PHOTO OF CLAREMONT ENTRANCE

To fulfill the practicum requirement of my Masters of Arts in Teaching program, I spent the past year teaching in an eighth grade math classroom at Claremont Academy, a school in the Main South neighborhood of Worcester, Massachusetts that consists of approximately 550 students, grades 7-12. 

As a neighborhood school, Claremont is comprised almost exclusively of Main South community members and is dedicated to serving that population. Of the 532 students enrolled at the start of the 2016-17 school year, roughly 74% were Hispanic, 10% were Asian, 9% were African American, and 7% were white. Claremont provides free breakfast and lunch for all its students, and with 40.8% of its students classified as English Language Learners, Claremont has one of the highest percentages of English Language Learners in the district. 

Claremont is a school that is very much growing. After years of underperformance and a near takeover by the state, Claremont somewhat “restarted” in 2012 with a new principal, a voluntary fifty percent staff turnover, and a rededication to making all students college ready. To continue to fulfill this commitment, Claremont became an Innovation School in 2015. This designation granted the school more autonomy in terms of staffing, curriculum, and budgeting, as well as provided support for the ongoing development of a college-ready culture. As part of the Innovation Plan, teachers are encouraged to engage in practices that foster the five Claremont Characteristics  –  reflection, collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and investigation/research – amongst their students. In addition, students are asked to participate in presentations in eighth and tenth grade called “Gateways.” These presentations are an opportunity for students to demonstrate and reflect on their growth in each of the five characteristics, and are supported by portfolios that students have assembled each quarter that showcase their classwork and periodic reflections.

Since my entire MAT year centered on the idea of growth and reflection, Claremont felt like a perfect fit.