Jacob Hiatt is located in a neighborhood of Worcester known locally as Main South.  Main South gets a bad rap — some might say it’s not the prettiest neighborhood in the city, and it’s certainly not the richest.  But while many observers tend to focus on what Main South isn’t, I like to focus on what Main South is.  As Clark University professor and Director of the Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice Thomas Del Prete wrote in Partnership and Powerful Teacher Education – Growth and Challenge in an Urban Neighborhood Program, the Main South neighborhood is “growing as a vibrant multiethnic and largely immigrant community.  The neighborhood, like the city as a whole, embraces the newcomers who are attracted by its relatively low cost of living and entry-level work opportunities.  Their presence is reflected in the small ethnic markets, barbershops, and restaurants in the Main South neighborhood and, most of all, in its schools.”  Throughout my undergraduate years and my year of student-teaching, I have thoroughly enjoyed living in the Main South community.  I have learned so much about other cultures by shopping at the Vietnamese grocery store down the street from my apartment, visiting local restaurants and coffee shops near Jacob Hiatt, and simply by listening to passing conversations as I walk down the street.  As an educator, I believe it is important to immerse myself in the community of my students, in order to truly understand the context of their school lives.  It has been a privilege to be a part of the Main South community for the past few years.

While I am not originally from Main South, I am a Worcester local.  Throughout my life, Worcester, a small city that experienced a boom in the industrial revolution and has struggled to recover since the post-industrial era began, has always been a community of resilient, hard-working people who never fail to impress with their innovation and enduring sense of determination.  I am proud to say I am from Worcester, and this place has shaped me into the person I am today.  I see the characteristics that I learned from living in this city reflected in my students; the kids in my class are ambitious, imaginative yet pragmatic, clever, and hungry for knowledge.

Jacob Hiatt is fairly representative of Worcester Public School students as a whole in terms of student demographics.   In the city of Worcester, 58% of students are considered economically disadvantaged and 33% are English Language Learners.  By comparison, at Jacob Hiatt, 155 students out of 304, or 51% of students were classified as economically disadvantaged.  90 students, or 30%, are English Language Learners.  They are also similar, though not to an exact degree, in terms of diversity; the make-up of WPS as a whole is 42.9% Hispanic and 16.3% BIPOC, while 47.8% of the students at Jacob Hiatt are Hispanic and 32.8% are BIPOC.  It was important to me to experience a school community that is as diverse as the world around us.  As someone who grew up in the Worcester Public Schools system as a student, I saw firsthand the impact of growing up in a multicultural setting.  There are nearly limitless opportunities to bring student culture and experience into the classroom, which is beneficial for all students as it helps them expand their outlook on the world and understand how to communicate and develop relationships with people who come from backgrounds vastly different than their own.  The collective knowledge of our diverse school community can invigorate discussions and inquiry within content areas in a manner that could not be achieved by a homogenous group of students and teachers.  As an educator, I aim to use what I learned teaching in the Worcester Public Schools to help students teach each other about their unique cultures and experiences in order to give all students a global outlook.

Instructing students from economically disadvantaged households comes with its own set of challenges.  This year, with cameras peering directly into students’ living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms, I got an in-depth look at what home life was like for my students.  It was important to me that no student felt ashamed of their learning space, but the truth was that many students were forced to learn in spaces that were not conducive to their attention and education.  The experience of this remote learning year will serve as a reminder to me that not all children are guaranteed the home environment they need to learn their best.  I need to be understanding of uncontrollable circumstances and work with students and families to find the best available options for the child.  Often, my students have larger issues to worry about than completing their math homework; they may be confronting food insecurity, disruptive arguments or other persistent loud noises in their homes, sick relatives, and other concerns.  As an educator in a low-income community, I need to let children from all types of households know that I am in their corner and I am prepared to search for a solution that works for them, their family, and their education.