GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

STUDENT TEACHING EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE (STEP)

STANDARD 1, PART I

Student Teaching Evaluation of Performance (STEP) is the process for preparing and implementing a unit of instruction.

By understanding the community and school environment and the makeup of the classroom, you will be able to strategically meet the overall needs of your
students. In the first two weeks of student teaching, you should focus on learning about the students you will be working with. You are expected to teach the
unit you are preparing by the end of week 8.

Review the geographic, district, and school demographics of your student teaching classroom. Utilize the district or school website, your cooperating
teacher/mentor, or school administrator for this information. You may also use your state Department of Education website for statistical data on community
and school demographics.

Complete STEP Standard, 1 Part I that includes:

A. Geographic Location
B. District Demographics
C. School Demographics

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected. This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to
become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

Please note, that in order to submit this assignment, you must:

1. Complete each section of the STEP Standard 1, Part II as directed in the course syllabus.
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document in multiple sittings, it is highly recommended to save and back up your work on another document. When you are ready to make
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©2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

 GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY
STUDENT TEACHING EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE (STEP)

TEACHER CANDIDATE INFORMATION:

Teacher Candidate Teacher Candidate Student ID:
First Name:
Daleen
Last Name:
Smith 20582053
Email Address: Phone: 5095543953 State:
DSmith357@my.gcu.edu WA- Washington
Program of Study:
M.Ed. in Special Education

STANDARD 1, PART I: COMMUNITY, DISTRICT, SCHOOL, & CLASSROOM FACTORS

A. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Cooperating School State: If “Other” School State Cooperating School
WA- Washington Selected, Specify: City: Richland/West Richland

Population of City: School Classification: If “Other” Classification

58,005 Public Selected, Specify:
Facility Setting: Stability of Community: Perception of the Level
Urban Stable of Community Support: High

 Discuss the possible effect these characteristics could have on planning, delivery, and assessment of your unit.
 Cite the references used for this information.

The city of Richland is located in the South East corner of Washington State. Richland offers the 58,005 citizens who make up the population, a dense suburban feel in an
urban area (Demographics, 2020). Individuals living in Richland work in professional, scientific, and technical fields, health care and social work, and retail trades. Richland
School District is the entity overseeing public education in Richland and West Richland, Washington. Rapid residential growth is a common theme in West Richland, requiring the
building of additional elementary and middle schools to house the anticipated additional students. The population of West Richland is 14,928. West Richland is a rapidly
growing city having grown by 65 percent since 2000. The Richland School District was established in 1944, when the U.S. government built the plutonium-enriching facilities at
the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, thus the beginning of the city of Richland. From the beginning of Richland, the citizens of Richland support the public schools, through the
passage of bonds, and volunteering in the classrooms (About, 2019). Having the support of the community allows teachers to plan, deliver, and assess lessons and units using
state-of-the-art technology and supplies. Richland School District is able to provide one-to-one iPads for students in kindergarten through second grade, and one-to-one
Chromebooks for students in third through twelfth grade, due to community support. Without support of the community, schools often use outdated or no curriculum, teach in
classroom that does not have state-of-the-art technology, such as SMART boards, and the schools are often over crowded (Wright, 2020). The Richland community consists of
low and high income areas within the city, yet the students who attend schools in the lower income areas receive the same support as the schools in high income areas due to
the generous support of Richland citizens and businesses.

©2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

 B. DISTRICT DEMOGRAPHICS
District Name: District Grades Served:
Pre-K through 12th grade
Richland School District
Number of Schools in Number of Students Percentage of Students in
District: 18 Enrolled in District: the District Receiving Free 37
14,295
or Reduced-Price Lunch:
 Describe the district demographic data, including statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it, for your cooperating school
district.

The name of the school district is Richland School District, and is located in Richland, Washington, but also oversees schools in neighboring city of West Richland. Both
Richland and West Richland are communities that genuinely believe in service, diligence, the enjoyment of learning, and the significance of helping prepare the next generation
for the future (About, 2019). West Richland is a fast growing community, and the number of new homes is proof. With this growth there is an increase in student populations,
although the increase is minimal. During the 2014/2015 school year the Richland School District was the 27th largest school district in Washington state, with a student
enrollment of 12, 627 (About, 2019). Today, the district serves 14,295 students, which is less than 2000 more students served during the 2014/2015 school year. This increase was
enough that the district has built two new elementary school, with the plan to open two more by the 2024/2025 school year, one new middle school, and there is a new high
school scheduled to open at the start of the 2024/2025 school year. Currently, the district has 18 school campuses: one early learning center, 11 elementary schools, four middle
schools, two high schools, and one alternative high school. High school students in the Richland School District can also attend a STEM high school, which is cooperatively run
by the Richland School District, Pasco School District, and the Kennewick School District, and is located in Pasco, Washington.
Of the 14,295
Discuss the possible
students, effect
the Richland theseDistrict
School characteristics could
serves, 94.9 have
percent areon planning, Language
Non-English delivery, Learners
and assessment
(ELL), 37 of your receive
percent unit. free or reduced lunch, less than one
 Cite the references used for this information.
percent is homeless, one percent are migrant, 4.2 percent have a Section 504 plan, and 12.5 percent are students with disabilities (Demographics, 2020). Student demographics
range from 70.3 percent of the student population being white, 19.4 percent are Hispanic/Latino of any race, 4.8 percent are two or more races, 3.4 percent are Asian, 1.5 percent
are black/African
A concentrationAmerican, and American
of low-income students Indian/Alaskan
could negativelyNative and
affect Native Hawaiian/Other
planning, Pacific Islander
delivery, and assessing lessons makes up the 0.5
and students. percent
Sadly, thereofhas
thebeen
student population
an increase (Demographics,
in students living in
2020). which creates lack of health care, stable housing, nutritious meals, and other issues (Frankenberg, 2009). Poverty has a profound effect on student learning. In the
poverty,
The district
Richland attempts
School to enroll
District students
37 percent of thein student
their neighborhood school,
population come buthomes
from some students
with low are bussed
incomes from their home
(Demographics, neighborhood
2020). Students who to another school in
live in poverty the have
often district to alleviate
poor physical
overcrowding (About, 2019). At the elementary grade school level, students with disabilities may be bussed to a different school, as each elementary
health, which increases absences. Students who have excessive absences tend to fall behind their peers, and not do well on assessments due to missing important lessons. school provides different
services,
Living such as also
in poverty one school
reduceshouses life skills,
a student’s motor extended resource, and
skills, diminishes resource,
the ability while another
to concentrate elementary
and learn and school will provide
retain new behavioral
information. (BEST)
The effects ofclassrooms.
poverty on students with
disabilities create an environment where students who are behind fall even further behind due to excessive absences, which results in the students losing motivation and
curiosity to learn (Wright, 2020).

©2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

 C. SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS
Cooperating School Cooperating School Title One (I):
Kindergarten through fifth No
Name: William Wiley Elementary School Grades Served:
Number of Students Percentage of Students in Academic Achievement
Enrolled in School: 593 the School Receiving Free 18.7 Ranking/Label of the Above Average
or Reduced-Price Lunch: School:
 Discuss the possible effect these characteristics could have on the planning, delivery, and assessment of your unit.
 Cite the references used for this information.

William Wiley Elementary School currently serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Student enrollment is consistent from year to year according to Marc Nelson,
the principal at Wiley, although this year they have several students bussed in as Wiley had room, and the school the students should have attended was crowded (Nelson, 2020).
Students from low-income homes make up 18.7 percent of the total population at Wiley, and 16 percent of the students have a disability. These demographics could negatively
affect lesson planning, delivery, and assessments as students from low income homes tend to miss more school than students who do not live in low-income homes
(Frankenberg, 2009). Planning for seven students in a life-skills classroom does not sound like it would require much work, but when students are already way below grade level,
when they miss school due to sicknesses, they fall even further behind. Planning a lesson to help the students catch up is no use when the students are absent (Nelson, 2020).
When a lesson is planned for a unit, and a student is absent, the lesson is still delivered, and the students are eventually assessed for understanding, but the students who miss a
lesson do not receive the delivery of the lesson, thus they do not do well during the assessing of the lesson. Wiley attempts to reduce the effects of low-income has on students
by providing free breakfasts to every student in the school. Research shows that students who eat a nutritious breakfast have less attention issues, and greater retention of new
information (Frankenberg, 2009).

References:
About. (2019). Retrieved from Richland School District: https://www.rsd.edu/district/about
Demographics. (2020). Retrieved from City of Richland, Washington: https://www.richlandbusiness.com/business-builder/start-a-business/demographics
Frankenberg, E. (2009). The demographic context of urban schools and districts. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(3), 255–271. https://doi-
org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10665680903032294.
Nelson, M. (2020, January 30). Principal. (D. J. Smith, Interviewer)
Wright, K. (2020, February 8). Certified Special Education Teacher in a Leadership Role. (D. J. Smith, Interviewer)
AGREEMENT AND SIGNATURE
I, the above named, GCU student attest this submission is accurate, true, and in compliance with GCU policy guidelines, to the best of my ability to do so.
NOTE: The data entered into this document may be audited for accuracy. Students who engage in fabricating, falsifying, forging, altering, or inventing information
regarding clinical practice/ student teaching may be subject to sanctions for violating GCU academic integrity policies, which may include expulsion from GCU.

Teacher Candidate Date:

E-Signature: Daleen J. Smith
Daleen J. Smith (Feb 12, 2020)
Feb 12, 2020

©2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.