Brittney Chamberlain

Edu222

Professor Dugi

3/13/2022

Demographics

Introduction

The school I am doing my field experience at is Southwest Elementary School in located

in Phoenix, Arizona. I am in a Special Needs classroom, Functional Skills specifically, run by a

teacher that has had years of experience in this field. The class is small with there being about

nine students and there are three teacher assistants in the class as well.

The School and the School System

The school system has 19 different schools and with about 8,864 students enrolled in the

system.

Population of School System and School by Gender

In the school it is 50% on both male and female students. For the system there are

little more male students than female students.

 Gender

System: Boys System: Girls School: Boys School: Girls

Population of School System and School by Race & Ethnicity

The school compared to the system is mostly Hispanic while in the system it is

mostly white. For the system Asian, American Indian, and two or more races students are higher

than the schools.

 School Race/Ethnicity

Hispanic Black White

American Indian Asian Two or more races

System Race/Ethnicity

Hispanic Black White

American Indian Asian Two or more races

Teacher Diversity for School System and School

In the system it is like the student diversity where there are more white teachers

than the school. For the school 100% of the teachers have highest degree earned in education and

83% have 3 or more years of experience. In the system it is 100% of teachers having the highest
degree and 73% having 3 or more years of experience. About $9,877 is spent per student. In the

system 85% have free or reduced-price lunches while in the school there is 95%.

School Teacher Diversity

Hispanic White American Indian Other

The Classroom

There are nine students in the class who are all unique and memorable in a good way. In

the class there are only three racial groups. There are also more girls than boys in the class with

there being five girls and four boys. All the students receive free and reduced-price lunches.

White 3

Hispanic 4

Black 2

All of the students have their own education plans and their own needs. Some of them

have similar needs but for the most part they are all collectively in the class for functional skills.
One of the students is provided a tablet to communicate their needs and emotions with. A lot of

the assignments in the class have to do with motor skills as well.

The Parent/Student Handbook

https://www.rsd66.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?

moduleinstanceid=8469&dataid=8862&FileName=ParentStudent%20Handbook%2021-22.pdf

Students must attend school daily. After 5 days of not attending school a notice will be

sent to the parents. A CUTs letter will be sent with another notice if students miss 9 to 11 days.

For the dress code boys have to wear polo dress or dress shirts and pants or shorts that are solid

colors of what the school allows. Cannot fit too loosely or tightly. For girls they must wear polo

shirts or dress shirts as well and skirts, pants, shorts, and dresses must be a solid school

authorized color. Skirts and dresses must be at least three inches above the knee. Only ear

piercings are allowed and slippers, heelys, and sandals are not allowed.

There are six categories of behavior consequences with the 1st offense being having to be

disciplined by a teacher or staff. Second offense being removed from the classroom and having a

parent conference with 1 to 3 days of suspension and third offense being referred to juvenile

authorities, parent conference and 10 day suspension. Fourth offense adds the risk of being

expelled and having to clean up the messes made. The last two are having authorities be

involved.

Parents are expected to attend parent meetings and to send their child on time. They are also

expected to update the school on any health documents or concerns about their child. Must notify

the office of any health problems and keep students at home if they have nausea and vomiting,

elevated temperature, red or inflamed eyes.

Reflection

The school system itself is diverse with students and teachers compared to the school I

am doing the field experience in. The school is mainly occupied by Hispanics which makes sense

because the area is mainly filled with Hispanic people. In the classroom there are two assistants

who help communicating with some of the students who respond well to Spanish than English.

Since both the teacher and assistants have years of experience with special needs students, they

are well informed in what is common with certain disabilities and students in this field. I hope

that in the future more people of different cultures are more enrolled in this school system in

general because the schools can grow from that diversity in students and staff.