A panorama photo of my classroom, room 263.

I was placed in room 263 with Benjamin Adwetewa-Badu as my mentor teacher. He has been teaching for nearly 25 years both in Ghana and the United States. In Massachusetts, he taught art at Nelson Place School, Flagg Street School, Comprehensive Skills Center, and Worcester East Middle School before coming to South High. This is his 13th year teaching at South High. His teaching load this year included three foundations in art classes, one painting class, and one AP art class. I took over the three foundations classes for my teaching practicum.

My period 2 class of 20 students was made up of mostly sophomores with a few juniors and seniors and one freshman. There was one student designated as needing special education and one student with a 504 plan. Many of the students were also listed as English language learners in the class roster but most of them had high English proficiency level scores (5-6). You would not have been able to tell from interacting with them that they are ELL students. This class was my highest-achieving group of students and a real pleasure to teach.

This is my period 2 class.

My period 4 class of 23 students was a half and half mix of freshmen and some sophomores and juniors. A few students were labeled as having transitioned out of needing special education, while a couple were still receiving special education and a couple others had 504 plans. There were several English language learners who had high English proficiency level scores (4-5), but a couple ELL students had lower scores. This class was the largest of my three periods, which lent itself to challenges in maintaining students’ focus but the students were able to produce many quality works.

This is my period 4 class.

My period 7 class of 21 students was made up of mostly freshmen, some sophomores, and a few seniors. This class had the most students who need special education and a couple who had 504 plans. It also had a large number of English language learners, most of whom had high English proficiency level scores (4-6). This was the first class I began to teach on my own so they had a special connection with my practicum experience. This class also challenged me the most in terms of classroom management and differentiating my instruction to various students’ needs.

This is my period 7 class.