I completed my practicum at South High Community High School. South has 1,500 students in a brand new building, parts of which are still under renovation. Until this year, South students went to school in an old building known for its lack of walls. The first thing I observed at South was how close-knit this made them. Teachers and students still speak fondly of that building and its lack of both physical and emotional barriers.
As a 9th grade teacher, I got to get to know the school alongside my students. All of us were new to the setting in every sense- both the physical setting and the systems in place. There are three levels at South: Goddard Scholars Academy, Honors, and College Prep, with GSA being the most rigorous of the three. Students must apply and be accepted into the GSA program, which most students do in 8th grade. My class breakdown was 3 GSA classes and 2 College Prep classes. I feel quite grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a wide range of South’s student body, and have learned a lot from both classroom experiences.
The teachers at South are high energy and close as a community, fiercely loyal to both South as a school and Worcester as a city. My observations and relationships there have inspired me daily to push myself to be the best teacher I can be, and have provided a standard that I can only dream of meeting!