Setting and Context:

Poudre Community Academy (PCA) is a small alternative high school, located on

Laporte Avenue in North West Fort Collins, serving a diverse student population from throughout
the Poudre School District (PSD). What follows is a detailed description of the city of Fort
Collins, as well as PCA, and the individual classroom with which I was involved.

Culture & Community:

City of Fort Collins:
Located in the northern end of the urban corridor of Colorados Front Range, Fort Collins
is the fourth most populous city in Colorado. The socio-economic make-up of the city is as
follows:
General Population Characteristics:

Fort Collins encompasses 55.83 square miles (2013) of area and has a total of 556 street
miles (2013).

The current estimated number of housing units in Fort Collins is 61,728 (2013).

Fort Collins has a population of 151,330 (2013).

The average annual population growth rate is 1.6 percent (2013).

Median age is 29.1 years old, based on a five-year average (American Community
Survey, 2007-2011).

Median household income is $51,446 (American Community Survey, 2007-2011).

Median family income is $74,313 (American Community Survey, 2007-2011).

Approximately 51.5% of the population has completed four or more years of college
(American Community Survey, 2007-2011).

According to CityData.com -

(Foco.gov)

Population in 2013: 152,061 (100% urban, 0% rural). Population change since 2000: +28.2%
Males: 75,993
(50.0%)
Females: 76,068
(50.0%)
Median resident age:
29.3 years
Colorado median age:
36.0 years
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Fort-Collins-Colorado.html#ixzz3ZBt2H2Bv

Estimated median household income in 2012: $51,343 (it was $44,459 in 2000)

Fort Collins:

$51,343

CO:

$56,765

Estimated per capita income in 2012: $28,828

Estimated median house or condo value in 2012: $248,800 (it was $164,000 in 2000)

Fort Collins:

$248,800

CO:

$234,900

Racial Demographics:

White alone - 120,093 (80.8%)

Hispanic - 16,819 (11.3%)

Asian alone - 4,415 (3.0%)

Two or more races - 4,118 (2.8%)

Black alone - 1,767 (1.2%)

Other race alone - 573 (0.4%)

American Indian alone - 475 (0.3%)

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone - 373 (0.3%)

For population 25 years and over in Fort Collins:

High school or higher: 95.8%

Bachelor's degree or higher: 53.0%

Graduate or professional degree: 20.6%

Unemployed: 7.8%

Mean travel time to work (commute): 17.5 minutes

For population 15 years and over in Fort Collins city:

Never married: 41.8%

Now married: 45.4%

Separated: 0.8%

Widowed: 2.7%

Divorced: 9.3%

Major Area Employers:

Colorado State University
Poudre School District
Hewlett Packard
Poudre Valley Health System
Agilent Technologies
Thompson School District
City of Fort Collins
Larimer County
McKee Medical Center
Advanced Energy
(exact numbers as of 2004 according to City-data.com)

6,948
3,732
3,000
2,814
2,800
2,000
1,400
1,394
950
800

Due to the nature of the local industry which focuses heavily on technology and
ecological/environmental businesses, as well as the presence of both Colorado State University
and Front Range Community College, the population of the city is largely well educated with
approximately 51.50% of the population holding a four-year college degree or higher - American
Community Survey, 2007-2011 (5 year average) (foco.gov). Repeatedly ranked as one of the top
cities to live in in the US, the population of Fort Collins largely takes great pride in its
community to try to maintain this label. Education is highly valued and the quality of the local
public school system is highly regarded and is a major factor in most families desire to live and
work in Fort Collins. Residents of Fort Collins regularly and actively vote in a manner that
reflects their positions on community pride, quality of living, the importance of education, and
respect for an appreciation of the areas natural ecology. For example: in 2010 residents voted
56.1% in favor of a levy increase for Poudre School district, as well as 51.09% in favor of
creating a $120 million bond for the school district to purchase new technology, increase
security, and update facilities; in 2011 residents voted 86.64% in favor of repealing an ordinance
restricting the amount of space the city library can occupy in the surrounding park grounds
allowing for the facility to be expanded and updated; and in 2013 the city voted 55.36% in favor
of placing a 5 year suspension on fracking within the city to allow for a thorough study of the
ecological impact to be conducted. (Figures sourced from Ballotpedia.org)

Honors and Awards for 2013

Timberline Award: Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence - Dec 2013

