Kendra Gardner

EDUC 450
Setting and Context

Part I: Setting and Context

The School Community

For the fall semester of 2017 I was placed at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort

Collins, Colorado. They are home to 1,972 students, in which about 51% are male and 49% are

female. The student body is made up of 1% American Indian, 2% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 1%

Black, 77% White, and 5% two or more races (Rocky). 25% of the school qualifies for free lunch

and 6% is eligible for reduced lunch (Rocky). There is an average of 30 students in each class

Their mission statement is, In accordance with the tradition of the Lobo Way, we, the Rocky

Mountain High School Community, believe in the value and dignity of each individual, in the

development of intellectual and creative skills. In the importance of self-discovery, in equal

opportunity for learning. In preparation for lifes work and lifelong learning. In a safe environment

and in opportunities for service to society. That all members are empowered through

participation and that education thrives in a demographic environment. (Rocky).

Rocky Mountain High School was built in 1973 and is nationally known for the block

schedule that they implemented back in the 90s. This has allowed for students to focus their

semester on 4 classes and be able to get homework help while still in class. Their mascot is the

lobo, which signifies the courage the the students have and the dedication they have to look out

for one another. They offer 18 different Advanced Placement courses, which range from Art

Studio to Physics. For those students who dont necessarily want to take or arent ready for AP

classes, Rocky offers concurrent enrollment classes, which allows them to get college credit as

well. Rocky Mountain also has 41 school sponsored clubs including, but not limited to Peer

Counseling, Mathematics Honor Society, Los Lobos Diversity Leadership Club, and Lobo Kids

Rock. These clubs allows students to meet others with the same passion and most of the clubs

promote community service and volunteering. Another unique aspect of the high school is its
wellness center. This is a place to help better the well-being of the students. It is a place where

they can go and destress in a calming environment. RMHS also offers a wide variety of sports,

extracurricular, and a college and career readiness center. The parents and families also seem

to play a major role in the success of the school. The website provides a variety of links for them

to stay involved including college in Colorado, extracurricular schedules, the code of conduct,

announcements, and SchoolPay to name a few (Rocky).

Students and Classroom

I am currently in Rachel Dragos second period Algebra 2 class. There are 33 students

in the class, 20 boys and 13 girls. The class is composed of twelve freshman, twelve

sophomores, eight juniors, and one senior. There are four students of color in the class. The

culture is very lively due to the high amount of freshman in the class. The teacher makes them

work in different pairs and groups throughout the semester, which allows them to get to know

students and other grades and respect them. A majority of the class is very motivated and

interested in the subject matter and do a good job of keeping their peers on task. They arent

afraid to ask questions in front of their peers and dont judge one another. Most of them, no

matter their grade or interests have a lot of school spirit and werent afraid to show it during

homecoming week.

Each student is placed at a table with another student for four weeks. They are assigned a new

seat 4 times throughout the semester. The tables are placed in rows facing the front. The

students mostly work with their table partner on assignments but sometimes work with table

behind them to make a team of four. Mrs. Drago works on the smartboard in the front a majority

of the time and uses it for review games which have included jeopardy and wheel of fortune.

The classroom layout is as follows below.

Part II:
Modifications, Adaptations, Accommodations

There are a variety of learners in the classroom. Having such a wide variety of grades

can make it challenging as well. Some students who seem to understand the material very well

at the beginning and thus begin to check out if they are not challenged. There are also a few

students in the class on IEPs and 504s. These students usually need more time or guided help

to get through the lesson. Because of this, Mrs. Drago meets them halfway and provides a few

examples of each concept. If she feels that a majority of the class is understanding the material

she will move on and spend extra time with the students who may need it during independent

work time. Because of the way the culture was set up in her room, the students who need the

extra help arent afraid to ask her or me for it. She has set up the environment to have students

ask their peers before her, but they are great with self-advocating when they have a question.

I have taught two lessons to the class thus far. My first lesson, I wasnt aware of the

IEPs or 504s in the class and therefore didnt differentiate my lesson on completing the square.
For my second lesson on long division of polynomials though I was able to implement that more

into my lesson. The students that need the accommodations of sitting in the front are placed

there during each new seating chart, so I didnt need to worry about that. When going through

the lesson I made sure to provide visuals of what I was saying by writing it on the board. After

going through the process of long division I had the class come up with the steps to follow and

wrote them out, which seemed to help a majority of the students. I also did a few check ins with

them giving me a fist through five on how comfortable they were feeling on the material. After

we had gone through the guided notes, I offered to get in a small group at the front and work

with the students who may still need some extra practice. No one took me up on that, however

they worked with each other and also asked me questions when I got stuck.

While walking around I provided extra support to our two students with IEPs. I went

through a few separate problems with them and made sure they had the steps written down to

reference when needed. If I was to have given the homework for the day, I would have allowed

them to not do as many problems since they were still understanding the concepts, but just

required more time.

 References

Rocky Mountain High School. Public School Review. N.p., n.d., Web. 25 October 2017.

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/rocky-mountain-high-school-profile.