About My Classroom

Geraldine W. Johnson School (Johnson) is a pre K through 8^th grade public school located in the district of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Our school strongly emphasizes restorative practices as well as positive behavioral interventions (PBIS) through our TIGERS motto of tolerance, integrity, generosity, empathy, responsibility, and self-control.

There are 780 students at Johnson school. The student population that attends my school consists of a majority of Latinx students (59%) as well as a significant proportion of African American students (25%), mixed race, Asian, and Native American students (15%), and a very small proportion of white students (<1%). We have a significant population of immigrant families in our school community and a large group of our students are designated as English Language Learners (ELLs) (29%); thus, we support students with a large range of languages spoken. In addition, Johnson hosts a significant number of special education students. Specifically, 18% of all students receive special education services, and we have a particularly high number of students, (57 out of 780 students,) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who receive their education in a separate classroom setting. Additional demographic data for my school and the district as well as accountability results are located at this link.

Johnson is able to support our diverse array of learners effectively, especially with the help of assistive technology and technological interventions. Due to an emphasis on preparing our students as 21^st century learners and thinkers, we have applied for and received grants for educational technologies. Thus, every student has access to an Ipad or chromebook for educational purposes, and every classroom is either equipped with a SMART board or a Promethean board. Despite significant budget cuts and deficits in the Bridgeport district, we have been able to support our students with this technology due to these grants.

The district has recently switched over to promoting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), rather than Common Core State Standards for science content. We recently purchased a district curriculum. However, given that we neither have a science director for the district nor district-purchased science laboratory materials, each individual science teacher creates their own curriculum, supplementing lesson ideas from the district-provided instructional materials. Therefore, I have utilized several platforms to raise money for my classroom so that I can support my students with rigorous hands-on learning.

I am currently the seventh grade science educator, responsible for supporting the learning needs and growth of approximately 80 seventh grade students. In addition, I support students during a student research-based intervention period (SRBI) where students receive targeted and differentiated support in both ELA and math, based on their learning needs. I have several additional duties throughout the day at my school including, lunchroom duty, math and reading interventionist, French translator, and Staff Kindness Ambassador. Teachers on the 7^th grade team constantly engage in collaborative work to plan cross-curricular opportunities. I work intensively with the 8^th grade science teacher as well in order to ensure that our science content and instructional strategies are aligned and that common skills, knowledge, and understandings are built as students advance through the school. We work together in content as well as to facilitate an annual school-wide Science Fair, with student-led investigations.

Each day, students rotate to each of four content areas: science, social studies, ELA, and math, for one hour each, (in addition to their special area classes). Thus, I instruct three science classes per day, each one an hour in length. There are between 22 and 27 students in each class. Students were split up into different classes mostly based upon standardized reading and math scores, (with a few exceptions due to behavioral challenges). Due to scheduling, the special education teacher placed all students with IEPs in one of my class sections. I have students with a variety of ELA and math scores in all three of my classes, and I have ELL students in all three of my classes (15 students in total). This year's students' reading scores average between grades 3 through 5, with a smaller proportion of students on grade 1 and grade 6. Students are not pulled out of my science classroom for additional science instruction; I teach all of my students.

Due to Bridgeport's extremely high transiency rate, (approximately 80%), the total number of students, as well as the demographic specifics of my students, will likely change as the year progresses. The demographic breakdown of my 7^th grade students are currently such that approximately 60% of my students are male and 40% are female. The majority of my students identify as Latinx in terms of ethnicity (58%) and there is a significant proportion of African American students as well (30%), as well as Asian, Native American, and mixed race students (12%). Two of my students have 504 plans and 11 students have individualized education plans (IEPs). In order to assist my students in their learning, I continuously work to differentiate support for all of my students and maintain high standards while building off of their individual strengths and funds of knowledge. I value classroom community and strive to create a space for students to work collaboratively, think creatively, and grow significantly as science learners and future leaders.