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Diversity,InteractionandtheLearningProcess ADiversityEvaluationChecklistWriteUp EvaE.MendozaGonzalez UniversityofLaVerne

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Villageelementaryislocatedon14711MojaveDrinVictorville,CA.Tim Nordstromistheprincipalthatmakessuretheschoolmission"forallstudentstobeator abovegradelevelinreading,writing,andmathematicsthroughqualityeducationand positiveexperiences"aremet.GoingofthedemographicsVillagehasanenrollmentrate of0.9%AmericanNative,1.9%Asian,0.6%NativeHawaiian,0.6%Filipino,56.8% Hispanic,19.2%Blackand2.3%mixed.SinceVillageelementaryhassuchadiverse believethattheschoolstaffhastobeopenfordiversityandeducatedinthisfield.Iwas abletointerviewtheprincipalTimNordstromandmymasterteacherPeggyIngram. Bothoftheseindividualspossessextremeintelligenceandexperienceinthediversity area. WhileinterviewingMr.NordstromheemphasisedthattheteachersinVillage elementarydecidestylesandsystemstheirstudentsbestrespondto.Itwasvery obviousthatthisprincipleisveryinvolvedwiththestudentsandtheteachers.Timalso mentionedthatthiselementaryschooldistricthasacoupleofbilingualaides availableforthestudentstorelatetotheirnativelanguage.Healsosaidthattheyhave adiversearrayofliteraturefromdifferentculturesavailableatalllevelstoallgrade levels.InmyopinionIbelieveitisanamazingitemVillageelementaryhasforthe diversityneedsEnglishLanguageLearners(ELL).Iwasalsoabletodoavisual evaluationofthecampusandthroughouttheschooldifferentpaintingsofanimalsand

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theirnamesaresketchedallthroughouttheelementaryandintheofficealotofposters arepostedfortheneedsoftheparentsorstudents. Villageisanamazingschoolthatprovidesdifferentclubs,resourcesand assembliesfortheparentsandstudents.Forexample,VillageElementarywiththehelp oftheVictorElementarySchoolDistrictofferonlinedevelopmentcourseseachyearfor allstaff,theyalsoconductbehaviorassembliesforstudentthatteachthemacceptance ofdifferences,andteachersarealsoencouragedtoencompassmulticulturalprograms. Timalsomentionedtomethatthecultureoftheschoolisbuiltaroundacceptance, toleranceandequality.

PeggyIngramisthemasterteacherIwasabletointerview.Sheissuchan amazinginstructorthatsheisabletomeetallthechildrensneeds.Afterinterviewing themottoshegoesbyisthatallchildrenareentitledtoaneducationofhighquality.I believeshedefinitelyfollowshermottoandshemakesallstudentsreceivethehigh qualityeducation.Shealsomentionedtutoringisavailableforstudentswithextraneeds andstudentsarealsoblendedintoclassroomforlearningexperiences.Togivethe propertrainingallthestaffistrainedatcollege/Universitylevelthroughvariousclasses, requiredbythestatetohaveELDtraining.

BythevisualassessmentIrealizedshehadamediumsizedboarddedicatedfor S.T.E.A.M.IaskedPeggyaboutthatboardandsheexplainedtomethatstudentscan

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exploreanddiscoverattheirownpace.IwasalsoabletoseethelunchcalendarandI realizedthatthedistrictassignsthefoodthechildreneat.However,Irealizedthatthe calendarshavedifferentethnicfoodsandbasedonholidaycelebrations.Theteacher alsohadacalendarofschooleventsforthemonththathaddifferentassembliesthatwill occurinthemonthofMarch.Forexample,behaviorassembliesandtalentshows. Peggysaidthatwiththeseassembliesweareabletocelebrateourdifferencesand communitythroughvariousartfunctionsandactivities.

WiththeverbalandvisualevaluationIwasabletotellthatTimwasaveryequal personthatiscompletelyawarethathisschoolhaschildrenwithdiverseneeds.Itwas veryappealingtomethatTimwasabletomanagetomakehimstaff,studentsandhim selfadoptacultureofacceptanceandequalityofdifferences.Inmyopinionitstartswith thestaffandifthestafffollowstheacceptanceofdifferencesthenthestudentsfollowthe samefootsteps.Peggymentionedsheusesdifferenttechniqueswehavelearnedonour classroom.Forexample,Bloom'sTaxonomyquestionsandS.T.E.A.M.Whiledoingmy observationIrealizedthestaffisalsoverydiverse.Thestaffhasdifferentraces,and genders.