School Comparison SchoolsFarnsworth Aerospace UpperPark high schoolLincoln International Population Academic achievementThis school meets AYP requirement This school meets the AYP requirement This school does not meet the AYP requirement Graduation and drop-out ratesAYP attendance rate %Graduation rate 89.7%Graduation rate is Teacher/Educator Demographic /Education 32 fulltime teachers 10 non license 95% have a license 40% have bachelors 60% have masters 86 fulltime teachers 100% license 23% bachelors 77% masters 11 full time teachers 100% have license 36% bachelors 36% masters and 9% PhD Characteristics of the schools

Cont. SchoolsFarnsworth Aerospace Upper Park High School (Cottage Grove) Lincoln International Community ResourcesGet Ready program, After school club Homework club Common critical issuesReading and math Proficiency Language barriers English and Math Proficiency Dropout Rate Behavioral Problems Student mobility Homelessness Independent student Critical issue for perspective Languages, attendance, teacher experience and dedication, know yourself— the students will push you; don’t react ELL EBD Alternative schooling Language disparity Homelessness Immigration uncertainty Poverty

Demographics Arlington High School Student Population 1134 Asian 55% Black 31% Hispanic 9% Am Indian 0 White 4% Limited English proficient 63% Special Ed 15% Free/Reduced Lunch 90% Student from other district 845 Student Attending Other District 7330 Transferring in 6% Transferring Out 9% Transferring Between 8% Park High School Student Population 1705 Asian 8% Black 6% Hispanic 5% Am Indian 1% White 81% Limited English proficient 3% Special Ed 13% Free/Reduced Lunch 17% Student from other district 257 Student Attending Other District 1215 Transferring in 3% Transferring Out 9% Transferring Between 1%

Teacher Ratio Arlington Licensed Teacher Ratio 12 Licensed Teacher & support 10 Total Teachers 97 Total teachers & Support 116 Park Licensed Teacher Ratio 20 Licensed Teacher & Support 18 Total Teachers 86 Total Teachers & Support 93

Graduation Rate Arlington # AYP All % 85.1% Am Indian Asian % 90.3% Hispanic % Black % 86.9% White LEP % 60.8% Special % FRP % 85.8% Male % 81.7% Female % 88.8% Park # AYP All % 96.8% Am Indian Asian Hispanic Black White % 96.9% LEP Special % 94.7% FRP % 95.6% Male % 96.6% Female % 97.0%

Dropout Rate Arlington All % Am Indian Asian % Hispanic % Black % White LEP % Special % FRP % Male % Female % Park All % Am Indian Asian Hispanic Black White % LEP Special 7 9.6% FRP 6 7.7% Male % Female %

Questions Do you feel your school provides an atmosphere that promotes learning for all students? How? Do you fell that diversity in your school creates challenges or unique opportunities to enrich student’s lives? Why? Have you always worked in an urban setting or have you had experiences working with less diverse groups of students? How is it different? How do you deal with language barriers? Do you find that the parents of ESL or ELL students are less/more cooperative about questioning the education or their children, possibly due to cultural differences? How do you handle these situations?

Answers Yes, We provide extra help, make adjustments to lesson plans, tutoring, and keep an open channel of communication with parents. We have a small population of student of color as well as a small population of limited English proficient students. Any time you have a student that has limited English skills is difficult and is always a challenge. We feel that all students should have an equal chance to learn but English language skill pose many challenges. This can create higher risks for these students to fall be hind. We have all worked in suburban school. We think that working in schools with higher diversity and ELL would be much more difficult and challenging. This issue is not very prevalent in our school, but it is always a challenge. We often find ourselves going too fast for these students and have to make adjustment to class curriculum and extra time reviewing in order to make sure these student understand what is expected. Some parents are very confrontational, and want to put all the blame on the teacher. On a rare occasion we have an interpreter to make sure communication is productive. Cultural differences may play a role. It would be easier to understand this if we understood more about the students and where they come from.

Answer cont. There are a number of things that contribute to a good learning atmosphere, but what is most important is getting the students interested in learning. School offer a number of clubs and sports and activities that can help students develop some pride in their school. This type of pride has to be transferred to the classroom. Some of this is making the learning experience fun so the students are excited to come to class just as some of the things offered to increase school pride get students excited about their school.

Answers cont. Diversity definitely has potential for many challenges and enriching the lives of both the students and the teachers. The biggest challenge come with the students that have not master English skills, particularly reading and writing. The current methods of addressing this issue needs to have more attention focused on methods for teaching English to ELLs. This needs to be done to help reduce the frustration ELLs face which may also help reduce the risk of these students dropping out of school.

Cont. I have not worked in an urban setting but understand that there are unique challenges and skills for these teachers to understand the needs of students from these communities. I have not had a great deal of exposure to ELLs, but learning English alone may not be all of the problem. Students that come from strong cultural backgrounds may be pressured to value their cultural traditions. (For instance I had a Hmong female student that left school because of an arranged marriage in the 9 th grade)

Cont. Dealing with parents is the part of my Job that either brought great relief because the parents get involved in their child education or a fair amount of anxiety because I am blamed for their child’s behavior or lack of achievement.

Common Critical Issues English and Math proficiency Dropout rate EBD Students