Rationale
The students who I teach at John B. Cary Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia are no strangers to excessive heat in their own neighborhoods. John B. Cary Elementary School is an open-enrollment and Title I school, residing in Richmond, Virginia. Our students are a mix of families who are zoned for our school, and a portion of students who are zoned for other elementary schools. So long as they can be provided adequate transportation, students from across the entire city are welcome. Albeit, 98% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Most of the students who enroll at John B. Cary through open enrollment reside on the east or south side of the city, two of the typically lower-income living areas.
I have been teaching 4th and 5th grade special education at John B. Cary for two years now, with three years of total experience. I push into various general education classrooms to service and support my students with disabilities. My students have disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disability, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or Emotional Disabilities. I support them as a case manager who modifies their educational programming, and a classroom co-teacher, primarily in math and reading, but also in science and social studies. The demographics of the 300 students at John B Cary is 84% African American, 8% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Multiple Races, 1% Asian, and 1% Native American, with about 18% of the student population having one or more disabilities. This unit will be taught primarily in the 5th grade Science for classroom with possible extensions in writing and math. There is one hour allocated towards science daily in 5th grade. For the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, the state of Virginia has new and revised Science standards. I will incorporate the seminar teachings of Dr. Jordan Peccia, Professor of Environmental Engineering at Yale University.
Comments: