Context
Evergreen Charter Academy is a young 5 K through 6th grade charter academy. Their mission statement is “Evergreen Charter Academy will educate, equip, and empower every child.” Evergreen Charter Academy is located in an urban setting in the southeast side of Grand Rapids. It is located within the Grand Rapids Public School district area. Evergreen Charter Academy is managed by the National Heritage Academies and is authorized by the Bay Mills Community College. Their belief statement says, “Wisdom, respect, gratitude, self-control, perseverance, courage, encouragement, compassion, and integrity serve as our values and virtues which cultivate character development in every child.” Lastly, Evergreen Charter Academy vision says, “Working in partnership with parents, teachers, and communities, Evergreen Charter Academy offers a positive learning environment, helping every child discover and develop their potential. By providing a foundation of strong academics, values, and virtues, Evergreen Charter Academy will inspire an attitude of lifelong learning.”
At Evergreen Charter Academy, the students are divided based on their grades. There are 521 students in the entire school. There are multiple sections for each grade. The grades themselves are divided based upon the students’ proficiency level. This level changes throughout the year as the students are continually tested, and the students have fluctuated between classrooms based upon their proficiency level. The school was founded in 2012, and is planning on adding a grade every year all the way through eighth grade. Fall of 2014 will be the inaugural year for the new 7th grade class. The student population is 47.7% female and 52.3% male, as of 2012. According to school statistics from 2012 (before they added 6th grade) the student population was 75% black or African American, 9% White, 15% Hispanic, and about 1% is American Indian. My teacher told me that about 90% of the student population qualifies for free and reduced lunch, so Evergreen Charter Academy filed, and received, a grant allowing all students to receive free lunch. The students receive free lunch and breakfast everyday at school.
The student population is about 9% English Language learners. According to information from 2012 they had a teaching staff of 27, but with adding on 6th grade, I am sure that number has increased. The average number of students in a classroom ranges between 20-27. There are 4 deans and one principal that compose the leadership of the school.
Evergreen Charter Academy provides special education push-in services for students, as well as special workshops for special education students.
Evergreen Charter Academy strongly believes in college-readiness for their students. They are training their students to prepare for college and expose them to the idea of college in hopes that many of the students will attend college in the future. In doing so Evergreen Charter Academy has many, many college banners hanging around the school as a constant reminder of the future possibilities.
The school is located in a residential area and the neighborhood park is located on the same block as Evergreen Charter Academy. Evergreen Charter Academy doesn’t provide any transportation for the students to get to school, so a large percent of the student population lives in the surrounding neighborhood and walks to school. The average income of the area surrounding the school according to a study reported $23,977. There is about 30% living below the poverty line (Community Research Institute, 2010). This can help explain why so many of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. There is a playground outside the school with a basketball court adjacent to it. A couple blocks away there are also many small businesses and restaurants.
The school is managed by the National Heritage Academy (NHA), which means that they function underneath all of the rules and standards that the NHA has in place. Evergreen Academy follows the Common Core as well as the RIT Bands that align with the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) test. So the curriculum used in each classroom must follow both the Common Core Standards as well as follow the RIT bands so that the students will be prepared for the test. For math the students use the curriculum Think Math, and for reading the students use a curriculum series called Imagine It.
The school has a dress code requiring a uniform. The students must wear either a short-sleeved or a long-sleeved polo, either white or the school’s green. The pants or slacks must be navy blue. The shoes must by either navy, black, or brown and the must be conservative. The students must have their shirts tucked in at all times, and the upper grades are required to wear a belt at all times. The students are not allowed to wear hats, dark-colored glasses, makeup or fake nails, and only girls may have their ears pierced.
The school has an overall behavior management system in place using clothes line clips. On the chart there is an order, the top is outstanding (purple), the next one down is role model (blue) the one that everyone starts on is ready to learn (green). Below that is think about it (yellow), next is teacher’s choice (orange), and the last one at the bottom is parent contact (red). Every student is given a clothespin with their name on it that they are able to move up and down when the teacher allows them to. The end goal is to stay either at green or above.
