Chelby Pittman- RFE #3

At Underwood Elementary, the office staff is very friendly and inviting. Every time we come in the receptionist always makes sure to tell us "Good morning" and asks, "How are you?". She also does this with students and parents. The other faculty and staff members are also very nice and always greet me with a smile. I think Underwood Elementary has done a good job of making visitors feel welcomed, which creates a positive atmosphere and community because it makes everyone feel comfortable. The staff has also been very helpful and informative when I have had questions, and the librarian has even made sure we know that the library is open to us for whatever we need. I feel that all the teachers and staff at Underwood are very friendly towards one another. I believe this is why Underwood seems to have a close community where every faculty member is included and respected. I also think having electives has helped in creating a school-wide community. The students get to choose the electives they want to take. Each teacher must teach one elective and this gives the students a chance to know other teachers at the school. It also gives the teachers a chance to develop relationships with students in other grades. These are the ways that I have seen evidence of a strong school community. 

My SBTE acknowledges almost all of her students as they come into the classroom in the morning. This lets each student know she cares about them by recognizing their presence. She also gives students an opportunity to make any announcements they have in the morning. This gives the students a chance to be involved in the classroom. My SBTE always takes the time to make sure her students are okay and if one has seemed to have a rough morning, she takes the time to talk to them or comfort them. I remember one time when a girl hadn't gotten any binders for the school year yet, and it was obviously already after Christmas. My SBTE bought some binders for her and sat on the floor and organized them with her. I believe my SBTE is very good at making her students know she cares, which definitely builds classroom community. The students also help each other out when they get stuck on questions. I think this shows great community because they rely on another. There are also classroom jobs that students get each week. The jobs get them actively involved in the classroom community. I think my SBTE has done a good job of creating a classroom community with her students. 

Underwood Elementary and my SBTE have created a positive atmosphere where students and visitors feel welcomed. I think is important for the community because everyone wants to work together. I know personally, as a visitor, I have appreciated their welcoming and willingness to help. 

Hannah Hedgecock - RFE 3

Underwood Elementary and its faculty and staff work hard to create a sense of community. Students at this school feel like they are welcome and an integral part of making the school a success. Since Underwood is a magnet school, students are given options of which electives they want to take. I feel like this creates a sense of community because students feel like they have a say in what they learn. If students are allowed to pursue their own interests, they will be more devoted to their learning. Everyone at Underwood also seems to be very welcoming and friendly. The office staff has spoken to me each time I have entered the building. This is different from the partnership school where I was placed last semester. I feel like I am appreciated at Underwood, and I feel like the students must feel the same way. I have noticed that the student council at Underwood is very active. At many elementary schools, the student council does not really do anything to help. I have seen several projects put on by the student council in my short time at Underwood Elementary. They headed up a project where you could buy valentines for your friend, and the money raised went to a charity organization. The student council makes efforts to truly represent the rest of the student body, and they try to include the student body as a whole in their projects. The student council members also function as tour guides for visiting families. These students are given an opportunity to represent their school. I have never seen this done at an elementary school, but I feel like it makes the students feel that they really matter. They feel needed to make the school run smoothly. The principal is also very approachable and supportive. She requested that each of us come talk to her personally. I feel that this creates a sense of community because I know that she is busy, but she is taking the time out of her day to talk to future teachers. The school creates a warm environment with the lively colors that are displayed. Student artwork is also displayed throughout the halls. This shows students that their work is important and appreciated. Students feel a sense of pride to see their work displayed for others to see.
I also feel that there is a sense of community within the classroom that I observe, but I feel like my SBTE uses unconventional methods for establishing classroom community. It is suggested in most textbooks that teachers stand at the door of the classroom to greet students as they enter the room. My teacher does not do this, and he even told me that he feels like that is silly. He creates a sense of classroom community through individualized and small group instruction. Through this type of instruction, he is able to work closely with students and cater to their individual learning needs. I feel that this enables my SBTE to monitor what his students know and do not know. I would guess that there are probably very few students who are lost in the class without the SBTE knowing it. Students are often paired up for their morning work. Each student reads about a different topic, and they share what they have learned with each other. The SBTE then calls students to the front of the room to share what they learned with from their partner. I think this creates a sense of community because the partner knows that what they shared was listened to and valued.
Overall, I feel that my classroom and Underwood as a whole have made sufficient efforts to establish classroom community. Students are made to feel welcome and that they are part of the group. This group functions much like a family in that each person has responsibilities and a role to play.

