Darren Pinaire

Dr. Dugi

EDU 222

Oct. 17, 2021

FE #1: Demographics

Payson Elementary School is located in Payson, Arizona north of Phoenix. The school is

relatively small, but is equipped with no less than 3 resource rooms serving children of different

special needs. I shadowed in the resource room taught by Mrs. Greta Cox, wherein 3-5 students

at a time would be pulled from their classes throughout the day for reading and math lessons.

Although the school and the city in which it is located are not racially diverse, I did see an

overrepresentation of Mexican American and Native American students in the classroom,

leading me to ask questions about how the community treats the racial minorities contained

within.

While Payson Unified School District has a minority enrollment rate of 29%, Payson

Elementary School deviates by one percent, likely insignificant but an interesting deviation

nonetheless. More dramatic is the 3% drop in female student enrollment between PUSD and

PES, meaning that both minority students and female students are underrepresented at PES. I

was left to conclude that is perhaps the result of middle schools drawing from more than one

elementary school each, but I have not been able to totally reconcile this difference. Furthermore,

59% percent of PES students are considered economically disadvantaged, hardly surprising

given that 36.5% of all PUSD students receive free or reduced lunches, signalling broad

economic hardship across the town of Payson. While I found it nearly impossible to find

demographic information on the teachers for the school and district, from my own experiences
many of the teachers at PES came from other towns and brought more cultural and racial

diversity into the school than could have been provided by Payson alone, as well as being

experienced teachers. This was encouraging given the relative lack of diversity and higher

education in towns like Payson.

The actual classroom I was able to shadow had an overrepresentation of racial minorities

and economic hardship, but was full of laughter and friendship regardless. Many of the 12

students I shadowed were living in blended families, being raised by grandparents, or receiving

care from someone other than their parents more often than other students. They also comprised

part of the economically distressed category of students, though I did find that many of them

were provided snacks by their parents despite often receiving reduced lunches otherwise. Finally,

I found it interesting that the students were almost exclusively male, with only one regularly

attending student being female.

Most of the students were learning disabled to a mild extent, needing help with reading

and writing but not being totally unable to complete the lessons. Two of the students were

profoundly disabled, with troubles communicating (speech, writing), holding their pencils and

righting their clothing (occupational), and staying calm (behavioral). The classroom management

strategies consisted of asking students which of their behaviors they thought were disruptive and

how they can change that behavior to better shape the classroom environment. As far as in-

school support, PES has at their disposal 2 district school psychologists and a commitment to the

granting of OT, PT, and speech services as needed. Furthermore, other resource classrooms and

individual students had aids that assisted the teachers in managing and educating the children.

Interestingly, one of the special education teachers I met was a former behavior specialist for

special education that ended up taking a full-time special education teaching job.
 As far as school rules, PES’ are fairly standard for issues such as absences, tardiness,

dress code, etc. Absences, for example, are excused for only grief, family emergencies, and

religious holidays. In fact, taking it a step further, the school recommends that parents/guardians

schedule medical appointments during breaks and weekends. Following this trend of relatively

boilerplate policies, 10 missed days in a row at PES leads to disenrollment. Late passes are a

must for tardy students, and excessive absences will be considered absences at the discretion of

the deciding parties. Finally, ditching and absences/tardiness during school activities are

considered unacceptable, and students are barred from participating in activities that occur while

they are absent, tardy, or suspended.

The dress codes at PES are fairly common sense, banning words and symbols that are

bigoted, associated with crime, inappropriate, or otherwise disruptive. Jewellery is permitted, but

it must adhere to the other standards of conventional clothing. Also important to note, religious

imagery is not considered inappropriate by its religious association alone. Violation of the dress

code may lead to the student changing their clothes, or further consequences should the severity

or frequency of the behavior continue. These expectations stem from the overall behavioral

expectations of the district, which is that obedience to the teachers, maintaining good conduct

while under the care of the school, and preventing excessive PDA.

“Duty to Report Child Abuse and Neglect”, “Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco-free Campuses”,

“Student Searches, Interrogations and Arrests”, “Weapons in School”, and “Bullying,

Cyberbullying, Harassment, Intimidation, Hazing” are all headings within the handbook, and lay

out the common-sense prohibitions, restrictions, and consequences associated with each of these

threats to student safety, including arrest, explusion, search of property, etc. I included this list

exhaustively to communicate the thorough and relevant attention PES has given to student health
and safety. They are not alone in this regard, of course, but I found the inclusion of cyberbullying

and hazing interesting as they may have been otherwise considered indistinct from bullying

generally or not considered at all. Additionally, each year, the following safety precautions are

taken: 2 bus evacuation drills, fire drills once per month, 3 lockdown drills, 1 shelter-in-place

drill, and 2 school evacuation drills. Finally, safety finds its way to the parent and student even

off campus, as parents are given access to a messaging system that alerts them of school

activities, as well as a portal to monitor their child’s academic success.

Through my initial experiences at Payson Elementary School, I have already been

exposed to very standard as well as very unique aspects of special education. I was able to see

where and how it manifests among different students between grades 2 and 4, as they negotiate

with teachers, interact with other students, and more. Unfortunately, the generally positive

attitudes of these students are at times unreflective of the reality of the community in which they

live. District test scores are dropping, the school is not very racially diverse, and there is a lot of

financial hardship in the community. Add to this a disability, and I am now more motivated than

ever to create a conspicuously inclusive environment in my own classroom.

HANDBOOK--PUSD COMMON