Running head: PROJECT PROPOSAL 1

Project Proposal

Carina Weidenbach

Arizona State University

Lori Lovitt

TEL 311

March 17, 2019

PROJECT PROPOSAL 2

School Environment

Blossoming amidst the lush farms of Gilbert Arizona, Greenfield Junior High resides as an

A+ School of Excellence. The mission statement to “ensure exemplary education that inspires

excellence and success within every learner” (“Greenfield Junior High,” 2019) echoes down the halls

as students actively participate and engage with fellow staff members. Electives and clubs of every

interest imaginable are sprinkled throughout classrooms across campus. Courses range from Family

and Consumer Science, which holds an elaborate Cupcake Wars competition each year that is

featured on the local news, to a hands-on STEM classes in which engineers from all over the valley

come to inspire and engage with students weekly as the young minds develop and market small cars

using the gears, motors, and materials they assembled themselves. Several honors courses, such as

Honors Algebra 1, provide opportunities for students to earn grades on their high school transcript,

allowing them to work ahead and ensure flexibility later in their high school career to explore

additional areas of interest with the early completion of their core courses. If students feel that they

need additional supplements or guidance from teachers and staff, tutoring is provided before, during

lunch, as well as after school. Greenfield provides a strong, stable, and positive atmosphere to

promote a comfortable learning experience for each student.

Greenfield Junior High is home to just under 900 students attending 7th and 8th grade. Being

in a predominantly white, middleclass neighborhood, majority of the students filling each class are

white, with 20% being Hispanic or Latino, 5% being African American, and an additional 5% being

of Asian descent. Classrooms are filled with 31-38 students, however, despite having such large class

sizes, each student is always provided with an individual desk and Chromebook, as Greenfield is part

of the 1:1 Chromebook Initiative. Classrooms incorporate approximately 3-5 students per class who

have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504s, a school-based education plan, to support

mainstreaming students and increase student diversity within the classroom (Byers, 2019). Students

descend from a vast array of family environments. Some have a wonderful support system and
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involved parents awaiting their arrival back home, while some have more occupied parents and live

more independent lifestyles. This directly relates to the level of motivation seeping from each

student, some with wonderful initiative of their learning, and others that struggle to engage with the

simplest of classroom tasks. 44 phenomenal, dedicated, and passionate teachers come to educate their

students each day, exceeding expectations of classroom activities, methods of instruction, and

technological integration. Many of which have continued their education to pursue their master’s

degree and strengthen their teaching techniques while using their personal time, energy, and finances.

In the heart of Gilbert, Arizona, Greenfield Junior High resides as one of the 40 schools that

provide a source of education to over 35,000 students within Gilbert Public Schools (“Our Schools,”

2019). The community of Gilbert is highly involved and very well kept. With several opportunities

and organizations to volunteer with, residents find themselves giving back to the place that provides

them with so much. Many schools become involved with other younger schools, creating a family

atmosphere throughout the public-school system. For example, students and parents of Gilbert High

School came to visit and volunteer at Greenfield Junior High to help in Greenfield’s fundraising

event for Spring. There are other events in which junior high and high schools within the district

bonded together to create a spectacular spread of entertainment, such as the agricultural department

of Highland High. Students from all over town came to participate, learn about the new agricultural

practices and help prepare the animals for their upcoming showcase (Strait, 2019). This community

prepares all generations of residents for a better and stronger future, as well as close relations with

each other.

Applicant Biography

Stemming from the soil of educators, I have grown up in a household of successful teachers;

volunteering in the classroom, grading papers, and decorating bulletin boards long before I realized
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my calling to teach. I like to believe that teaching is in my DNA, flowing through my veins and

fueling my passion to help others and make a difference in the lives of our future.

Entering my second year as an 8th grade science teacher, I am full of enthusiasm and passion

to endeavor new practices and experiences within my classroom. I have had experience teaching both

honors and regular 8th grade science, taught through the massive shift in science curriculum, as well

as interned/student taught in middle school science classes, high school biology classes, as well as

STEM electives for a total of 2 years. I believe that students should learn, develop, and add personal

touches to the curriculum they engage with. Classrooms should be seeping with warmth, creativity,

and endearment to create a successful environment for students to flourish within their academic

careers. A humble and respectful atmosphere is maintained where everyone is treated as adults,

maintaining high responsibilities and expectations to prepare for the future ahead.

I am a firm believer in the process of adapting curriculum to fit each individual student’s

needs, interests, and desires. Learning should be something that students crave in and outside of the

classroom, and it starts with the connection between academics and their heart. The most effective

way to maximize student engagement is through projects, in which students can develop variation

and creativity far beyond what the teacher ever imagined, as well as individualize the lesson to each

student, increase collaboration with others, and promote peer-to-peer teaching.

I have the pleasure of working within a school district that provides 1:1 Chromebooks for

every student. Therefore, technology integration is daily occurrence in my classroom as online

activities are sprinkled throughout each lesson to promote globalized thinking, interaction, and

virtual classroom transformations. I feel that scaffolding technology into each new concept being

taught allows for stronger engagement between the student and the academics. It can provide

instantaneous help and support in ways a teacher cannot physically provide to each student. It allows

for real world connections, consciences implications, and better relates to the growing generation’s

personality.
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References

Byers, K. (2019, February 1). Personal Interview.

“Greenfield Junior High.” (2019). West Corporation. Retrieved from

http://greenfieldjunior.gilbertschools.net/cms/one.aspx?portalId=69503&pageId=2865951.

“Our Schools.” (2019). West Corporation. Retrieved from

http://www.gilbertschools.net/cms/One.aspx?portalId=63564&pageId=100881.

Strait, G. (2019). AgriScience and Engineering Department. West Corporation. Retrieved from

http://highlandhigh.gilbertschools.net/teacher_pages/cte-

career___technical_education/agriculture/ginnie_strait.