Ms.

McGhee’s Special Education Classroom1

Demographic Profile of Kyrene de la Estrella Elementary, Ms. McGhee’s Special Education

Classroom

Araceli Garcia

South Mountain Community College

Dr. Rosemarie Dugi

Introduction to Special Education

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 2

Part I -Introduction

Kyrene de la Estrella Elementary School is located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is off

of Liberty Lane and 32nd Street near Desert Vista High School and Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle

School. The grades taught are Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th

Grade, and 5th Grade. Kyrene de la Estrella’s mascot are shooting stars since Estrella means star

in Spanish. Kyrene de la Estrella’s Principal is Jessey Johnson.

Part II – School and District Demographics

School Gender Demographic

The district has 19 preschools, 19 elementary schools, and 7 middle schools, making a total of 25

schools in Ahwatukee, Foothills, Tempe, and Chandler. The total of students enrolled in the

Kyrene School District is 17,251 and at Estrella specifically the enrollment amount is 456. As

shown in the chart, there are more males than females by a small margin.

District Estrella
Male: 8,798 Male: 255
Female: 8,453 Female: 201
[Figure 1: Gender Demographics]

The student population for the entire school system mirrors the census data regarding the race

and ethnicity of the district. The chart below shows the diversity among the students attending

schools in the district. The student body at the elementary school is less racially diverse than the

statistics reported for the district. The district is ranked high in Arizona as a diverse school,

ranking of 4.5 out of 5 for being diverse.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 3

Racial Demographic of School1

District Estrella
White: 7,363 White: 223
Hispanic: 5,169 Hispanic: 105
Black: 1,756 Black: 50
2 + Ethnicities: 1,277 2 + Ethnicities: 41
Native American: 671 Native: 23
Asian & Pacific Asian & Pacific
1,015 14
Islander: Islander:

[Figure 2: Racial Demographic]

The district and elementary school is not equal in diversity of students with disabilities. The

amount of students with disabilities is a higher percentage than for the district. Estrella is ranked

4.9 out of 5 by parents as a great school to enroll your child with a disability.

Disability Demographic.

District Estrella
Without: 15,526 Without 319
With: 1,725 With: 137

[Figure 3: Disability Demographic for Estrella]

The school district has a 6,210 students who get free or reduced lunch and Estrella has 169

students currently receiving free or reduced lunch.

Lunch Demographic.

District Estrella
Without: 11,041 Without: 287
Free & Reduced: 6,210 Free & Reduced: 169
[Figure 4: Lunch Demographic for Estrella]
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 4

The teaching staff of the school district does not reflect the diversity among the students. There

are 2,000 teachers in the district for grades Preschool-5th grade. The school has a teaching staff of

43 including community educators (these educators teach in preschool but are not lead teachers

or IA’s).

Teacher Demographic

District Estrella
White: 800 White: 10
Hispanic: 580 Hispanic: 10
Black: 300 Black: 9
Asian & Pacific Asian & Pacific
200 7
Islander: Islander:
2+ Ethnicities: 100 2+ Ethnicities: 5
Native American: 20 Native American: 2

[Figure 5: Teacher Ethnicity Demographic]

Per Pupil Expenditure

The per-pupil expenditures for students in the district school rank sixth in the

Commonwealth of Virginia. Due to the district being a Preschool – 5th Grade, there are no

success rates available or documented. The district annually spends $ 9,469.37 per student,

compared to the state average expenditure of $ 8,491.88 per student.

Part III – Classroom Demographics

The six students in my third - fifth grade classroom are all eccentric students where every day of

working with them, brings a different set of experiences into the classroom. There are more

numbers of males than females in the classroom. Five of the children receive free or reduced

lunch. The children present three racial and ethnic groups, as shown in the table below.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 5

White: 2
Hispanic: 2
African American: 1
Pacific Islander: 1
Total: 6

Race & Ethnicity of Students in the Classroom

IAs’ (Instructional Assistants) are very active in this classroom, supporting the classroom teacher

in a variety of ways ranging from preparing teaching materials to tutoring the children, as well as

working with one individual student at a time or in groups or duos. There are 5 instructional

assistants, making the teacher 6:6. Three of the students participate in after-school activities and

four are in Kids Club after school. All students are children with disabilities and each has an IEP

that have the accommodations they need. Ms. McGhee (lead teacher) is their IEP Case Manager

who manages their IEP. The IA’s are apart of the IEP Team and meet with the principal, parents

and one general education teacher every year to review their plan. There are two Special

Education teachers in total at the school, three resource teachers, two speech and language

pathologists who come in 5 days a week every other week, one school psychologist who visits

every month to check on the children, and one SEI/Interventionist who worked with these

students when they first arrived at Estrella.

Part IV – Family Handbook

https://www.kyrene.org/cms/lib/AZ01001083/Centricity/Domain/561/731%20DIGITAL

%20COPY%202021-22%20Family%20Handbook%20no%20columns-FINAL.pdf
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 6

o Attendance Policy – Attendance is taken periodically throughout the day. The school checks for

students who are absent and who have not had a parent/guardian call to excuse them. The school

will attempt to contact the parents/legal guardians of absent students. In the case of chronic

absenteeism or tardiness, the school will make every attempt to communicate with parents and

help problem solve how best to ensure the student’s attendance. Students are expected to

complete assignments and tests missed during an absence. Students who are absent from school

the day of an activity may not attend the activity, such as, but not limited to: a classroom party; a

middle school dance or sporting event; an after-school enrichment club; or Kids Club care after

school. The student is responsible for requesting missing assignments and for returning them to

the teacher in the required amount of time.

