Context+Statement+Models

= CRANSTON HIGH SCHOOL EAST = = Cranston High School East = = = =Introduction= Cranston High School East (East) is a place where mutual respect exists between teachers and students (McWalters, 2001). For individuals pursuing new teaching jobs within the state of Rhode Island this report analyzes Cranston High School East, the surrounding community, and school district. The strengths and weaknesses of these three categories are discussed using a balance of statistics and personal accounts from two former students of the school. Cranston is Rhode Island’s third most populous city (McWalters, 2001). Cranston High School East serves grades 9-12 and is part of the City of Cranston Public School System (McWalters, 2001). 1,570 students attend Cranston High School East; the school has an attendance rate of 90.3% (McWalters, 2001). = = =Community Background= Cranston is located in Rhode Island's Providence County, about 3.3 miles from Providence and 38.3 miles from Worcester (Cranston, RI Profile, 2007). The surrounding community of Cranston High School East is large, diverse, well educated, and a comfortable middle class within the state of Rhode Island. The population of Cranston City, RI is 81, 479 and the population of Rhode Island is 1, 067, 610 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Of the students who attend Cranston High School East, 75.7% of the students are Caucasian, 7.4% are Hispanic, 9.5% are Asian/Pacific Islander, and 5.6% are African American (McWalters, 2001). This diversity is evident when comparing these statistics to the state of Rhode Island; as of 2005 the percentages are 88.9% Caucasian, 6.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 10.7% Hispanic (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Andrea Mainella (2007), a former student of Cranston High School East, emphasizes this diversity by adding, “In a class, no one ever saw just white students. Students of different races could be seen every where. Each class had at least three students of other ethnicities in them.”

The educational status of the citizens of this community is both lacking and satisfactory. In comparison with the state of Rhode Island this community is quite well educated; 37% have a Bachelor's degree or above (Information Works, 2005-06); in Rhode Island (as of 2000) only 25.6% have a Bachelor's degree or higher (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). However, completing high school education appears to be lacking in this community because only 28% have their high school diploma (Information Works, 2005-06); in Rhode Island (as of 2000) 78% are high school graduates (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). This community demonstrates a middle class when observing the average household income of Cranston West, which is $84, 228 (Demographic Data, 2005); the average income of households for the city of Cranston is $62,343, the average income of non-family households is $38,591, and the average income for family households is $75,313 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). This middle class is also evident when observing that the median household income in Rhode Island is $45,544 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).

Cranston City has been rated #3 in violent crime within the state of Rhode Island (Rhode Island, 2005). Rhode Island has been rated at 247 for violent crime (U.S. Census, 2006); as of 2005, the violent crime rate for Cranston, per 100k people, is 168 and the property crime rate is 2,539 (Cranston, RI Profile, 2007). With regards to safety at Cranston High School East, according to “Safe and Supportive Schools: Students’ Point of View,” 16% of students report being robbed one or more times in the school, 23% report someone tried to sell them drugs one or more times in school, and 16% report personal or family problems existing most of the time or always (Information Works, 2005-06). For Cranston West, the city's total crime risk has been rated as below average, at a rate of 28 (Demographic Data, 2005). Mainella and Paul Manfra-Willis (2007), another former student of the school, express that they lock their doors but they never fear walking outside. Both also acknowledge that people frequently lock their doors and windows; it is their belief that very few households have an alarm system (Mainella, Manfra-Willis, 2007).

The SALT survey rates parent participation within Cranston High School East to be 18% (Information Works, 2005-06). The SALT survey also reports that the percentage of teachers who say that the parents and the community are supportive of the schools is 29% (Information Works, 2005-06). Despite these rather low percentages shown by the parents, the percentage of teachers who say that they maintain a positive relationship with the students' parents is 81%, which shows positive communication between the parents and school (Information Works, 2005-06). Despite the parent participation percentages, Mainella (2007) acknowledges that the Performing Arts parents (specifically band and choir) are hugely devoted. When the parents have kids in the performances, for example, they attend (Mainella, 2007). Mainella (2007) adds that the community advertises events in the school that occur each year. Mainella (2007) recalls that prior to Thanksgiving the band would go around the town and offer the businesses to advertise their business in the program for the Thanksgiving football game. Parents could also add good luck messages to their kids in those programs (Mainella, 2007). = = =District Summary= The number of students in the Cranston, RI school district is 117, 179 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). The ethnic background of the Cranston, RI school district is 70.4% Caucasian, 8.6% African American, 3.1% Asian, and 17.3% Hispanic (Information Works, 2005-06). 3.7% of students are receiving English as a Second Language (ESL)/Bilingual Education Services in the district and 1.5% are bilingual (Information Works, 2005-06). There is no particular special education program for this district; 81.5% are not receiving the appropriate services and 12.4% of students are in general education services with support (Information Works, 2005-06).

