Demographics
I teach Special Education at Rogers College Middle School in Tulsa Public Schools. Rogers is considered a magnet school, and students have to apply in order to be accepted. There are no criteria for attending other than applying. Students who attend the neighboring elementary schools of Sequoyah and Kendall Whittier are given first preference, and the remaining spots are filled by lottery. Our student body is comprised of 69.7% Hispanic, 11.8% Caucasian, 8.3% African American, 6.3% Multi-Race, and 3.6% American Indian, with 95.8% being economically disadvantaged. 68.3% of our students are English Language Learners. 14.5% of our student population have disabilities and are on an IEP. According to Reading testing data from 2024, 0% of students scored advanced, 18% proficient, 23% basic, and 59% scored below basic.
My students are all low performers, all scoring 1% on the District MAP reading test. They struggle with basic reading, which has caused them to enter middle school with a personal grudge against all things having to do with Reading and Language Arts. This year, I am teaching in a self-contained classroom for students with intellectual disabilities. My students will range from 6th grade to 8th grade, and I will teach English, Reading, Math, Social Studies and Science. Most are non-readers and writers and are unable to independently interact with text at any level without accommodation and support. They also struggle with comprehension. Finding lower-level texts that interest them can be a challenge. When I taught this demographic in the past, I found that reading high interest grade appropriate texts together as a group helped them to see books as entertainment and not just work.
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