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Claire Mitchell

Drs. Madrazo and Harris Garad

Integrated Foundations of Teacher Education

8 February 2023

School and Community Analysis: Sand Creek Elementary (Fishers, IN)

Within Sand Creek Elementary and Hamilton Southeastern Schools, many curricular

options are available. Individual programs are created for students who need either intervention

or acceleration. Sand Creek has a high ability program that targets children who have proven that

they need a more advanced education in order to support their school experience. There is also a

program that directly supports children who don’t use English as their primary language. This

program works alongside the child to bring them to where they need to be to advance. Sand

Creek also offers a program for Exceptional Learners, or children who have one or more

intellectual disabilities. This program works with the student to create a plan that is

individualized for their needs. The next program that is offered through Hamilton Southeastern

Schools is FOCUS. FOCUS stands for Foundation of Characteristics Unique to Success and is a

program designed for “exceptional learners who need extra support with social, emotional, and

behavioral challenges” (https://www.hseschools.org). All of these resources are provided though

Hamilton Southeastern Schools and are available for the elementary aged students in the district.

School is for all children no matter their circumstance, and the resources HSE provide allow all

students to have a positive experience in school. 10% of Hamilton Southeastern Schools’ student

body has a disability and 5% of the student body doesn’t use English as their first language.

Although these are not overwhelming statistics, it is still extremely important that each and every

one of those students has the resources they need to be successful. The end of the year report for
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Hamilton Southeastern schools reports that 100% of students who entered the ENL program

exited being fluent in English. This is huge for a school because it means that those students are

then able to perform well in school with the resources they need.

The HSE21 Curriculum is the framework that all Hamilton Southeastern Schools,

including Sand Creek Elementary, utilize. The core beliefs of this curriculum are fostering a

nurturing environment, promoting deep learning, educating the whole child, and empowering

learners. HSE21 also outlines the best teaching practices that offer a welcoming environment for

learning to occur. There are four areas to the teaching and learning practices. First is the Student

Centered Approach to learning. This is important because it utilizes student voice and

authenticity. Students want to feel heard and seen and if they are in charge of their own learning,

they will be more successful. Second is The Content and Curriculum of HSE21. The curriculum

implements standards-based instruction, formative assessment, and student choice. Third is

Transfer of Learning which allows for cross-cultural connections, real-world experiences, and

creativity. Being able to transfer in-class instruction into the real world is extremely important

for all students. Last is Fundamental Classroom Conditions which fosters an environment full of

belonging, accessibility, global perspective, collaboration, and equity. These are traits that all

classrooms and schools should strive for. When this curriculum is properly acted out, it creates

an ideal learning environment. The ideals of the HSE21 model offer a place for everyone and

opportunity for growth in all students. If done correctly, every student should benefit from this

curriculum.

As previously stated, there are many different resources and services directly benefiting

marginalized groups. Hamilton Southeastern Schools are dedicated to helping all students reach

their full potential by providing many resources. The ENL and Exceptional Learners programs
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are two very impactful programs that help groups of students who would not otherwise have

opportunities to grow. The HSE Education Foundation provides grants and funding to programs,

students, staff, and teachers. The homepage for the Foundation states, “HSEF is seeking the best

new ideas in education in any number of disciplines including, but not limited to, STEM,

literacy, social justice, mental health, fitness and wellness, civics education, special education,

and physical space” (https://www.hsefoundation.org/teachers/grants/). This Foundation is an

application based grant system that directly supports the special education and literacy services

such as Exceptional Learners and ENL. In 2022, the US Congress approved a $42.6 billion

spending plan for K-12 schools in order to provide extra funds for marginalized groups of

students. This plan is huge for schools because these resources were not offered before, and now

that they are, real advancements can be made for the education world.

The community of Fishers and the HSE School District has created a large support

system for the elementary schools and kids within the schools. The school board of HSE consists

of six women and 1 man and in their 2021-2022 development plan, three goals are laid out.

Communication, Academics, and Operations are the three areas that the community and board of

HSE was motivated to improve. The HSE Board is accepting of new ideas from the community

and wants to hear more about current issues and topics. On the Board’s website, they post live

streams of all their meetings and open mic is always a large part of the meeting. The board wants

to hear directly from students and parents about how to better their school district. The City of

Fishers’ mayor, Scott Fadness has made a great impact as a member of the Hamilton

Southeastern School Foundation Advisory Council. Being a part of this council at the same time

as running the city shows how dedicated Fadness is to the school community.
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A large issue that was presented to the HSE school board was a request for the K-12

handbook to be revised. Originally, the board wanted the handbook to state that expulsion is a

valid consequence for “microaggressions”. Although a student using microaggressions can be

very harmful towards the other student, it can lead to more of a learning opportunity than a strict

consequence. Leigh Ann O’Neill from FAIR (Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism) states

that the proposed reform to this would be,

“While Hamilton Southeastern High School understands those individuals

communicating a microaggression might not intend to express bias, the school recognizes

the responsibility to educate students on the reality of bias perceptions. Issues regarding

microaggressions may be addressed through restorative conversations led by school

administration, teachers, and/or guidance counselors rather than punitive measures."

This reform would allow for the student with bias to be educated and informed about why what

they did or said was a microaggression instead of punishing them for something they might not

even know was wrong. This issue is extremely relevant to school systems everywhere. Many

children do not know much about other cultures or races, and educating these children is a lot

more beneficial to them than punishment. It is also an important issue specific to Fishers and

Hamilton Southeastern because the demographics are not very diverse. The amount of education

about other races besides white is slim, so this reform would give an opportunity for that

education to occur. The reform was accepted on June 8, 2022 and was instituted for the following

school year.
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Works Cited

http://www.city-data.com/city/Fishers-Indiana.html
https://sce.hseschools.org/
https://www.fair-for-all.org/content/pdfs/general/Letter-to-Hamilton-Southeastern-Microaggressi
on-Policy.pdf?_t=1657058360
https://www.fishers.in.us/1403/New-Residents
https://www.future-ed.org/what-congressional-covid-funding-means-for-k-12-schools/#:~:text=In
%20early%202022%2C%20Congress%20approved,services%20and%20Community%20School
s%20programs.
https://www.hsefoundation.org/teachers/grants/
https://www.hseschools.org
https://www.hseschools.org/HSE/media/HSE-District-Documents/Copy-of-Year-end-Report.pdf
https://www.thisisfishers.com/
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/indiana/sand-creek-elementary-250798#:~:text=Overvie
w%20of%20Sand%20Creek%20Elementary&text=The%20school's%20minority%20student%2
0enrollment,enrolls%2020%25%20economically%20disadvantaged%20students
https://www.youarecurrent.com/2022/08/14/hamilton-southeastern-schools-adds-microaggressio
n-section-to-handbook/