The educational standards the district has set for the schools is to (a) provide proficiency in the core-content knowledge, (b) all students must participate in state assessments for English Language Arts, Math, and Science, (c) all students must have proficiency in applied learning skills – critical thinking, problem solving, research, communication, decision making, interpreting information, analytic reasoning, and personal or social responsibility, and (d) the school must provide support systems for all students (McWalters, 2005). This support system is insured by having a student to teacher ratio in the district for high schools of 1:13 (Information Works, 2005-06). According to the commissioner of the SALT survey, Peter McWalters says that teachers are active in the traditions of the school and provide their students with many opportunities to serve their diverse community (McWalters, 2001); many teachers selflessly give their time to support their students (McWalters, 2001). This exceptional dedication has resulted in the creation of a learning environment in which all the students feel safe and have a sense of well-being (McWalters, 2001).

Despite its committment to helping its students, students in the Cranston East district suffer from the lack of important educational resources and opportunities due to the lack of funding in the schools (Fogleman, 2007). Mainella (2007) says, “one year there was a history text book that did not go up to Ronald Reagan; that year the teacher told us that that would be the last year the school would use that text book. The next couple of years later students still had that book. Books were falling apart; they were taped one hundred times over. Also, there were not enough computers for everyone to use.” According to Manfra-Willis (2007), “most of the books were from the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s. In 2004 and 2005 the school started to bring in new books.” With regards to accommodations for vocational classes, there were no vocational classes offered at Cranston High School East because there was no funding for them, according to Mainella (2007). If a student wanted to attend such classes, Mainella adds, the student had to attend Cranston High School West for high school and in order for the student to do that he/she had to receive permission from the superintendent of East (Mainella, 2007). In other words, students had to transfer from East to West for high school (Mainella, 2007).

The district, according to Mainella (2007), provides buses to and from school as a means of transportation. In the newspaper, she says, they would publish the bus schedule (Mainella, 2007). There were, however, certain locations in which the district would not allow students to take the bus (Mainella, 2007); such a location had to be fewer than 3 miles from the school (Mainella, 2007). As long as the distance was suitable and the students lived in Cranston, however, students could take the bus (Mainella, 2007). Due to the rather small parking lot at Cranston High School East, according to Manfra-Willis (2007), many students began to rely on car pools and taking the bus as their means of transportation.

The particular sports the district offers are baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling (Acitivity Advisors, 2006-07; Rock Island, 2006-07). Additional extracurricular activities offered at East include Art Club, Drama Club, Math Team, National Honor Society, Photo Club, band, choir, orchestra, student government, and cheerleaders for basketball, football, and hockey (Activity Advisors, 2006-07; Rock Island, 2006-07).

**School Analysis**
= = Classes at Cranston High School East are held in two buildings (McWalters, 2001); The Briggs Building was built in 1903, and was the original Cranston High School East, and the second building is the Main Building that was constructed in 1925 (McWalters, 2001). City Hall is also located next door to the school (Mainella, 2007). Staff at this high school consists of 5 administrators, 130 full and part time faculty, 14 aides and support personnel, and 11 custodians (McWalters, 2001). Students behave courteously and respectfully towards their teachers, their peers, and other members of the school community (McWalters, 2001). Most of the students are willing to learn and are responsive to the instruction they receive (McWalters, 2001). Mainella (2007) describes East to be on one of the main streets of the town of Cranston. Manfra-Willis (2007) says he considers Cranston to be the most urban part of Rhode Island. There is no campus at Cranston High School East but there is a parking lot where students, teachers, and the employees of City Hall park (Mainella, 2007). A few apartment buildings are across the street (Mainella, 2007); actual houses are scattered around near by but not right next door to the school (Mainella, 2007).



