Setting and Context

Part 1: Culture and Community Context

My first student teaching placement took place at Bauder
Elementary School in Poudre School District in Fort
Collins, Colorado. Poudre School District is the 9
th
largest
school district in Colorado, includes 50 schools, and serves
roughly 27,000 students. The district vision is to support and inspire every child to think,
learn, care and graduate prepared to be successful in a changing world. Its mission is to
educate every child, every day.

Bauder Elementary School is one out of thirty one elementary schools in Poudre School
District. It is located off of Prospect and Taft Hill in northwest Fort Collins. There are
595 students from pre-school to grade 5, and I worked with students grades K-5.
Bauders mission is to actively involve the Bauder community by providing students
challenging learning opportunities leading them to become complex thinkers, responsible
citizens, and lifelong learners. Bauder is a supporter of Core Knowledge learning, and
provides consistent learning in each subject.

The school has a very warm and friendly culture, with diversified curriculum to meet the
needs of all of the students. Literacy and math are the main areas of focus, but academic
areas such as science and social studies are also significant. The school is very diverse in
culture and background, represented by students from 19 different cultures, and literacy is
integrated into every subject in order for students to make natural connections to their
own world. The Bauder mascot is a Buck and the school colors are royal blue and
white.

The inside and outside of the school are open and inviting. Outside the students have
plenty of space to enjoy the outdoors, including a playground and areas of field for
outdoor recess. The environment inside is equally inviting. The entrance includes a
lounge-like space with comfortable chairs in the center. There are display cases in the
entrance, exhibiting student work and achievements, including pictures, artwork and
awards from the Orff Ensembles recent performance at the Orff National Conference in
Denver, Colorado.

Bauder Elementary is a Four Track school; each grade level has four classrooms in
grades K-5. The average class size is around 22-23. The grade level classrooms are
divided into three pods. Pod One includes Kindergarten and 1
st
Grade, Pod Two includes
2
nd
and 3
rd
grade, and Pod Three includes 4
th
and 5
th
grade. In each pod, the classrooms
surround a gathering room with chairs and tables, used for homework and one on one
support with support staff. Students hang up jackets on hooks in the gathering room
outside their classrooms, leaving their classrooms tidy and enriching their learning
environment.

Bauder Elementary is committed to wellness, and has been designated a Wellness School.
In the 2013-2014 school year, students began to receive daily PE classes. SWATT:
Students With an Aptitude to Teach and Train is a program that uses students in grades 3
5 as mentors. These students provide support to younger students throughout the day.
Research supports the schools decision for recess before lunch, and proves that there is
more lunch consumption, less food waste, improved behavior and more consumption of
healthful foods with this reversed practice. Students are provided with Brain Breaks
throughout the day to help students reactivate their minds. Breakfast is provided to all
students at no costs, ensuring that all students are ready to learn with a healthy start to the
day. Taste Test Tuesday is a program that introduces new fruits and vegetables to
students and staff during lunch.

Bauder is located in a low to middle level income area of Fort Collins, and is a Title I
school. Funds from the U.S. Department of Education are allocated to school districts
through the Colorado Department of Education, and give students extra opportunities for
assistance and support in reading and math.

Students have many opportunities outside of their primary classroom. There is a large
library, as well as a book room available for students to read and check out books. The
school believes that Art, Music PE, and Technology are the encore to the core subject
areas, thus the title Encore for specials. Encore classes enrich each students academic
world and are justified as a part of Academic Enrichment. The arts are integrated into
each grade level as much as possible, and additional Encore Nights are included
throughout the year to highlight the arts.

Pait Two: Suppoit Stiuctuies
Bauder provides many support systems for students, staff, parents, and volunteers. Within
the school day, students do not have many choices for class selection. Students learn from
their classroom teacher on a daily basis, attend daily PE classes, and each receive one day
a week of all four Encore classes, including Art, PE, Technology and Music. Students
receive one extra day of Encore classes on Wednesday Enrichment days. They rotate
between the four classes each quarter. Students in grades 4 and 5 chose which Encore
subject they take each semester. Many divide their time equally between all four Encore
subjects, while others pick one the entire time. In music, the 4
th
and 5
th
grade enrichment
day often rotates between Choir, Recorder Club and Orff Ensemble.