o Dress Code - • Dress and grooming shall not present a risk to the health, safety, or general

welfare of students or others in the school. • Students should not wear clothing or hairstyles that

can be hazardous to them in their school activities. • Clothing which features illegal items for

minors are not allowed. • Dress and grooming that prevent the student from doing his or her

work because of blocked vision or restricted movement are discouraged. • Clothing or hair

color/styles that create or could create disruption in the classroom are not allowed. • Shoes must

be worn at all times. • Chains, spikes, piercings, sharp objects, or any other accessories, clothing,

or footwear that could cause damage or create a safety hazard are not allowed. Additional safety

requirements may be in place in physical education class, exploratory classes and labs, science

labs, etc., and must be followed at all times. • The body shall be adequately covered. Clothing

shall not expose the chest, abdomen, back or buttocks area, and shall be sufficient to conceal

undergarments at all times. All tops must have straps on the shoulders that are wide enough to

conceal undergarments. • Clothing or accessories that depict violence or are sexual in nature are
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 7

not allowed. • Clothing or accessories shall not display lewd, vulgar, obscene, or offensive

language or symbols. Gang related dress, grooming, language or behavior is not allowed.

o Behavior Expectations/Consequences - Each student is responsible for contributing to a

positive school environment which is safe and conducive to learning. He/she shall: •

Demonstrate school-wide behavioral expectations. • Be responsible for his/her own actions and

the consequences of those actions. 38 | Page • Show consideration and respect for fellow

students, for the school staff members, and for school property. • Display physical and verbal

self-control and utilize taught strategies when faced with a challenge. • Participate in the

development of the school’s student behavior expectations. • Work towards understanding and

displaying self-discipline. Recognize that students are in school to learn and that order and

structure help to create an environment where safe, productive and uninterrupted learning can

occur. Conduct Referral, Personal Conference, Formal Plan Conference, Parent Involvement,

Restitution, Detention, Restriction of Privileges, Restriction of Social Events, Community

Service, Removal of a Student from a Classroom

o Parents (expectations) - The Kyrene School District recognizes the essential role that

meaningful parent involvement plays in establishing effective learning environments.

Meaningful family involvement is defined as: • Parent participation that supports the

instructional program, • Parent participation in the school-related decision-making, and • Parent

participation that supports school/District-related activities. Parents come to parent/teacher

conferences, it will help the teacher if parents/guardians come to the conference prepared with a

list of questions, comments, or concerns regarding their child’s progress. By doing this, the

teacher can specifically address your areas of interest. Parents show up to curriculum night.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 8

o Health and Safety - In order to protect students from the possible spread of disease, please keep

your child home if the following symptoms are present: • Fever (Temperature of 100.4° F or

higher) • Chills • Cough • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing • Muscle or body aches •

Headache • New loss of taste or smell • Sore throat • Congestion or runny nose • Nausea or

Vomiting • Diarrhea. The Health Assistant may send your child home regardless of temperature if

they develop symptoms of illness at school that prevent them from participating comfortably in

school activities. During excessive heat days, an email notification is sent to all staff indicating

guidelines for outside activity. Outdoor recess will be limited to 15 minutes. Hydration before

and during recess will be emphasized. During days that are identified as High Pollution Advisory

Days, an e-mail notification is sent to all staff including guidelines for outside activity. Parents of

students with chronic health conditions at the elementary level will have the opportunity to

identify if they would like their child kept inside on High Pollution Advisory Days as part of

their health plan. . The immunization requirements for a child entering a Kyrene school

(including preschool) contingent on age are: • Diphtheria/Pertussis/Tetanus (DPT, DTaP, Tdap) •

Polio • MMR #1 and MMR #2 • Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB) • Hepatitis A series (for

Preschool) • Hepatitis B series • Chicken Pox (Varicella) • Meningococcal (11 year old) • Tdap

(11 year old). Stay home if you get a virus and do not show up to school for as many days as

necessary until one week or more.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 9

Part V – Reflection

This experience helped me figure out the demographics of the district I want to work for.

Collecting this data was a bit troubling at first since Estrella’s principal Jessey Johnson sent me

the data through email and the Asian and Pacific Islander ethnicities were lumped into one

category whereas the district separated the two, but I ended up putting both together since it

would be more challenging to figure out specifically how many there are for both individually.

Ms. McGhee confirmed her student’s demographics with me and has overall been super helpful

with this whole process. The IAs’ in her class have also been helpful and extremely sweet with

this whole process. Overall I am so happy to be working with such fantastic teachers in special

education who have been a pleasure to work with and helpful at times I need the assistance.

(Garcia, 2021)
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM 10

References

Federal Government. (2020, January). AZ School Report Cards: District Information. AZ School

Report Cards | District Information. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from

https://azreportcards.azed.gov/districts/detail/4267.

Kyrene School District Board Members. (2020, January). Annual Report 2018-2019. Annual

report 2018-19. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from

http://web2.kyrene.org/KSDComm/FlipBuilder_Annual-Report-18-

19/mobile/index.html#p=3.

Public School Review Editors. (2021, January). Kyrene de la Estrella Elementary School (2021-

22 ranking): Phoenix, AZ. Public School Review. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/kyrene-de-la-estrella-elementary-school-profile.

Public School Review Editors. (2021, January). Kyrene School District Demographics. (2021-

22) | Phoenix, AZ. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/arizona/kyrene-elementary-school-district/404230-

school-district.
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Footnotes
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Tables

Table 1

[Table Title]

Column Head Column Head Column Head Column Head Column Head
Row Head 123 123 123 123
Row Head 456 456 456 456
Row Head 789 789 789 789
Row Head 123 123 123 123
Row Head 456 456 456 456
Row Head 789 789 789 789

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Figures title:

0
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Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

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