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Davontae Singleton
Background Information

The school at which I am completing my B Internship for the Masters of Teaching (M.T.)
program is an urban high school in a metropolitan area in the south. This particular school has a
very diverse population with a very big gap in disparity due to the wide range in socio-economic
status of the communities that neighbor the school. The majority of the students come from
poverty stricken areas while a small percentage of its students are from very affluent areas with
wealthy families. The school is in a district that houses 5 high schools, and was built in the early
parts of the 1900s. The current building is its most updated facility, currently housing well over
1500 students. Over the past 5 years there has been a huge shift in the overall dynamics of the
school including rapport with teacher-administration as well as teacher-student relationships.
Within the past 5 years, the schools overall demographics has shifted dramatically from the
school housing being predominately white students to the black/white ratio going up to 60/40.
The majority of the administration team are all new to their role, with the most new high stakes
administrator being the principal, who joined the staff only one year ago. It is apparent that the
mood of the school has shifted over the last few years with one teacher citing, Its just not the
way it used to be. Now, many of us [teachers] dont have the capabilities to teach all the students
who are in our classes. If one were to look from the outside, you would see that this school is
trying its best to adjust to the changing climate that it now operates under. The teachers still want
the best for their students and each day they strive to bring forth a world class education. In my
personal opinion, 70% of the teachers and staff are here everyday because they want to be here
and that makes all the difference to these students.
The class, and the students I have chosen to focus on for this profile is one of my most
challenging classes. The school operates on an A/B day schedule, so I only see the students in
this class 2-3 times per week. The class is an English III CP course, however the majority of the
students have been identified as having an IEP or 504 plan. My Cooperating Teacher has
admitted that even with her 15+ years of teaching experience, this class has been her most
challenging yet. Because I do not see the students everyday, it is extremely difficult to stay on
track with the learning objectives we are focusing on as with each new class period we

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constantly have to spend time retracking and reteaching material previously learned. Although
this class is not identified as a remedial course, the ability of the majority of the students are so
low that most of the work has to be done on a middle school grade level. The only differentiation
that takes place with the two classes is the separation of grades in my Cooperating Teachers
grade book. Over 80% of the students in the class have an overall GPA lower than a 2.8.
The English III CP class has 25 students, with 18 males and 7 females. The ages of the
students range from 16 to 18. There are 16 African American students, 6 White students, 1
Hispanic student, 1 Biracial student, and 1 foreign exchange student from South Africa. There
are 10 Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) in this class, and 9 Behavioral Intervention Plans
(BIPs). Since the only form of standardized testing this specific grade level has done is MAP
testing, my Cooperating Teacher uses other ways to track student progress. She heavily uses
ongoing evaluations to detect student growth, especially those with IEPs. The only test indicator
that my Cooperating Teacher has been able to use is her SLO testing which does not define a
definitive area where students are at the beginning of the year due to a possible testing bias that
was discovered.
Within this English III class, I have selected three students. I have selected one learner
who excels in class and on assessments, one learner whose grades and participation is
somewhere in the middle, and one learner who has consistently struggled. I chose the students
out of this particular class because I know how these students perform beyond my B Internship,
which I think is very important for giving a more well-rounded view of them as individuals.
The first student, Nelly, is a 16 year old South African American female who is at the top
of our English III CP class. Her first quarter grade puts her at a 98% average, which makes her
an A student. Because Nelly is a visiting student, the only previous exams we have recorded
for her are her MAP tests. Nelly has scored amongst the 98th percentile in her class and it is my
belief that she is capable of performing well in far more advanced courses but due to a contract
that was signed prior to her coming to America, her class schedule cannot be changed at this
point. In class, I constantly use Nelly as a student tutor because she excels in her work and
always is amongst the first to finish. She is very thoughtful and intentional in how she helps
students in our class. She always approaches students with the mentality that they do not need
her assistance, but rather she is there to help them by helping themselves. Her attitude helps her

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to be recognized as one of the most well liked and respected students in our class. My
Cooperating Teacher and I have talked about Nelly numerous times and we have both agreed that
we would like to see her more challenged, but due to the structure of the class, it is extremely
difficult to do so. Through this internship, I have learned that Nelly also excels in South Africa in
her studies and does so because she hopes to receive full funding to her top university choice
where she hopes to one day work on pursing her Ph.D.
The second student, Mark, is a 16 year old black male whose work is fairly consistent. He
is currently taking 2 classes with me, English III as well as Af. American Literature and his
quarter grades suggest that he is a well rounded student, but is capable of performing better in the
classroom. Compared to other students, Mark performs at an average rate with his Lexile scores
averaging around 800. Mark is very different in the fact that he is a highly functioning autistic
student who has faced many challenges in his high school career. The previous school year Mark
was not in a general education English class due to the fact that he had severe behavioral issues
which prevented him from being able to work with the general population. This year is very
different, he has since been reentered into the general education classes and is doing
exceptionally well. Mark has an IEP that calls for preferential seating, extended time on tests,
and close monitoring of his behavioral triggers. Mark is a great student to have in class, always
willing to help and the first to answer questions. Mark deals with a lot of social pressure inside
and outside of this class and typically deals with students who often try to bully and manipulate
him, but he is able to stand up for himself and remain resilient. He loves anything related to
anime and hopes to one day open his own restaurant. From talking with my Cooperating Teacher,
I have learned that Mark uses food as a coping mechanism to deal with anxiety and stress related
to school and home pressures.
The third student, Alex, is a 16 year old African American female who is constantly
struggling in class. Her current average in the class is a 68%, but it would be significantly lower
if my Cooperating Teacher did not have a minimum average rule in her class. Alex is a student
who I have not been able to connect with yet despite numerous attempts. She performs slightly
better in her other classes, but currently has a D average in 4 of her other classes. Alex has not
been identified as needing to have an IEP, but after several conversations with my Cooperating
Teacher and a recommendation to the School Counselor, we are hoping that this will change.

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Alex is slow to complete assignments, and often fails to turn them in. I do not believe that she is
not capable of doing the work, I believe that she has an extreme dislike of school and hence does
not care about her grades or how her actions impact her future success. Alex constantly comes
into class with an attitude and a mantra that she does not care about what is happening. The only
time she talks in class is when she is off-task and talking to other students. I have tried many
times to talk with her outside of class in order to understand how I could better serve Alex, but
those conversations have all been a one-way street. Last week once Alex saw that she was
currently teetering on an F average for the school year and this meant her being retained, she said
she would try to do betterbut I still have not seen any improvement in her overall attitude or
work ethic. I am focusing more energy on trying to help Alex than my other two students as they
both are naturally resilient. Alex has noted that she hopes to join the Air Force after graduation,
so I am hoping to bring in a guest speaker soon who can drive home the importance of doing
well in English as it will have a direct effect on how well you will do in the Air Force.
Throughout this semester, I plan to keep track of these students as they complete their 11th
grade year. I will record the different lessons and assessments that take place. As I record the
lessons and assessments, I will take note of how each of my three learners responds. I will speak
personally to these students, and use the data I collect on them to plan my future lessons and
assessments. I firmly believe that these are things teachers should be doing on a regular basis
with their students, so this is very good practice for my future career.