Tori- RFE 3

I am in a 5th grade class at my partnership school, Aversboro Elementary. I think my teacher, Mrs. Sposato has a created a great classroom community in her classroom. In the mornings, I see the children come up to her desk and ask her questions because they feel comfortable talking to her and they trust her. They don’t just ask school related questions, they also ask personal questions about their home life or advice with friends and family. Also, there is a list of rules on the wall that Mrs. Sposato and her class created together. This way the students were able to participate in making the rules that they have to follow and were able to give their input. Mrs. Sposato’s class changes classes with two other 5th grade classes for different subjects. Because of this, Mrs. Sposato’s class, Mr. Berwanger’s class, and Mr. Mauro’s class all have their own little community. The teachers know all the students and the students feel comfortable with all three teachers. At the end of the day, they also have an hour block where students go to one of the three teachers classroom whose subject they need extra help in. So the students have other students in their classroom that aren’t normally there. They are very welcoming to other students and the other students always feel comfortable in another classroom. I have seen a great sense of community between the classmates. They are always willing to help their peers around them who are struggling with their work. The students respect their teachers and classmates and they receive respect in return. The classroom is an environment where everyone feels safe and trusting and this builds their classroom community.
Aversboro also has a good sense of school community. I am only at Aversboro once per week, but everytime I am there the principal comes into one of the classrooms I am in to observe the teacher. I think this is a great practice because the students become more familiar and comfortable with the principal and the teachers do as well. By making himself available to students and teachers, the principal is creating great school community. Also, every morning the school has announcements that provide the school with reminders of upcoming events, the lunch menu, and the Pledge of Allegiance. By having this morning ritual and doing the Pledge of Allegiance together I think that shows school community. All of the teachers are very polite and respectful to one another and I think this shows a lot about their school and their strong sense of community as well.

Maggie K - RFE #3

My partnership school, Underwood, seems to have created a strong sense of community among its faculty and students. The first thing I noticed with relation to the feeling of community was how warm and welcoming the office staff is. The front desk receptionist seems to know, or at least recognize, all of the staff or students that enter the office and continues to greet them with a helping attitude. As we go to Underwood more often she also seems to recognize us better. She asks us how things are going or tells us to have a good weekend as we leave for the day. I have had the privilege to meet lots of the staff members at Underwood and they seem to really enjoy each other and respect one another. On our first day at the school Ms Walker introduced me to the librarian and she was very welcoming to us and told us we were welcome to use any of the resources in the library. I feel Underwood creates this sense of community because they help one another and are conversing with one another. Some schools can isolate regular classroom teachers from office staff or from special area teachers. Underwood keeps all of the staff “in the loop” with what each department is going through or accomplishing. An example of this was one day the principal came on the intercom to inform all staff and students that the school had received an award of excellence from the magnet program. Throughout the day staff was talking about this and congratulating the Magnet Program Coordinator for all of her work. This example exemplifies how the staff stays in communication and works together to create their sense of community.

Underwood as a whole has accomplished this sense of community and my partnership classroom has done so as well. Ms Walker has a very unusual relationship with her students because she is able to balance a friendship feeling with an authority role very gracefully. Ms Walker knows what is going on with her students not only academically but socially as well. There have numerous examples of this thus far in the semester but the one that sticks out to me was regarding a little girl in the classroom. She walked into the classroom one day with tears streaming down her face. Ms Walker took her aside and spoke with her and found out she was upset about Kiss-O-Grams, which she was in charge of collecting. She was upset because the staff member who was supposed to supply them with the Kiss-O-Grams had not given them to her so she had not sold any. Ms Walker took the time out of her lunch time, which is 20 minutes, to find the Kiss-O-Grams and give them to the little girl. I feel this contributes to the community of the classroom because by doing little things like taking time out of her schedule to help her students she shows she cares. With small acts of kindness Ms Walker does not have to “overdo” the friendship-ness and she can focus on being the teacher or authoritator during instructional time.

Underwood as a whole and Ms Walker’s class have both accomplished the sense of community most schools and teachers long for. I feel a strong sense of community is best reached by working together and have relationships with all students or staff. Most outsiders can feel if a school or classroom has a sense of community upon arrival. Since Underwood is a magnet school and prospective parents are always wondering through the hallways, this sense must always be present and so far I have witnessed it day in and day out throughout the school and in my classroom.

Reflection #3

In my classroom, there are several things that create a sense of classroom community. The class and the teacher came up with “beliefs” together. They brainstormed several and the teacher wrote them on the board. They then did something called a “consensogram” where the teacher gives each person three sticky notes. Each student then goes to the board and places each sticky note on a different belief and they choose their top three choices. After all of the students finished doing this, the teacher found the top six beliefs that were chosen and those made up the classroom beliefs. They included: listen to the speaker, strive for peaceful solutions, treat others like you would like to be treated, respect the way others think, follow the fuller 4 (respectful, safe, responsible, productive), and be kind to all and smile.
Another way that a classroom community is created is the teacher gives the students a time at the beginning of the day to share announcements. During this time the students may share what they did during the weekend or yesterday afternoon, or what they are looking forward to, etc. It gives the other students a chance to get to know their classmates better. In my classroom, there are also job duties posted and students get to rotate having a duty such as line leader, recycler, errand runner, etc.
My teacher also does something called “Mystery Motivator” where she targets a behavior that the students are struggling with such as talking too much and has a contest between the student and the teacher. If the students get 80% then they receive a mystery motivator prize of their choice.
The school that I am at also creates a sense of community by having “Fuller Family Night” where the school serves dinner to the parents and then the children go and do activities while the parents go to informational sessions that the teachers present. The school also has Fun Friday where the students are rewarded for having good behavior all week. Lastly, the school has the “SAY” program. This is where NCSU sends mentors to do activities with the children from needy backgrounds.

