Max Quill

Cultural and Socioeconomic Survey of the Mount View Middle School Community

The data from the 2022 school profile states that there are 894 students attending Mount View
Middle School and that the building has a 798 occupancy (not including the 5 portable classrooms). This
indicates that the school is over full capacity when all the students are in the main building. Compared
to two of the neighboring middle schools, Folly Quarter and Glenwood, this is a surprise. Folly Quarter’s
district is only slightly larger than Mount View’s, but the enrollment is only 683 and the capacity is 682
(they have one portable classroom). Despite having a larger district, the enrollment and capacity are
both lower and the school is not as packed as Mount View. For Glenwood, the enrollment is only 493
while the capacity is 545, but the district is around 1.5 times larger than Mount View’s. Although there
are other factors to consider, I am led to believe that there are more families in the Mount View district
or that some families make a special request to have their child attend Mount View.

The economic standing of the Mount View community seems to be high considering that only
3% of the student body is at an economic disadvantage and less than 5% is on free and reduced meals.
The percentages of different races at Mount View start with Asian/Pacific Islander at 50%, White at 35%,
African American at 5% and all other races at less than 5 percent (Hispanic, Hawaiian, and American
Indian).

If I were to do more teaching at this school, I would take the economic and racial demographics
of the community into consideration for my teaching. It is important to represent cultures of all races
and ethnicities, but I would be sure to account for any important customs in Asian and Indian families in
particular. I would also interview the families of the students to learn about their traditional music and
plan for opportunities to experience that music in school. Additionally, activities and materials that
require payment would have some alternative or accommodation in order to be inclusive of the
students who are at an economic disadvantage. I have also noticed many cases of students being late to
class because of the school’s one-way hallway policy. This policy is in place due to the high population of
students and therefore the crowdedness of the school. I would be sure to give students a fair chance to
defend themselves if they are late to class and follow up with parents and school administration if the
problem persists, especially if any students with special physical needs are impacted by the crowded
hallways.
Max Quill

References

Howard County Public School System (2022). Folly quarter middle school profile [Infographic].
https://www.hcpss.org/f/schools/profiles/prof_ms_follyquarter.pdf

Howard County Public School System (2022). Glenwood middle school profile [Infographic].
https://www.hcpss.org/f/schools/profiles/prof_ms_glenwood.pdf

Howard County Public School System (2022). Mount view middle school profile [Infographic].
https://www.hcpss.org/f/schools/profiles/prof_ms_mountview.pdf