2nd Best Place for Job Seekers in Colorado: NerdWallet - Dec 2013

2013 Best Towns in America: Outside Magazine - Oct 2013

Ranked 7th on Best Places for Business and Careers: Forbes - Aug 2013

Ranked 2nd on Top 10 Metro Areas for High-Tech Startup Density: Kauffman Foundation Aug 2013

Platinum Bicycle Friendly Community: League of American Bicyclists - May 2013

Gold Level Certification: Solar Friendly Communities - Apr 2013

2012 Tree City USA: The Arbor Day Foundation - Apr 2013

Robert Havlick Award for Innovation in Local Government recognizing the Sustainability
Services Area formation: Alliance For Innovation - Mar 2013

4th Healthiest Mid-Size City in U.S.: 2012 Gallup-Healthways Survey - Feb 2013

(foco.gov)

Poudre Community Academy (PCA):

As a small alternative high school serving a total of 80 students in grades 9 10, Poudre
Community Academy (PCA) focuses on providing highly individualized education for students
who, for any number of reasons, were unable to feel at home and find success at larger traditional
high schools in the district. PCA has an open enrolment policy which allows students to enroll
each quarter, and either stay through graduation or transition back into a traditional high school
when they feel they are prepared to do so. (It should be noted that due to this fact the actual
number of students enrolled at the school fluctuates slightly, but during my time at PCA the
student population consistently remained at or near capacity of 80 students.) According to the
schools website, the goal of PCA is to: support students in the transition from frustration and
failure to personal success. PCA provides a diverse alternative education setting focused on
consistency, excellence, and student accountability. What this breaks down to is PCA offers its
students the following:

Individualized planning for post-secondary education and career goals;

Engaging and rigorous academic work to meet PSD graduation requirements;

Social-emotional guidance during the transition from adolescence to adulthood;

Smaller class sizes and enrichment opportunities;

Training in 21st Century skills, such as leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking;

High expectations for personal responsibility and positive choices;

Ownership in a culture of emotional and physical safety; and

Regular evaluation and feedback on progress.

Additionally, there are the following instructional and enrichment programs:

1. Six class periods per regular day on a closed campus, as well as online offerings.
2. Opportunities to take courses at Front Range Community College.
3. Credit available through our Work Experience program.
4. Schedule coordination between work and school.
5. Individualized planning for academic success in collaboration with teachers and
counselors.
6. Positive community experiences and enrichment on Wednesday, through Extended
Learning Opportunities.
7. Service and experiential learning.
8. Job-shadowing and internship opportunities within the Fort Collins professional
community.
9. Creating PCA community norms and peer orientation of new students to PCA.
10. Friendships, fun, and creativity encouraged in learning.
(pca.psdschools.org/home_old)
Student Demographics:
Open to all students within Poudre School District, PCA is home to a wide range of
students of diverse background and achievement levels. Due to not being an official staff
member of Poudre School district and the ever-fluctuating student enrollment, current statistics
were not available. However, statistics supplied for the 2011-2012 school year by usnews.com
are in-line with and can be considered representative of general trends in the make-up of the
student demographics at PCA. They are as follows:

Ethnicity/Race
Total Minority Enrollment (% of total)
American Indian/Alaskan Native Enrollment (% of total)
Asian Enrollment (% of total)
Black Enrollment (% of total)
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander (% of total)
Hispanic Enrollment (% of total)
White Enrollment (% of total)
Two or More Races Enrollment (% of total)

47%
0%
3%
4%
0%
31%
53%
10%

Gender
Male (% of total)
Female (% of total)

44%
56%

Economically Disadvantaged Students

These are the percentages of the school's students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, based
on data reported to the government.
Free Lunch Program (% of total)
Reduced-Price Lunch Program (% of total)
Total Economically Disadvantaged (% of total)