Reflection #3

Classroom community is well developed within Mrs. Jenness’ classroom; however, community within the actual school is not as obvious. Mrs. Jenness does extremely well with holding her class to a “community standard”. She has a sense of control over her classroom which does not seem to be a hard control but more of a respect standard. Each student within this classroom will take, up to a certain point of course, responsibility for their fellow students. Amongst the school, however, there is less of a community setting. One reason could be the school is a brand new building and the grades are still getting adjusted to the change of setting.

Mrs. Jenness’ classroom involves all of her students. She makes points to include in child in every conversation and discussion. She has rules on her wall that the students developed and agreed to at the beginning of the year. She says the children don’t have any problems going by these rules and she likes to refer to them as classroom standards that their classmates will remind other classmates of. Respect is obvious and well defined amongst these children. They know how to approach Mrs. Jenness and how not to approach Mrs. Jenness. Yes ma’am and no ma’am are commonly heard of a day to day basis. Classroom achievement is displayed on the walls. The latest achievement talk is the Ice Cream Sunday each child gets to build on after mastering a multiplication number fact. The students in this classroom are extremely well behaved and do a good job of learning what works in this classroom setting and what does not work. Mrs. Jenness is also very caring and considerate towards her students. She displays every piece of artwork any student in that classroom has ever made her that year. She shares stories of praise when good praise of students is to be shared. These kids are so happy and pleased with the classroom and classmates they have, their favorite reward is “Pick a Friend and Have Lunch with Mrs. Jenness”!

The school community however is a different story. The principal, although well liked by the teachers, rarely shows his face in the classroom. The children of each class keep to themselves more than anything else. The only school wide activity I have seen since attending this school, is a box top competition between each classroom. One good thing about the morning announcements is each week and different classroom gets to pick five students to do announcements each day of the week, so at least the students get to hear different students’ voices.

Reflection #3

I feel that my SBTE has created a wonderful classroom community in her third grade class. The students know how to come in and address any problems they may have. They have a morning meeting daily that starts off the day. They say the pledge, do a stretching activity, and go over agenda or anything new during the day. Morning meeting helps the students to transition from home to the classroom. Being informed of their schedule for the day also helps the students feel comfortable and they don’t have to anticipate what they will be doing next.
My SBTE selects two or three students to be the kids of the month. These individuals bring in pictures that stay on the board throughout the month. They are able to bring in items to share with their classmates. This process allows the students to learn more about each other. This leads to the students caring about one another and feeling safe around their classmates. It really would have been nice to see how the students have grown as individuals, as well as a class throughout the year. I feel that we missed most of the community building because we came into the classrooms so late in the year.
I have a wonderful teacher. She always takes the time to answer any and all question that the students may have about an assignment. This often takes a while, but she is strengthening the classroom community by patiently taking the time to answer each question. The students are not afraid to speak up and ask about things they are unsure of. They actually come up with some really interesting questions at times. They think really deep into assignments and find the strangest questions to ask. Still, when a student is confused, their classmates step in to help.
The students in my class are given space to make many of their own decisions. My SBTE is more laid back and lets the students make a lot of their own choices. This leads to less structure and more cooperation. The students know that they must make decisions that will benefit the entire class. This builds upon their ability to be responsible and make positive choices.
Disputes are handled in a positive and discrete manner. The students involved in the dispute usually step outside with the teacher and discuss the problem with her. They are always able to come up with a solution and everyone is happy. Most often the ones involved are hanging around with each other again within a few minutes after the dispute.
There are many reward systems set up throughout the school. There are tickets that teachers and administrators can give students or classes in the hall if they are caught behaving extremely well, or if someone is seen committing a random act of kindness. This system is for the class as a whole. When the class gets a certain number of tickets, they get some type of treat. I believe that this supports the development of the school community. Any teacher or administrator can give out tickets to any student throughout the school. This encourages the students to be on their best behavior inside and outside of the classroom.
In the classroom, our teacher has two additional reward systems in place. One of these systems is a flip chart. Each student has a pocket with 5 different color cards. They can flip up for positive behavior or down for negative behavior. They can earn flips throughout the day. If they misbehave and have to flip down they still have time throughout the day to change their act and potentially get to flip back up. They get rewards at the end of the day based on the color card they are on. This can range from a reward dollar to save for the prize box, or a reflection form to complete based on the students’ behavior for that day. A second system that the teacher has in place within the classroom is a marble jar. Each student who is on a positive card at the end of the day gets to place a marble in the jar. When the jar gets filled, the class gets to choose a reward from a list of activities. These classroom reward systems also contribute to the sense of community within the classroom.
All of these small little things add to the sense of community for the class overall. The students are not merely classmates, they are friends. They can rely on one another and work together as a class to get things done. My SBTE has so much to so with this successful sense of community in her classroom. She models her expectations of the students and holds them to a high standard. She also cares about her students and they see this in her. The students care about her in return. This is classroom is the perfect picture of a classroom community.