Morgan Reese

Setting and Context

Thompson school district is located in the cities of Loveland, Berthoud and the southern
part of Fort Collins as well as parts of Larimer, Weld and Boulder counties. The mission of the
school district is Empower to learn, Challenge to achieve, Inspire to excel. Thompson school
district offers International Baccalaureate (IB) and pre-IB programs; a Science, Technology,
Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) focus at one high school and two elementary schools; Core
Knowledge programs; the Loveland area Integrated School of the Arts (LISA), K-12; and
Advanced Placement programs. The district also houses a homeschool program for families who
chose to take an alternative method to schooling. There were 16,226 students enrolled in the
Thompson School District in the 2013-2014 school year. There are 13 early childhood centers,
20 elementary schools, five middle schools, five high schools and two charter schools in the
Thompson School District. The school district prides themselves on having higher than state
average TCAP scores.
Ferguson High School is the alternative high school in the Thompson School district. It is
located in the city of Loveland. The mission statement at this high school is, Foster a Diverse
Learning Community, Honor and Hone Personal Potential, Support and Practice Responsible
Citizenship. Ferguson High School normally serves over 140 students. However, with the
recent addition of other programs to FHS such as SOARS and PHOENIX, they now serve 200 -
300 students at different times of the year. Ferguson offers a few unique programs such as,
SOARS, 21
st
Century Community Learning Center, Thompson Online, LEAP, First Steps, and
Phoenix. In the SOARS program, learning is conducted using online software and is driven
entirely by the student. The Program is located in the two computer labs at Ferguson High
School. The 21st Century Community Learning Center is a program designed to enrich the
learning of students by providing a place before and after school for students to gather and
receive extra assistance. First Steps is a child care program located in Ferguson High School for
the children of Thompson School District students. With these many unique programs students in
a wide range of situations can find a home at this school.
In the comic book extravaganza class there are usually around 16 students. This number
varies day to day. The students read comic books and discuss how certain events in their current
comics relate to real life events. The students are working in groups to create their own comics.
The teachers maintain a structure in the class where students know what to expect every day
when they come to class. They start everyday reading the new comic then get into a large group
to discuss the book. They then break into their small groups to work on their own comic books
which they will then present to the class on the last day. The teachers in the classroom have
created a culture where the students genuinely care about one another and feel safe sharing their
ideas with their peers in both large and small groups.