There are many activities available for students outside of regular class, providing
students with quality activities before and after school:

After School Enrichment Classes
Bauder Broadcast
Choir
Guitar
Odyssey of the Mind
Recorder Ensemble
SWATT (Students With an Aptitude to Teach and Train)
Student Leadership
Student Tech Teams
Base Camp

The faculty at Bauder has many areas of support. Monthly staff meetings keep the staff
up to date on the happenings at the school. Collaboration days are built in throughout the
semester, during which the teachers work together to discuss problems and opportunities
present at the school at the time. The Student Achievement Team consists of
representatives from each of the Pods, and meets twice a month to discuss topics
presented at staff meetings. Results of these meetings are then reported back to each of
the classroom teachers. Professional development is provided for teachers throughout the
year. The community feeling throughout the school is one of collaboration and support,
cultivating a welcoming environment that is easy to work and learn. Every staff member
is dedicated to supporting one another and drawing attention to one anothers successes.

There are many opportunities for involvement from parents and the community at Bauder
Elementary. The Bauder website has an entire section dedicated to parents, with links to
general school information, community recognition, the district and school calendar, drop
off and pick up information, the parent email sign up, a parent handbook, newsletters,
student snapshot, Bauder PTO, opportunities for volunteers, and much more. The School
Accountability Committee (SAC) is a parent/staff organization that advises the principal
on a variety of school related business including improvement efforts. Parents interested
in improving the school are encouraged to join. The Bauder Parent Teacher Organization
(PTO) is involved in many programs that support Bauders mission and goals through
volunteers and fundraising. Fundraising efforts go towards classroom grants, field trips,
planners, assemblies, class parties, family fun nights, Eco-week, summer school
scholarships, staff appreciation, technology, and much more. Bauder Elementary offers
internship and work-study opportunities to CSU students. Interns work several hours each
week, helping classroom and encore teachers with tasks, as well as acting as a support for
the students.

Part 3: Demographic Characteristics

Shown below are tables outlining some of the demographics of Bauder. The information
was obtained from data from the website for the Colorado Department of Education, and
from greatschools.com.




4uS.uu, 69%
1SS.uu, 2S%
9.uu, 2%
9.uu, 2% 7.uu, 1% S.uu, 1% 14.uu, 2%
!"#$%& ()%*%+,"&- (,.+/0/,- 1",/2
White
Bispanic
Asian
Black
Ameiican InuianAlaska
Native
Native Bawaiian
Two oi moie iaces
S26,
S6%
2S4,
44%
3%+$%& 1",/2
Nale
Female
S4%
7%
S9%
4&%% "+$ 1%$#0%$ 5#+0.6
789:6 ;2& <2)2&"$2
Fiee
Reuuceu
Not Eligible
2S%
6%
69%
4&%% "+$ 1%$#0%$ 5#+0.
!&%"=$2>+ ;2& ?2#$&%
@0.22) A/B,&/0,B C3&"$%B
789:D
Fiee
Reuuceu
Not Eligible


The above graphs show that Bauder Elementary, while predominantly white, is
represented by around 1/3 students from other countries. In total, 19 different ethnic
backgrounds are represented by students at Bauder. There is a significant representation
by the hispanic community. In my experience with students in classrooms, each class has
a diverse representation of different cultures. Many of the foreign students have parents
studying college degrees at Colorado State University. Some have lived in the United
States their whole lives, and some moved to the United States within the past year or two.
Bauder is represented by a lower to middle socio-economic class student body with a
significant number of English Language Learners.
This data did not surprise me. The school is located in a lower to middle class
neighborhood in Fort Collins, represented by many different cultures. Many of the
resources that the students and the school receive come from funds from grants and Title
1 funds. While the school is not represented by the wealthiest community, it has been
wonderful witnessing the opportunities the students receive that they otherwise would not
receive at home.

The tables below show the math, reading, writing, and science TCAP scores for grades 3-
5 (science only in grade 5). The tables also describe the number of students tested, and
the average scores for the state. The scale representes the percentage proficient or
advanced in 2012 and 2013. The results display that Bauder results are consistent with
the state results for TCAP testing. The TCAP is a standards-based test, which means it
measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the
state of Colorado. The goal is for all students to score at or above proficient on the test.









48%
1u%
S2%
4&%% "+$ 1%$#0%$ 5#+0.
!&%"=$2>+ ;2& !"#$%&
()%*%+,"&-
Fiee
Reuuceu
Not Eligible
3
rd
Grade

4
th
Grade



5
th
Grade

Part 4: The Students and the Classroom Environment

The Students:

Working with the students at Bauder has been a fantastic experience. I have come to
know Bauder students as fun loving, respectful and kind students. They were receptive to
me as a student teacher from my first day in the classroom. The students are used to
having student teachers in music, as well as CSU interns in their classroom. This has
made for a nice transition as I began taking over the music classroom. While some
behavior issues arose as expected, I have been treated as an equal to my cooperating
teacher, and the students are excited when they see me each day. Students who see me in
the hallway often run up and give me a hug, or give me the Bauder pinky wave.

