I was informed by my host teacher that Delaware Academy of Syracuse School District qualifies as a High Needs School. According to the NYSED website, this is defined as “Any K-12 public School whose District’s Poverty Level is 10% or more, AND the School’s free/reduced cost lunch percentage is 50% or more.” (National Program Definitions). This means that according to the requirements set in place for a school to qualify as a High Needs School, at least half of the students are qualified to recieve free or reduced lunch costs, and 10% of the community is considered to be in poverty. In taking the time to drive around the community, it is apparent in the surroundings that the families in the very urban area do not have the same funds as those families you may find in a typical suburban community. This poverty not only effects the community, but the school as well. The school lacks a great deal of funding for supplies that would benifit the children who attend, which could be due to the lack of appropriate incoming taxes to fund these supplies.

When working in a school such as Delware Academy, it is important for educators to reflect on the situation that many families may be in. It is also important to recognize that in a High Needs School, educators may be far more likely to pay out of pocket for supplies to help provide the appropriate education their students deserve. 

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Having spoken to my host teacher, I was informed that along with being a High Needs School, Delaware Academy is also associated with having students who come from a socioeconomic disadvantage. The surrounding area of Delaware Academy is a very urban neighborhood, containing many families who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. It is my understanding that having students under a socioeconomic disadvantage is directly correlated with the school’s status as a High Needs School.

In observing at Delaware Academy I was surrounded by students who are learning English as a second language. In the Pre-K classroom I was in twice a week, there were multiple students who spoke Spanish. These students although they spoke primarily Spanish, spoke a great deal of English. Each student’s ability to communicate in both languages varied, however each student was perfectly capable of expressing their needs and being able to understand and learn in the classroom.

The classroom I observed in is well equipped to fit the needs of both English language learners and native English speakers. My classroom had two teachers in it: my host teacher and an assistant teacher. While my host teacher speaks very little Spanish, the assistant teacher’s first language is Spanish, and easily communicates with all of the students in the classroom. The classroom is also set up in a way where there are labels in both English and Spanish, and lessons commonly incorporate both languages as well. 

While Delaware Academy does not specifically cater to students with disabilities, I conducted a Child Study Report on a child in my classroom who is currently receiving services for speech, as well as being evaluated for ADHD. In my Child Study Report, I conducted running records and anecdotal records so that I could implement lesson plans that took the student’s needs into account.

In my field placement I had a difficult time gathering information about the child’s services or disability in order to appropriately conduct my Child Study Report. It turned out that in Delaware Academy, even my host teacher was not permitted to view the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP). This made my search for information difficult and trying, and in the end I found out the most information about the child from the child’s mother during an interview. 

For my Child Study Report in ECE 330, part of the requirements was to conduct an interview with the parent or guardian of the child I was observing. In trying to schedule the interview with the mother of the child, I had a hard time contacting her. After a great deal of effort, we had been able to get in contact and I conducted and brief interview with her since she had time constraints. Through the interview, even though I had asked very basic and general questions, I learned a lot about the child that I had not had the opportunity to learn through my placement. After the interview had been conducted, the child’s mother was much more open to talking to me when she dropped her child off. Although the experience started off rocky, it was an excellent experience and ended in a positive manner.