Contextual Factors - Salem, Oregon, Parrish Middle School & The Students Within the Classroom

The school I am at is Parrish Middle School in NE Salem, Oregon. Salem itself is the Capital of Oregon. Salem is the second largest city in the state after the city of Portland. The city of Salem is about 47 square miles and is located between both Polk and Marion counties. The median household income from 2005-2009 was $43,528 according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau. The metro population of Salem in 2008 was 383,100 according to the City of Salem.

According to the City of Salem, Salem breaks down the city’s population in multiple ways. The gender make up consists of 49.7% male and 50.3% female. The ethnicity make up according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau was 70.7% white (not Hispanic), 20.3% Hispanic or Latino origin, 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, 2.7% Asian, 0.9% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 4.3% persons reporting 2 or more races.

As of October 7, 2011 Parrish had 704 students enrolled. The break down of students within the grades are 234 (113 males, 121 females) in the 6th grade, 222 (116 males, 106 females) in the 7th, and lastly 248 (133 males, 115 females) in the 8th grade. During the 2009-2010 school year there were 84.3% of the staff had a master’s degree or higher and 83.5% of teachers met the federal standards of a highly qualified teacher. Parrish Middle School is a school receiving Title I funding from the Federal government and has been designated as being in "School Improvement Status." Students that attend Parrish may be eligible for one of two options: Public School Choice or Supplemental Educational Services (SES) - Free Turoring. This is because Parrish has not achieved No Child Left Behind’s Average Yearly Progress (AYP) for more than two years prior to this past school year. School choice allows students that live within the district boundaries for that school have the option of enrolling in a school outside of their home school. The Salem-Keizer district will provide transportation to the school selected at no expense to the parent and student if they opt to enroll in a different school. Additionally, because Parrish is receiving Title I funding they receive SES which allows for additional instruction designed to increase the academic achievement of students who attend a school that has been designated with two or more years of improvement. This option allows a student at Parrish to apply for tutoring services that take place outside of the regular school day.

In addition to being a Title I school there is a large majority of students at Parrish on free and reduced lunch. As of October 7, 2011 the office staff had 77% of students that qualified for free and reduced lunch. Because of the high percentage of students that qualify for free and reduced lunch, the whole school gets free breakfast every morning and lunch in the afternoon. It is important to consider this because a good majority of students and their families fall under the poverty line. According to the Oregon Department of Revenue for a student to qualify for reduced lunch a family of 4 needs to make $41,348 annually or $3,446 per month and to qualify for free lunch a family of 4 needs to make $29,055 annually or $2,422 per month. Additionally the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that the poverty line for a family of 4 is $22,350 so basically students that are qualifying for free lunch for the most part fall under the poverty line or are really close. So, it is not a far jump to realize that students that qualify for free and reduced lunch can possibly be an indication that some students may not receive adequate means of nutrition when not in school as well as possibly lacking the means to provide basic needs like shelter, heat, and even clothing.

Additionally, the ethnic breakdown of Parrish are 24 multi-racial, 13 American Indian/Alaskan, 10 for Asian, 20 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 2 Black, 419 Hispanic, and 216 White with a total of 704 students, are according to the office staff. A large majority of students at Parrish are classified as Hispanic which is very different from the rest of Salem where over 70% are Caucasian; at Parrish there is about 30% White, non Hispanic. The classroom population is reflected with a majority of students coming from a Hispanic background, and the rest mostly white. In the class that I am teaching there are 14 students. There are 9 Hispanic, and 3 white. It is pretty representational of the actual school population.

    In addition, there are 152 ELL students at Parrish, as well as 130 ELL Y, 151 ELL T students. ELL T indicates that the students have been transitioned out of the ELL program, but formally had the designation, while ELL Y indicates that they are enrolled in an English as a Second Language program.
    Within my 6th grade Math I classroom there are 15 students. Of the 15 students 3 are on IEPs. 2 on a behavioral one, the 3rd on a writing. There are no math IEPs. Additionally there are no TAG students. To differentiate for the two behavioral IEPs, one has a support class where the student receives extended time to work on assignments. This is instead of an elective. I will make sure that they both know what is expected of them to be finished by the next class period. The other behavioral IEP spends the rest of his day in the EGC (emotional growth center) classroom and he receives one-on-one support by an instructional assistant to help with his math assignments. Additionally, the two behavior IEP students both require preferential seating. One of them in the least noisy environment.  That student will sit at one of the two front tables (tables are groups of 4) and away from the door. The other student on the behavioral IEP will sit at the opposite front table closer to the door. For the writing IEP student, he sometimes needs questions read to him, other than he understands and follows the mathematical material well. Additionally he receives modified notes; instead of writing and coping them himself he can get a typed copy. Lastly, according to his IEP he can get extended time for tests if there is extensive reading and writing, so in regards to math, if there are extensive word problems he can receive extra time.

In addition to the three IEP students I have 8 ELL students, 4 of which are transitioned out. One of the four students that are transitioned out is the same student on the writing IEP. The ELL students that are transitioned out and those who are still partaking in ELL classes all receive sentence starters (which are posted on the back of the classroom) to help articulate sentences and questions they have about the math topic. Also, students are given much talking time and group or partner work for them to help articulate their thinking. Additionally, front-loading essential vocabulary is done regularly. Also, whenever possible, visual representations are used to help represent vocabulary.

Parrish Middle School is a very diverse school, especially within a city that is predominantly Caucasian. Caucasians are not the majority at Parrish, and additionally, there is a large number of ELL students indicating that English is not their first language. The diversity at Parrish is phenomenal. The students’ diversity at Parrish impacted my teaching because it made me think outside the box in regards to my teaching strategy. I felt students really needed much time to talk and collaborate with each other especially to get over the language barrier that ELL students and I have. Although I like group work, I probably would have not thought to implement it as much. Additionally, many of the students at Parrish live under the poverty line so being aware of that really impacted my teaching. Many students were not prepared for class, and did not possess the materials that were necessary for class and I had to adjust for that. I had to mentally and physically prepare for students not having binders, pencils and other supplies. Many students and their families did not have the means to purchase supplies for school so me being prepared with pencils, paper and notebooks was a necessity. The students at Parrish and their needs definitely impacted my teaching.