The students at Bauder have many activities in which they can participate. The success in
many of the extracurricular activities such as Guitar class, after school Basketball,
Odyssey of the Mind and many more can be attributed to the extreme enthusiasm
students have for the subject, and the enthusiasm and care they witness from their
teachers. Each week students cant wait to tell Mrs. Franklin how many hours they
practiced their guitar. They are eager to improve, and continue to strive for bigger and
better opportunities.

In a majority of the classes, classroom management is not an issue. Students in
Kindergarden and 1
st
Grade are very squirmy, but as 5 and 6 year olds, this is expected.
As long as lessons are quick paced and engaging throughout, there are very little behavior
issues. It is very difficult for students that young to sit for a long period of time. Often
they need to be reminded that they should be facing forward, sitting criss-crossed.
However, activities throughout class keep them moving, eliminating the issue.

The 3
rd
through 5
th
grade students consistently display a desire to learn and grow. The
occasional attitude problem can be easily managed, as described in Part 5 below. The 2
nd

Grade class has been the only challanging grade level thus far. Each of the four classes
has several students who need extra attenion. In a majority of the other grade levels, there
is at most one or two students in each class that require consistant atteniton from the
teacher, and as long as they are directly next to me, I dont have a problem. In 2
nd
grade,
there are often five or more students in each class that act up in class, and it requires a
very fine line of classroom management to have a successful and smooth lesson. Often
while dealing with the behavior issues of one student, another student will act up. It
creates a consistant challenge in each of the 2
nd
grade classes to get through all of the
elements of a lesson, but it has proved to be a great source of my growth in classroom
management skills.

The behavior in 2
nd
grade is not altogether surprising. In a report that surveyed the out of
class support students in each grade receive, it was discovered that in each of the other
grades, roughly 25% of the students receive out of class support. In 2
nd
grade, around
80% of the students receive out of class support. Overall, the behavior issues have not
been a significant challenge in my student teaching process, but have consistantly helped
me grow as a teacher.


The Classroom:

During my time at Bauder Elementary School, I have worked with Deanna Franklin as
my cooperating teacher. She has been absolutely wonderful and a pleasure to work with
and learn from. She is an Orff Certified specialist, and is a master at her craft. She is
loved and respected by her students. She has a very upbeat and quick paced personality
and style to her teaching. She has lived many of her years in Memphis, Tennessee, and
her students love when her Memphis accent comes out during various activities.

The music room gives off a very welcoming feel as students enter. It is relatively small,
with limited storage space, but it does not look too crowded or overwhelming. There is a
good sized floor space for all of the activities. The walls are covered with music related
posters. There is a bulletin board with pictures of past concerts, and artwork from
students. There is a wall covered with class photos of previous choirs and guitar
members. There is a bulletin board with different rhythms, pictured in various forms such
as words, pie charts, symbols, rhythm syllables and rhythm name. Throughout the room
are different music related words and defenitions, such as harmony, melody, ostinato,
tempo, rhythm, dynamics, form, borduns, and much more. The front white board is
covered with visuals used in daily lessons.

There are shelves for storage, labeled with storage boxes to store various instruments and
props for daily lessons. Everything is labeled in a easy to find manor, divided between
shakers and scrapers, woods, metals, and drums. She has an entire Orff instrumentarium
at one side of the room. These are stored stacked on top of each other, and pulled out into
the middle of the room when played during classes. Throughout the room there are
probably 50 or more puppets. Puppets are used throughout the day in most of the lower
level classes, as props to introduce songs, or as props that relate to the current activity.
The puppets are rarely used in the 4
th
and 5
th
grade lessons, but students often love
playing with puppets in the few moments of free time.

There are several guitars at the front of the room, and a piano in the back of the room.
Instruments are used in every lesson, usually as an accompaniment to various activities.
Technology is currently limited in the room. There is a television, hooked up to a dvd
player and computer, and an iHome, often used to listen to music during classes. The
Bauder music students are soon to be in for a treat. Sometime within the next few
months, a smartboard will be installed in the music room, allowing lessons to have an
enhanced technology aspect, increasing students 21
st
century skills.

Students love coming to music class. Each classroom has music once a week for 45
minutes. Wednesdays are called Enrichment days, and students receive extra Encore
classes on those days. Kindergarten through 3
rd
grade are on a quarterly rotation on
Wednesdays, each class receiving an extra day of Music, Art, PE and Technology for a
quarter of the year. In music, my cooperating teacher names the Wednesday enrichment
days Wacky Wednesday, and uses the extra time to do a special unit that the students
otherwise would not receive. In the past she has done many things, including the History
of Animation, Magical Musical Fairy Tales, and this year she is doing a unit on Puppetry.
The students learn and get to experience the various types of puppetry, such as shadow
puppets, marionettes, mask and costume, stick puppets, and hand puppets.