Inadequecies in the special education program have led Cranston High School East into a status of insufficient progress with regards to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Standards (Information Works, 2005-06). Nevertheless, students at Cranston High School East excel in their performance of Advancement Placement (AP) courses and exams (Information Works, 2005-06). According to “Learning and Achievement Accountability” East missed the target at a score of 49.3 for “students with disabilities” in math (target score was 54.0), indicating that fewer than 45 students are in that group (Information Works, 2005-2006). Therefore, the school has been classified as making insufficient progress (Information Works, 2005-06); the number of targets evaluated was 29 and the number of targets East met was 28 (Information Works, 2005-06). It has been observed that some sort of dysfunction is occurring in the special education program at East, which results in the inefficient use of personnel (McWalters, 2001). When creating the Individual Education Plans, East does not consistently conform to federal and state regulations or subscribe to the best practice (McWalters, 2001). As a result, the students are not being placed in the least restrictive environment and it negatively impacts their social, emotional, and intellectual growth (McWalters, 2001). Therefore, the special education needs program requests immediate attention (McWalters, 2001). For the state of RI the standard for the percentage of AP exams scored at college-level mastery is 60% (McWalters, 2001, Information Works, 2005-06); East shows a percentage of AP exams to be 67% (McWalters, 2001, Information Works, 2005-06). Therefore, East exceeded AP standards (McWalters, 2001, Information Works, 2005-06); the total number of AP exams the students at East took was 81 and the actual number of exams to be scored at college-level mastery is 54 (Information Works, 2005-06).

A slight weakeness in East, compared to the state of Rhode Island, is seen in its graduation, drop out, time out of school, and attendance rates (Information Works, 2005-06); it is unfortunate, though only by a percent, that the drop out rate of this school is higher than the rest of Rhode Island (Information Works, 2005-06). The graduation rate for East is 84% and the drop out rate is 16% (Information Works, 2005-06); the state of Rhode Island has a graduation rate of 85% and a drop out rate of 15% (Information Works, 2005-06). The attendance rate at East is 88% and time out of school is 12% (Information Works, 2005-06); the attendance within other RI high schools is 90% and the time out rate is 10% (Information Works, 2005-06). = = =Conclusion= = = Cranston High School East is a diverse community with strengths and weaknesses. Great strengths in this school are seen in the support teachers provide to their students, the high performance students have on the AP exams, the vast amount of extracurricular activities provided to the students, and an adequate system of transportation. Signficant weaknesses in this school, however, are seen in the lack of funding towwards the school, and most importantly, in the inability for the school to meet the NCLB standards. It is unacceptable that the school not meet the standard simply because of the inability to create a sufficient special education program. Immediate attention should be put forth towards that issue and in order to do that funding needs to be improved. Funding is an important focus so that vocational classes can be offered to the students, computers can be available for everyone, and students can have suitable school books. By addressing these issues and in the future improving them, the students can improve in their school performance and successfully complete their education; it is the responsibility of the teachers and other faculty within the school, district, and the parents of the community, to help them do that. = = =References= = = Information Works, (2005-2006). Using Information: Cranston High School East. Cranston District. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Information Works Web site: [] Information Works, (2006). Using Information: Family and Poverty Indicators. Rhode Island. Maternal Education of Children Born in Rhode Island in 2001-2005. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Information Works Web site: [] Information Works, (2005-2006). Using Information: Rhode Island.. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Information Works! School Year 2005-06 Web site: [] Information Works! School Year 2006-06, (2005-2006). Safe and Supportive Schools: Students' Point of View. Rhode Island High Schools. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from 2006 SALT Survey Student Charts. C. 2-C. 6. Web site: [] Information Works, (2005-2006). Using Information: State Indicators. Rhode Island. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Information Works! School Year 2005-06 Web site: [] Information Works, (2005-2006). Using Information: Value Added. Rhode Island High Schools. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Information Works! School Year 2005-06 Web site: [] Mainella, Manfra-Willis (2007). Personal Communication. McWalters, Pater (January 12, 2001). Cranston High School East. School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT). Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Rhode Island Department of Education Web site: [] McWalters, Peter (June 2005). The Rhode Island High School Diploma System. Retrieved October 17, 2007, Web site: [|http:///www.ride.ri.gov/HighSchool/Reform/DOCS/PDFs/High%20school%20reform/HSDiploma_v071405.pdf] Rhode Island Department of Education, (2005-2006). Curriculum and Instruction: Advanced Placement Exams. Rhode Island High Schools. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from Information Works Web site: [] Rhode Island Department of Education, (2005-2006). Engaging Families and Communities. Rhode Island High Schools. 2006 SALT Parent and Teacher Surveys. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from Information Works Web site: [] Rhode Island Department of Education, (2006). NCLB Accountability. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Information Works Web site: [] Rhode Island Department of Education, (2006). Rhode Island School Report Card. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from Information Works Web site: [] (2007). Team Pages. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Rock Island School District Athletics Web site: [] (2007). 2005 Violent Crime Rate in Largest Cities. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Rhode Island 2005 Violent Crime Rate Web site: [] Unknown, (2006-2007). Activity Advisors. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from Cranston High School East Web site: [|http://www.cps.k12.ri.us/~chse/clubs.html] Uknown, (2007). Cranston, RI Profile. Retrieved October 17, 2007, Web site: [] Unknown, (2005). Cranston West: Demographic Data by Zip Code. Retrieved October 17, 2007, Web site: [] U.S. Census Bureau, (2006). American FactFinder. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: [|http://www.factfinder.census.gov] U.S. Census Bureau, (2006). American FactFinder. Income by Household. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: [|http://www.factfinder.census.gov] U.S. Census Bureau, (2006). American FactFinder. Area Demographics. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: [|http://www.factfinder.census.gov] U.S. Census Bureau, (2006). Median Household Income. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: [|http://www.factfinder.census.gov] U.S. Census Bureau, (2006). Rhode Island. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: [] U.S. Census Bureau, (2006). State Rankings-Statistical Abstract of the United States. Violent Crime/1 Per 100,000 Population-2004. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: [] = = _

= WAWALOAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL =

=Wawaloam Elementary School=

//"Wawaloam School is a Professional Learning Community committed to challenging and motivating each child. Children acquire skills and strategies needed for continous learning in a safe and nurturing environment where personal connections are cirtical and encouraged. We value vital partnerships with families and the community. We celebrate children and this precious time called childhood."// (Wawaloam Elementary School)

Introduction
Wawaloam is a beautiful school located in the rural setting of Exeter Rhode Island. The school is part of a three step program for the children's elementary education. Wawaloam School is home to approximately 312 First and Second Grade students (DeSack 2007). This report will analyze aspects of Wawaloam Elementary School, the local community, and the surrounding district to provide an informational background on the strengths and weaknesses of the financial and cultural environment that new students and new teachers will face.

Community Background
The Exeter-West Greenwich Community is relatively small compared to many other cities,with a total population of 6,045 people. The Superintendent of the School is Thomas J. Geisman and the Principal is Melissa A. Marino (DeSack 2007). The population is 96.4% white, 0.7% African American, and 0.6% American Indian (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). It is unfortunate that there is such limited diversity in the school because it gives the students limited opportunities to interact with children from other races and cultures. The rest of the state, country, and world is far more diverse than than the Exeter-West Greenwich community and it's important for children to be introduced to other races and ethnic backgrounds.

The average family size is 3.15 in the community. The total number of housing units in the communtiy is 2,196. Out of of the total number of housing units 1,769 are owner occupied, 316 are renter occupied, and 111 are vacant housing units (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). This means that the majority of the community owns houses as opposed to renting, which means that the school presumably receives considerable funding from local property taxes.

The economy in the Exeter-West Greenwich District is as such; that there are 3,500 (72.5%) of the population is in the labor force. The median household income in 1999 was $64,425, and the median family income in 1999 was $74,157. The typical family in Exeter-West Greenwich is better off than most in Rhode Island. There are only 72 families (4.5%), and there are 319 (5.5%) individuals below the poverty level of $25,000 or less (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). . Only about 8% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch whereas about 92% are not eligible. (Infoworks 2007) This information presents that the majority of the population is employed and above poverty level.

Crime is not a major concern of residents of Exeter- West Greenwich because thier local crime rate is very low. They are included in the top 12% of town in the state of Rhode Island for having a low Crime Rate. There is only an 8% crime risk for Exeter-West Greenwich community, compared to a 69% crime risk for the entire Washington/Kent County (Aisenberg 2000). Exeter-West Greenwich is a very safe close knit family community.

