‭EDEE 490 & 492‬

‭ASSIGNMENT 1‬

‭How Well Do You Know Your School Community & Culture?‬

‭DUE: January 8, 2023 at 3:30pm‬

‭Part 1: 2 Page Narrative‬

‭I am doing my student teaching at Ho'okele Elementary School in a Kindergarten‬

‭classroom.‬‭A significant school and district factor I observed is the school community’s‬

‭median household income.‬‭The median household income in the state of Hawaii is $83,173‬

‭and the school community’s median household income was $100,447. This is significant to‬

‭the school's culture because usually wealthier guardians or parents have more funding to‬

‭provide their children with better educational opportunities. Since the school is in a nice‬

‭community the school itself is better funded, and students have more access to resources and a‬

‭more aesthetic campus. I feel this is true because when you come to the campus it is very‬

‭clean and it has a very modern interior. A‬‭significant classroom demographic and‬

‭knowledge of students factors at Ho'okele Elementary school is the students' ethnicities.‬

‭The three highest ethnicities at the school are Filipino (25.6%), Native Hawaiian (24.9%), and‬

‭White (19.6%). I felt this was impactful to the school community and culture because I feel‬

‭they could do more to incorporate aspects of these cultures into the school. I also felt the‬

‭school is having some trouble finding ways to help students with behavioral problems, and‬

‭maybe this is due to cultural differences. For instance, what seems disrespectful or odd to us‬

‭may be a normal occurrence in these student cultures.‬

‭According to my mentor teacher there are two assessment programs implemented at‬

‭Ho'okele Elementary School. The first is an I-Ready diagnostic test, which is administered‬

‭three times a year. The I-Ready diagnostic test evaluates the students' math and reading‬
 ‭EDEE 490 & 492‬

‭development. In the math section students are assessed on number and operations,‬

‭measurements, and analyzing data. My mentor teacher shared how the school as a whole‬

‭performed well in the numbers and operations area but did poorly in measurements and‬

‭analyzing data. For Kindergarten the measurements area evaluates the students ability to‬

‭compare the size of objects. For instance, correctly identifying which objects are taller or‬

‭shorter and longer or shorter. The students struggled in this area because they do not know‬

‭which words are appropriate for each problem. For example, the students will commonly‬

‭confuse taller with the word longer even though longer refers to a horizontal orientation and‬

‭taller refers to a vertical one. To help the students improve in their measurement proficiency I‬

‭think my mentor teacher and I will need to review “taller or shorter” versus “longer or‬

‭shorter”.‬

‭For reading the students take an assessment referred to as Literacy Task, which is a‬

‭part of I-Ready. This assessment evaluates the students' letter naming fluency, letter sounds‬

‭fluency, word recognition fluency, pseudo word fluency (nonsense words), and phonological‬

‭awareness (breaking apart syllables and rhyming). In reading the students really struggled‬

‭with fluently reading pseudowords and their phonological awareness. The second test the‬

‭students need to take is known as Reading A-Z (RAZZ). This test evaluates the students'‬

‭recognition of letter names and their sounds. This test is taken in quarters two, three and four.‬

‭For our learning goal my mentor teacher and I will be focusing on standard‬

‭(Phonological Awareness) Literacy.RF.1.1: demonstrate understanding of spoken words,‬

‭syllables, and sounds (phonemes). We chose this standard because the Literacy Task‬

‭Assessment revealed the students really struggled with their phonological awareness. To help‬

‭further develop the students' growth in this area, my mentor teacher and I want to implement‬
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‭the use of small learning groups more regularly. With the regular implementation of small‬

‭groups we hope to provide the students who are falling behind with more help. The first step‬

‭to accomplishing our goal is to teach the students appropriate behavior when small group‬

‭instruction is taking place. For instance, being a self-directed learner and not interrupting the‬

‭small group instruction. With these small groups I believe the content we will be giving the‬

‭most attention to is getting the lower students to fluently identify letter names and the sounds‬

‭they make. During the small groups we want to include instructional materials from‬

‭instructional and support resources. The instructional materials will include OG cards,‬

‭magnetic alphabets, and decodable books.‬

‭During the Fall Semester of 2023 I observed one I-Ready reading diagnostic test. I felt‬

‭the test itself was more appropriate for students than tests were when I was in Elementary‬

‭school. For instance, the test included games for the students to play when a certain point was‬

‭reached. I felt this was beneficial because when I was younger I had a really hard time staying‬

‭alert when I took assessments because they were so long. However, I felt the games also had‬

