1.

Consider the school property: building, grounds, fencing, equipment, landscaping, trees, parking lot,
cross walks, gates, signs, and symbols.
Something I really liked was that the buses were in front of the school before and after. They waited
for everyone to load up before leaving. This required all cars to be completely stopped until every-
one was in their cars. For safety, I loved that. A lot of people are usually in hurries, so they had to
wait for all of the buses. There was also a private fence for the special education classes. It had a
private entrance and exit, and they got out ten minutes before everyone else. The parking lot was
fine, but they should have a separate exit. They only have one entrance and one exit, so the teachers
usually have to wait about thirty minutes after dismissal to leave otherwise they are trapped in the
parking lot.

2. Next, plain the interior of the school: hals, floor coverings, lighting, doors, windows, hall colors, and
decorations and entrance security.
The school was beautiful and very decorated with student’s work. The halls were big, but there
weren’t a ton of windows. There were a lot of hallways, so I got a bit confused trying to find my way
around. I do like how you have to be buzzed into the building. It’s very safe.

3. Consider the factors of school culture. Describe how you felt visiting the school, walking down the
hallways and inside the classroom. What do you think students feel regarding this school’s culture?
I felt very welcome at the school. The hallways were very beautiful and bright. I feel like students
would be very excited walking down the hall. It is very decorated with student’s work, and I feel
like it would make the child excited to see all the work they could do.

4. What is the school motto? How does the school demonstrate that motto?
The motto is Pride, Power, Performance. I definitely feel like the students take pride in the work.
Based off of everything I saw in the school, their work was lovely and I could tell they took pride in
their work.

5. Look at the formal practices: Does the school use inclusion or a pull out program for special education
students?
The school uses an inclusion program, which is what I observed.

6. Compare and contrast current school cultural environments with school historically.
The schools back in the day would never have had a gate, or a buzzer to let people in. A lot of safety
measures have been enforced over the past years.

7. Does it appear that the students feel safe enough to ask the teacher questions?
I feel like the staff was so friendly and welcoming. I definitely feel that the students would feel safe
to ask their teacher questions.

8. Evaluate the interactions between teachers and students, rapport, cohesiveness, distribution of power,
tone, frequency, and reinforcements.
The teachers did not overuse their power. They were very nice to their students, and did not use a
tone with the students.

9. Evaluate the level of student participation in the class. Who participates? Who does not? How does the
teacher respond to student comments?
The students did participate. If they didn’t get the answer right, she would say something that
would encourage them to keep trying. The only students that didn’t participate were the ones that
didn’t talk. She would try to make them participate, but they need some more time.