District Summary
Wawaloam Elementary school is only one third of the Exeter-West Greenwich district of education. Kindergarten is completed at Lineham Elementary School in West Greenwich, then the students move to Wawaloam Elementary School for first and second grade and then they move to Metcalf Elementary School in Exeter for grades 3rd through 6th. According to the RI Department of Education The Final Education Aid distributed to the Exeter West Greenwich District is $6,520,695 for general aid, $180,586 for literacy set-aside, $47,685 for technology, $317,451 for student equity, and $81,758 for professional development (U.S. Census Bureau 2000).

The total number of students in the Exeter-West Greenwich district is 2,035.23. The cultural diversity is similar to that for the community, with the majority of the population being white (96%), 2% of the population is Hispanic, and 1% is Asian, African American, and Native American. On average there are 205 teachers which leaves a student to teacher ratio of 1:9 which is slightly lower than the state's student to teacher ratio of 1:11. 100% of the students are non recipients for receiving special education services (Infoworks 2006).

Overall the Elementary School students met and exceeded the 2006 NCLB targets set for this district in mathematics and English Language Arts. However, students with disabilities failed to met both Mathematics and English Language Arts standards, and economically disadvantaged students met the Mathematics standard, but failed to reach the English Language Arts standard. In the middle school classification all students met and exceeded the 2006 state targets for mathematics and English Language Arts. In high school overall students met and exceeded both mathematics and English Language Arts standards (Infoworks 2006).

School Analysis
Wawaloam elementary school is a high performing school, they met 5/5 of their targets. In Index targets and scores for Math and English Language Arts they met or exceeded the scores for the 2006 State Targets (Infoworks 2006).

The school provides a safe and supportive environment for the students to learn in. Teachers feel that they get to use their skills and knowledge, and feel that they get to help decide on school policies. Parents also feel that they school views them as important partners. Parents also feel that the school includes them in major decisions related to budget and curriculum. Wawaloam has a relatively low number of incidents involved in violence, or suspensions. The total number of incidents of suspension was 9, with the average rate of suspensions being 3.4 a year. This was due to two incidents of disorderly conduct, four incidents of assault of a teacher, and three incidents of assault of a student (Infoworks 2006). These facts give the overall impression that the school provides a safe environment for the children to learn within.

The 2006 No Child Left Behind Report Card shows how the school has successfully met its standards. In English Language Arts the Target Score was 80.1%, our school met this standard with a score of 89.8%. Slightly lower than the average for the district, but higher than the average for the state. The Mathematice Target score was 68.1%, this school met the standard with an 81.8%, once again below the average for the district but above the average for the state (Infoworks 2006).

The attendance rate target for the NCLB Report Card was 90.0%, this school met the standard with an attendance rate of 95.7% (Infoworks 2006). Attendance plays a huge part in education, the fact that this school has such a high attendance target shows also that the parents from this school school district are supportive and involved.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I think Wawaloam Elementary School is in relatively good standings compared to the rest of the state. The smaller size of the school, the tighter knit community and the rural area also make Wawaloam a safer school compared to other schools. Wawaloam is high performing and met all of the NCLB standards set for the school. The research showed me several facts that I did not know about my neighboring district. The average household income was higher than I would of imagined for such a rural community. I think Wawaloam is a good reflection of its district and is actively supported by the members of its community. The principal is new, many of the teachers are new, and the teaching methods and technology are also new to this school. All of these components combined will help to provide a fresh outlook on how to provide an education that is ultimately going to help the students to reach their academic potential.

__References__
__DeSack, Susan.__ Wawaloam School Handbook__. Exeter-West Greenwich, 2007. 3-12.

"Learning and Achievement: Accountability."__ Information Works__. 2006. RIDE. 06 Oct. 2007 .

"Safe and Supportive Schools: Incidents of Suspension."__ Information Works__. 2006. RIDE. 09 Oct. 2007 .

"Using Information: District Demographics and Indicators."__ Information Works__. 2006. RIDE. 03 Oct. 2007 .

Aisenberg, Mark. "Exeter-West Greenwich RI."__ City Town Info__. 2000. 18 Oct. 2007 <[|http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/rhode-island/west-greenwich>.]

"Census 2000 Data for the State of Rhode Island."__ U.S Census Bureau__. 2000. U.S Census Bureau. 03 Oct. 2007 <[|http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/census/edu/edu.htm>.] ||

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