In 4
th
and 5
th
grade, students get to chose which Encore class they will take each
semester. Some students take one semester of each Encore class, and others stay in one
for all four semesters. In music, the 4
th
and 5
th
grade enrichment day varies each semester
from Orff Ensemble, Choir, and Recorder Choir. My cooperating teacher allowed me to
chose what I wanted to do for the 4
th
and 5
th
grade enrichment day, and I have been
leading a choir, with songs from many different cultures.

Music at Bauder is fantastic. The Encore team is very supportive of each other, and often
work together for all of the various events throughout the year. Aside from day to day
correspondance, they have weekly collaboration meetings to discuss various activities
and programs. I have never witnessed such a strong and unified specials team at a school,
and I attribute the extreme success of all four to the support they receive from each other.
Through my work with Deanna Franklin and Bauder, I have truly witnessed how
powerful an elementary music program can have on its students.

Part 5: School-Wide and Classroom Policies Overview

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a school-wide system of
interventions leading toward a positive learning environment for the students at Bauder
Elementary School. Parents, staff and students are provided with a handbook describing
the behavioral expectations, and the school website includes a full description as well.
Students learn better ways of behaving when they are taught directly and when they
receive informative and positive feedback on their performance.

At Bauder, the behavior expectations are taught using the Bauder BUCKS matrix.
Students learn what it means to be Bauder BUCKS in assemblies at the beginning of each
semester.

B Behave responsibly
U Use my manners
C Cooperate
K Keep Safe
S Succeed

Behavior expectations are posted in every classroom. The Bauder BUCKS acronym is
posted throughout the school in classrooms, hallways, lunchroom, and bathrooms.
Teachers, paras and support staff recognize Bauder Buck behavior through the use of
paper bucks. Students receive Bucks when they demonstrate positive behavior at
school. On Fridays, the paper bucks are collected for a weekly drawing. Students who
have their names drawn get to wear special Bauder leadership t-shirts or hats for a week.

Students exhibit Bauder Buck behavior in class by sitting quietly, raising hands to ask
questions and turning in assignments on time. In the hallway, students keep their hands to
themselves and respect the students in other classes by keeping their voices down. At
lunch, they demonstrate their manners by saying please and thank you. They clean
up after themselves and make sure all of the trash is thrown away. At recess, students are
recognized for following the rules of the equipment. They are kind and generous to their
classmates by including everyone in games, and taking turns. Being recognized for
positive behavior encourages students to continue to display their pride as a Bauder Buck.

If a student displays behavior that doesnt fit within the PBIS system, they are given a
Redirect. Redirects are used to control an undesirable behavior. The teacher will say the
students name, specifically state the behavior that is unappropriate, describe and
encourage the proper behavior that should be displayed, and state that if the undesirable
behavior occurs again, the student will be Refocused. Refocus forms are a time for
students to think about the choices they made, and then work one on one with the teacher
to plan for positive behavior. Both the paper bucks and the Refocus forms ensure that
all school staff members respond consistantly to positive and problematic behaviors.

If a student recieves three or more Refocuses in a week, they attend Academy. Academy
is a time to sit after school with a staff member and review Refocus forms and make a
plan to assist the student to make positive behavioral changes. Staff members review
expected social skills with the student at that time. Depending on the situation, there may
be a possible referral to the school counselor and/or school psychologist at this time.
Students will always receive the Redirect and Refocus before being sent to the office.
Students are Code of Conducted, and sent directly to the office only if their actions
directly endanger themselves or their fellow classmates. For example, my cooperating
teacher once described catching a student throwing rocks at classmates. The student was
immediately Code of Conducted, and taken to the office.

In the music room at Bauder, Mrs. Franklin created her own large Music Bauder Buck.
Classes are given opportunities throughout each lesson to earn points on the board. If a
class earns three points, they earn the Music Buck. If a class demonstrates extremely
positive behavior, they are occasionally given the opportunity to earn up to six points on
the board. If they earn six, they get to trick the teacher. As the classroom teacher
returns to pick up students, Mrs. Franklin and all of the students pretend to look
extremely glum, indicating that their behavior had been horrible. After a brief
disappointed conversation between Mrs. Franklin and the classroom teacher, the joke is
revealed, and the class proudly displays their earned Bauder Buck as they return to class.

Bauder also has a PBIS team that meets twice monthly to look at data and to plan school-
wide events to recognize outstanding behavior. The PBIS system is very effective at
Bauder Elementary. Students are provided with a learning environment that is safe for
optimal growth and development.