‭negative effects as I think they took away from the gravity of how important the assessment‬

‭was. Maybe instead of a game I would modify the test to have something more relaxing like a‬

‭coloring game or stretching routine.‬

 ‭EDEE 490 & 492‬

‭Part 2: 5 Key People in Your School Community‬

‭Name‬ ‭Title‬ ‭Role and/or Function‬ E

‭ xplain why this person is crucial‬
‭to the school culture.‬

‭E. Okamoto‬ ‭ rade K-2‬

G ‭ o aid students who‬
T ‭ s. Okamoto is crucial to the school‬
M
‭Counselor‬ ‭need emotional or‬ ‭culture because she acts as an‬
‭behavioral support.‬ ‭emotional support for the students‬
‭and teachers. For instance, in my‬
‭mentor teacher’s classroom there are‬
‭three students with behavior issues‬
‭due to various reasons. Ms. Okamoto‬
‭works with these students weekly in‬
‭hopes of improving their behavior in‬
‭the classroom by strengthening their‬
‭connectedness.‬

‭ .‬
R ‭ rade K-2‬
G ‭ rovide support to‬
P ‭ s. Yamamoto plays a significant‬
M
‭Yamamoto‬ ‭Curriculum‬ ‭teachers so they can‬ ‭role in the lower grades. She helps to‬
‭Coordinator‬ ‭better navigate the‬ ‭make sure the curriculum the teachers‬
‭curriculum.‬ ‭are delivering are appropriate and of‬
‭quality. She also works with small‬
‭groups of students to help improve‬
‭their understanding of concepts in the‬
‭curriculum they need to learn.‬

‭L. Dunn‬ ‭ TI for‬

R ‭ o provide extra help‬
T ‭ rs. Dunn is crucial to Hookele‬
M
‭Reading‬ ‭to all students in small‬ ‭school’s culture because she works‬
‭Workshop‬ ‭groups to help them‬ ‭with students in small groups to help‬
‭improve academically.‬ ‭improve their academic standing. In‬
‭my mentor teacher’s classroom Mrs.‬
‭Dunn has been taking out students at‬
‭the same reading level in hopes of‬
‭bumping them up one level higher.‬
‭For instance, during quarter one she‬
‭pulled out the students who were‬
‭close to being above grade level, so‬
‭they could receive the extra aid they‬
‭needed to get there. Then in quarter‬
‭two she began working with the‬
‭students who are in the middle to help‬
‭them be even stronger in reading at‬
‭their grade level. This will continue‬
‭until the students who are below‬
‭grade level are helped.‬
 ‭EDEE 490 & 492‬

‭J. Gutierrez‬ ‭ELL‬ ‭ o work with students‬

T ‭ s. Gutierrez is important to the‬
M
‭who are transitioning‬ ‭school community because she helps‬
‭to the English‬ ‭those with language barriers to‬
‭language.‬ ‭assimilate to school life better. For‬
‭instance, I see Ms. Gutierrez work‬
‭with two students in my mentor‬
‭teacher’s classroom frequently. She‬
‭works with them together so they can‬
‭be given more attention.‬

‭ .‬
M ‭ ower Grade‬ T
L ‭ o work with parents,‬ ‭ s. Pamatigan is vital to Hookele’s‬
M
‭Pamatigan‬ ‭Vice‬ ‭teachers, and students‬ ‭school culture because she acts as a‬
‭Principal‬ ‭to improve the quality‬ ‭mediator between parents and‬
‭of school life.‬ ‭teachers, and students and teachers.‬
‭For instance, she will sometimes‬
‭come in to observe students with‬
‭behavior problems, and she is there‬
‭when parents have concerns and want‬
‭to discuss it with their child’s teacher.‬

‭Part 3: Letter or Introduction‬

‭Dear Parents and Guardians,‬

‭I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year. My name is Brooke‬

‭Leong, and for quarters one and two I was helping out in your child’s classroom. I was working‬

‭with Ms. Menor and your children twice a week to learn how to become an educator. For quarter‬

‭three and part of quarter four I will now be in the classroom with your child everyday! I will also‬

‭have solo days where I will act as the lead teacher under the observation of Ms. Menor. During‬

‭these last two quarters Ms. Menor and I hope to implement the use of the small groups more‬

‭frequently to give your children the extra attention they need to succeed. Our learning goal this‬

‭semester is to focus more on using small groups to help your child improve their ability to‬
 ‭EDEE 490 & 492‬

‭fluently sound out letters and words. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or‬

‭concerns.‬