil Ridge is located in an upper
middle class neighborhood. The school was opened in 2004 and is the newest high
school in Fort Collins. Technology plays a major role in the classroom as each
student has what is known as a one-to-one device (laptop).
My individual experience at Fossil Ridge is still in the early stages, but it is
very positive. For my student teaching, I am working with two business teachers. My
primary cooperating teacher is Andy Stevens. I am teaching four classes with him.
He is also the coach of the golf team and co-advisor of DECA (Distributive Education
Clubs of America). The courses I will teach with Andy this semester are Business
Economics (grades 11 and 12) and Entrepreneurship (grades 11 and 12). All four
sections are taught in the same room, which is a classroom-computer lab
combination. The classroom is supplied with a whiteboard and a SmartBoard.
Students are seated in a traditional manner at tables that face the front of the
classroom. There is an obvious difference in the behavior of the classes. Though
both classes are comprised of upperclassmen, Entrepreneurship is an elective
course and the students are more relaxed, attentive, and self-motivated. On the
other hand, the Economics classes are graduation requirements. The students in
those classes are still upperclassmen, but are a bit louder and less motivated. The
same expectations for both classes are clearly established by Mr. Stevens, but the
older students seem to be more adjusted to his methods of instruction, which can
vary between engaging group activities and classic lecture. All of the students show
some amount of interest because Entrepreneurship is an elective and Economics is

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taught in both the Social Studies and Business departments. Students who choose
Business Economics tend to have an interest in business.
Learning about the community in which you teach is very important. Some
communities may not be the best fit for a particular teacher. If you are unhappy in
your community then you will most likely be unhappy working at a school within
that community. This can hinder your ability to teach and in effect be detrimental to
your students. Now that I have taken a closer look at the setting of my student
teaching experience I have determined that this setting and context is ideal for both
myself and the community.