Section I: Setting & Context
Community
Fort Collins is located in the northern region of Colorado along the front range of the Rocky Mountains about 60 miles north of Denver. Fort Collins has a population of approximately 151,330 people with a population growth of 1.6% and an average age of 29.1 years. The percentage of the residents who have completed four or more years of college is 51.5%, which seems appropriate, as it is also the home of Colorado State University. Within this college town, the average house hold income is $51,446 and thean average family income isof $74,313, but the unemployment rate isof 6.3%. What I find most intriguing about this town is the efforts in preservation. There are 600 acres of parks and 40,000 acres of natural areas. Just this September the Black-Footed Ferret was released back into Soapstone Prairie Natural Area just north of Fort Collins.
District
The Thompson School District is located in Loveland, Colorado. However, it also include a part of Fort Collins, more specifically everything located on the South side of Trilby Road. The school that I am placed at is in the Fort Collins just South of Trilby Road. The overall values of this district are to "Empower to Learn, Challenge to Achieve, and Inspire to Excel." Within the Thompson School District there has been a recent elimination of "early release Wednesday." All the Elementary Schools within the district dedicate four school days to assessments in reading and mathematics. The primary focus for Elementary School is the development of literacy and numeracy. This can be found in all areas that the district offers in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, PE, and Computer Literacy. The district extends these programs out to 20 Elementary Schools throughout Loveland, Fort Collins, and Berthoud. Some of these schools include: Big Thompson Elementary, Cottonwood Plains, Centennial Elementary, and Coyote Ridge Elementary. There are only 5 Middle Schools and 5 High Schools within this district accompanied by 2 Charter Schools and 1 Online K-12 School.
Cottonwood Plains Elementary
Cottonwood Plains Elementary is the one Thompson School District School that is located in Fort Collins. It is located on the South side of Fort Collins in the middle of a sub development. The school is attended by 418 students that are made of a mix of ethnicity including: Asian, Hispanic, White, Black, and American Indian. However, the majority of the school is split between White at 298 students and Hispanic at 98 students. Of the student population 58% are not eligible for free and reduced lunch, but 35% are eligible for Free Lunch while the remaining 7% are eligible for reduced priced lunch. Over the last few years there has been a drop in the number of students in attendance and a decrease in the ratio of teacher to student ratio, while to lunch assistance has increased.
Classroom
The classroom is set with tables placed in a circle like formation that allows all students to see everyone. The desks are large tables that allow two to three students to sit at together. The technology in the room is slightly outdate, but there is a document camera and a projector. There is one table in the back of the room that is used for demos, but it is the same size of the tables the students sit at so it is a little small to have students gather around. There are posters on the walls, including a job chart that gives each table a job to do for the week. Tables are number one through ten for identification purposes.
The class used for data collection in this portfolio consists of 22 5th grade students, which is split evenly between males and females with exactly 11 of each. Four of these students in this class have IEPs. Of these students there is a pretty decent mix of ethnicity. There are seven Hispanic students and eleven White students. The remaining four students are of either a mixed or unknown ethnicity. None of these students seem to have issues in English speaking or understanding, but there are several who attend ELD classes. As a whole to class seems to be a pretty supportive community and overall very well behaved.
Fort Collins is located in the northern region of Colorado along the front range of the Rocky Mountains about 60 miles north of Denver. Fort Collins has a population of approximately 151,330 people with a population growth of 1.6% and an average age of 29.1 years. The percentage of the residents who have completed four or more years of college is 51.5%, which seems appropriate, as it is also the home of Colorado State University. Within this college town, the average house hold income is $51,446 and thean average family income isof $74,313, but the unemployment rate isof 6.3%. What I find most intriguing about this town is the efforts in preservation. There are 600 acres of parks and 40,000 acres of natural areas. Just this September the Black-Footed Ferret was released back into Soapstone Prairie Natural Area just north of Fort Collins.
District
The Thompson School District is located in Loveland, Colorado. However, it also include a part of Fort Collins, more specifically everything located on the South side of Trilby Road. The school that I am placed at is in the Fort Collins just South of Trilby Road. The overall values of this district are to "Empower to Learn, Challenge to Achieve, and Inspire to Excel." Within the Thompson School District there has been a recent elimination of "early release Wednesday." All the Elementary Schools within the district dedicate four school days to assessments in reading and mathematics. The primary focus for Elementary School is the development of literacy and numeracy. This can be found in all areas that the district offers in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, PE, and Computer Literacy. The district extends these programs out to 20 Elementary Schools throughout Loveland, Fort Collins, and Berthoud. Some of these schools include: Big Thompson Elementary, Cottonwood Plains, Centennial Elementary, and Coyote Ridge Elementary. There are only 5 Middle Schools and 5 High Schools within this district accompanied by 2 Charter Schools and 1 Online K-12 School.
Cottonwood Plains Elementary
Cottonwood Plains Elementary is the one Thompson School District School that is located in Fort Collins. It is located on the South side of Fort Collins in the middle of a sub development. The school is attended by 418 students that are made of a mix of ethnicity including: Asian, Hispanic, White, Black, and American Indian. However, the majority of the school is split between White at 298 students and Hispanic at 98 students. Of the student population 58% are not eligible for free and reduced lunch, but 35% are eligible for Free Lunch while the remaining 7% are eligible for reduced priced lunch. Over the last few years there has been a drop in the number of students in attendance and a decrease in the ratio of teacher to student ratio, while to lunch assistance has increased.
Classroom
The classroom is set with tables placed in a circle like formation that allows all students to see everyone. The desks are large tables that allow two to three students to sit at together. The technology in the room is slightly outdate, but there is a document camera and a projector. There is one table in the back of the room that is used for demos, but it is the same size of the tables the students sit at so it is a little small to have students gather around. There are posters on the walls, including a job chart that gives each table a job to do for the week. Tables are number one through ten for identification purposes.
The class used for data collection in this portfolio consists of 22 5th grade students, which is split evenly between males and females with exactly 11 of each. Four of these students in this class have IEPs. Of these students there is a pretty decent mix of ethnicity. There are seven Hispanic students and eleven White students. The remaining four students are of either a mixed or unknown ethnicity. None of these students seem to have issues in English speaking or understanding, but there are several who attend ELD classes. As a whole to class seems to be a pretty supportive community and overall very well behaved.