EDSS 541: Reading Reflections #7 - 10

Reading Reflection #7

            A service learning activity performed for the sake of learning can be very beneficial to students. Students are able to use their different skills to improve the community they live in. Students are able to relate exactly to actual real life situations where they can apply what they learn in the classroom to their lives in the community. Participants will grow as individuals and be able to gain a deeper understanding of their community around them and possibly themselves throughout the service learning experience.

           There are many different types of service learning, however, there is a similar process for all of them. The first stage is the preparation phase. This stage incorporates planning the process of the service learning activity. I believe the reading, A Complete Guide to Service Learning by Cathryn Berger Kaye, gives a good description of the purpose of this phase “Investigation, discussion, and analysis lead to plans for action”. The second stage is the action stage where the students carry out what has been prepared. In this phase, students interact with the environment and begin their journey into a greater understanding of the community around them. The third stage is the reflection stage one of the most important steps in this process. It is where students really do the learning. They can step back and see the experience in its entirety and to go beyond just simply describing the situation and begin to understand how the it has effected themselves and the society around them. Lastly, the students will be able to show the rest of the community, class, or teacher what they learning from this experience in a demonstration. The demonstration phase of service learning is simply where the participants present what they learned from the experience in various ways, such as a presentation, a performance, or other actions.

 Kaye, Cathryn Berger. (2004 or 2011). A Complete Guide to Service Learning. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Reading Reflection #8

           I enjoyed reading about the various ways to induce reflection within the students because I feel that is a very important part of the service learning experience. The worksheet about Taking Action in Our Community was very interesting to me for the concept that when giving it to students, they are able to decide what is important to them and their community. For our ITU, one of our main focuses is community and the diversity within the community. The best place to start would be with the students in our classes because there will be diverse. Looking at the example cluster maps of ITU’s was very informational to me. They may have not been about specific concepts our ITU will be able but it made it easier for me to think about how the different content areas can be connected through one cohesive unit. Also, the reading also gave me specific ideas for my math lessons that are to be incorporated in our ITU.

Reading Reflection #9 

1.      Community

         a.      Originally opened in 1894, Escondido High School is located in the north part of the city of Escondido at 1535 North Broadway, Escondido, CA 92026. Escondido is a very diverse community created from farm land and grown into an economy made up of many small successful, family-owned businesses.

         b.      Students live within a close proximity to the campus. 

         c.      

2.      School

            a.  School Mission & Teaching Philosophy
                  -  Mission Statement: Escondido High School is committed to student learning through a shared partnership with our school community. Our mission is to empower all students to become lifelong learners and responsible, caring citizens.
                  - School Motto - Loyal, Strong, and True
       - Mascot - Cougars
                  - The teaching philosophy includes...  

            b.  School Personnel Information
                   -   Fully credential -120

                   -      Without Full Credentials – 0

                   -     Working outside of Subject - 4

                  (age range of faculty, staff & administration, years of education,

                  years of experience…)

            c.  Reputation of School (Strengths and Weaknesses – programs, test scores, …) EHS has strengths in Adult Education and Regional Occupational Programs (ROP). EHS is currently holding the highest Key Course completion rate in the district.
                    -       Academic Performance Index – 5 (in 09-10)

                    -      Growth API – School (725); District (724); State (767)

                    -      California Standardized Test Scores (percentage Proficient or Advanced; data from 2010)

           o   English/Language Arts – 44%

           o   Mathematics – 29%

           o   Science – 28%

           o   History/Social Science – 41%

                    -      CST data shows that EHS has weaknesses in the areas of math and science. Compared to the percentages of students scoring proficient or at the advanced level at the state level, EHS’s scores on the CST are low in all subject areas.

            d.  Campus Architecture (Photos of buildings, classrooms, cafeteria, bathrooms, …)

            e.  Participation of Community in School Activities: Community participation is mediocre. Students are often involved in the school, however, other community members or even parents of students do not show above average attendance in school activities. Many students at Escondido High School are very involved in after school programs such as club activities, sports, and other programs.

3.      Student Population Information

            a.  Numbers of students served at school

         - Total Enrollment – 2,744 students

         - Grade 9 – 700; Grade 10 – 727;  Grade 11 – 635;  Grade 12 – 636;   Ungraded - 46

            b.  Demographic information

         o   Race/ethnicity

        §  American Indian - 12 (0.5%)


        §  Asian - 96 (3.5%)


        §  Pacific Islander – 13 (0.5%)

        §  Filipino – 89 (3.3%)

        §  Black - 93 (3.4%)

        §  Hispanic – 1,731 (63.1%)


        §  White - 705 (25.7%)

        §  Two or more races – 5 (0.01%)

        §  Total – 2,744

         o   Gender

        §  Male – 1,358 (49.5%); Female – 1,386 (50.5%)

         o   Socioeconomic

        §  Free reduced price meals - 1,387 (50.5%);  Free Lunch Eligible - 354 (13%)
;  Reduced-Price Lunch Eligible - 68 (2%)
;  Combined Free or Reduced - 422 (15%)

         o   ELLs

        §  Total – 430 (15.7%); FEP – 1,021 (37.2%); RFEP - 71

        §  (The following percentages represent the percent of that language in relation to all ELLs at EHS)

        §  Spanish – 96.3% of ELLs are Spanish; Farsi (Persian) – 0.9%; Filipino – 0.5%; Korean - 0.5%; Lao - 0.5%; Mandarin - 0.5%; Other non-English languages - 0.2%;  Russian - 0.2%; French - 0.2%; Vietnamese - 0.2%

         o   Special Education

        §  Total – 760 (28%)

        §  Mental Retardation - 55; Hard of Hearing - 7; Deaf - 6; Speech or Language Impairment - 41; Emotional Disturbance -34; Orthopedic Impairment - 48; Other health Impairment - 95; Specific Learning Disability - 407; Autism - 67

                 c.  Information about 5 individual students who need differentiation and generally describe how these students represent the diversity of the school. [ 1 gifted, 2 ELLs, 2 Special Needs]

Reading Reflection #10

This is the link to our ITU website: http://ehsdiversityproject.weebly.com/

The link can also be found as a tab at the top of the page, under EHS ITU on Diversity