My unit plan would be implemented in a first grade classroom with about 20-25 students. The classroom would be arranged in a way that best allows for multiple means of student engagement: student work areas (desks or tables), areas to meet as a group (large open area), and areas around the room for students to work at a place other than their desk if they so desire. There would be a whiteboard as well as a projector to display the information in multiple ways. There are other materials necessary for each lesson, but those are more clearly displayed in each lesson plan.
At Evergreen Charter Academy, the students are divided based on their grades. There are 521 students in the entire school. There are multiple sections for each grade. The grades themselves are divided based upon the students’ proficiency level. This level changes throughout the year as the students are continually tested, and the students have fluctuated between classrooms based upon their proficiency level. The school was founded in 2012, and is planning on adding a grade every year all the way through eighth grade. Fall of 2014 will be the inaugural year for the new 7th grade class. The student population is 47.7% female and 52.3% male, as of 2012. According to school statistics from 2012 (before they added 6th grade) the student population was 75% black or African American, 9% White, 15% Hispanic, and about 1% is American Indian. My teacher told me that about 90% of the student population qualifies for free and reduced lunch, so Evergreen Charter Academy filed, and received, a grant allowing all students to receive free lunch. The students receive free lunch and breakfast everyday at school.
The student population is about 9% English Language learners. According to information from 2012 they had a teaching staff of 27, but with adding on 6th grade, I am sure that number has increased. The average number of students in a classroom ranges between 20-27. There are 4 deans and one principal that compose the leadership of the school.
Evergreen Charter Academy provides special education push-in services for students, as well as special workshops for special education students.
Evergreen Charter Academy strongly believes in college-readiness for their students. They are training their students to prepare for college and expose them to the idea of college in hopes that many of the students will attend college in the future. In doing so Evergreen Charter Academy has many, many college banners hanging around the school as a constant reminder of the future possibilities.
The school is located in a residential area and the neighborhood park is located on the same block as Evergreen Charter Academy. Evergreen Charter Academy doesn’t provide any transportation for the students to get to school, so a large percent of the student population lives in the surrounding neighborhood and walks to school. The average income of the area surrounding the school according to a study reported $23,977. There is about 30% living below the poverty line (Community Research Institute, 2010). This can help explain why so many of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. There is a playground outside the school with a basketball court adjacent to it. A couple blocks away there are also many small businesses and restaurants.
The school is managed by the National Heritage Academy (NHA), which means that they function underneath all of the rules and standards that the NHA has in place. Evergreen Academy follows the Common Core as well as the RIT Bands that align with the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) test. So the curriculum used in each classroom must follow both the Common Core Standards as well as follow the RIT bands so that the students will be prepared for the test. For math the students use the curriculum Think Math, and for reading the students use a curriculum series called Imagine It.
The school has a dress code requiring a uniform. The students must wear either a short-sleeved or a long-sleeved polo, either white or the school’s green. The pants or slacks must be navy blue. The shoes must by either navy, black, or brown and the must be conservative. The students must have their shirts tucked in at all times, and the upper grades are required to wear a belt at all times. The students are not allowed to wear hats, dark-colored glasses, makeup or fake nails, and only girls may have their ears pierced.
The school has an overall behavior management system in place using clothes line clips. On the chart there is an order, the top is outstanding (purple), the next one down is role model (blue) the one that everyone starts on is ready to learn (green). Below that is think about it (yellow), next is teacher’s choice (orange), and the last one at the bottom is parent contact (red). Every student is given a clothespin with their name on it that they are able to move up and down when the teacher allows them to. The end goal is to stay either at green or above.
My unit plan would be implemented in a first grade classroom with about 20-25 students. The classroom would be arranged in a way that best allows for multiple means of student engagement: student work areas (desks or tables), areas to meet as a group (large open area), and areas around the room for students to work at a place other than their desk if they so desire. There would be a whiteboard as well as a projector to display the information in multiple ways. There are other materials necessary for each lesson, but those are more clearly displayed in each lesson plan.