56%
10%
65%

From this data, one can see that many of the students at PCA fall into the category of students
who have historically been underrepresented and often overlooked in traditional high school
settings. In addition to these complications, many of the students at PCA also must deal with
unstable and often negative home lives, legal troubles, and a range of developmental,
psychological and emotional issues the specifics of which will remain unstated here to protect
the privacy of the students.
Support Structure:
Students at PCA are supported in their education in a number of ways outside of the
immediate faculty and staff. PCA works closely with business and organizations within the
community of Fort Collins to provide students with real-world learning opportunities through the
Work Experience Program, internships and job-shadowing, as well as weekly service learning
each Wednesday. These programs offer students the chance to earn school credit through their
work, explore various jobs and work environments, and allow them a chance to give back to the

community giving them a sense of accomplishment and belonging while developing skills in
problem solving, critical thinking, and teamwork. In conjunction with these opportunities, PCA
also works closely with Front Range Community College and offers students the opportunity for
concurrent enrolment. Students have the option to enroll in individual classes to augment and
enhance their learning at PCA, or even enter into one of several licensure and certificate
programs enabling them to be better prepared to secure lucrative and stable employment
following graduation.
Parents and guardians of PCA students are encouraged and welcomed to be active
participants in the school and their childrens educations by participating in the Parent Advisory
Council (PAC) as well as the School Accountability Committee (SAC) which is also open to
community members, organizations, and business members who are interested in being a part of
PCA. Additionally, PCA host regular parent-teacher conferences throughout the year to allow
parents and guardians the opportunity to personally discuss their students progress and any other
concerns they may have. During the conferences I was in attendance at, a large number of
parents attended, many accompanied by their students, providing the teachers much insight into
the individual situations of the students as well as valuable input for adjusting their educational
experience.
Although PCA welcomes the contributions of volunteers, during my time at the school
there were no volunteers present. However, prior to beginning my student teaching this
semester, I spent a number of hours volunteering at the school where I worked one-on-one with a
handful of students helping them with completing missing work. Due to the tight-knit nature of
the school community, gaining the trust of the students was a major obstacle and I feel it is
reasonable to conclude that this may be a major factor into the lack of volunteers over the course
of my experience at the school.
School and Classroom Management policies:
School-Wide
As an alternative high school, and with a genuine focus on maintaining a sense of
community, PCA has a strict code of student conduct to which all students are held accountable.

Upon enrolment, students and guardians sign a contract agreeing to abide by the established
policies concerning student expectations for academic performance and conduct. The complete
student handbook, including the student-establish Norms, can be found at the following link:
PCA Student Handbook. While the list of expectations and rules is long, it can be summarized to
an extent by stating that PCA is a professional learning environment, and students are expected
to treat it as such. Depending on the particular student in question and their unique background
and situation, as well as the severity of the infraction, violation of the expectations laid out in the
student handbook are dealt with on a very individualized basis, but can result in actions ranging
from immediate referral to the principals office, to placement in an off-campus situation, to
expulsion from the program. Students who fail to maintain academic expectations are removed
from their standard classes and placed into the 8:00 10:00 program where they work
individually to make up missing assignments and return to regular classes once their grades have
been restored to passing.
A major part of the environment at PCA is student safety. To maintain a safe and positive
learning environment for all students, in addition to following the District guidelines for safety,
PCA operates as a closed campus. This means that once students arrive at the school they are not
allowed to leave the grounds unless they are checked out by a legal guardian or themselves if
they are legal adults of 18yrs. Keeping students on the campus allows for the faculty and staff to
maintain a more controlled environment where students can be accounted for at all times.
During the school day, only the main front entrance and the rear entrance leading out to the
modular classrooms are unlocked making all entry to and exit from the building visible from the
main office. Also, the school is thoroughly monitored by closed-circuit video which feeds
directly to the Principals office and is checked continuously throughout the day. These
safeguards, combined with the small population and physical size of the school, as well as the
hands-on involvement of the faculty and staff result in PCA being an exceptionally safe campus.
At PCA, the students have established and are expected to follow a list of Norms
designed to avoid conflicts and resolve them in the even they do occur. The students at PCA are
treated like young adults and are expected to behave accordingly that is, in a productive and
civil manner. Student conflicts that cannot be resolved amicably between the students involved
are referred to the principal or to one of the student counselors. Additionally, at the close of each

regular school day, students split into two classrooms for Circle. During this time, students
have the opportunity to thank their classmates and/or the faculty for any assistance or
consideration they gave them that day, as well as formally apologize for their own actions and
conduct if necessary. This continues on the vein of student accountability and helps students to
resolve minor conflicts in the witness of the entire school before they can escalate to more
serious problems. In the time I have spent at PCA, I feel it is important to note that I have not
once been witness to a single conflict that was not settled maturely by the students themselves.
This alone is a testament to the sense of community that permeates all aspects of the school.
Being an alternative school, a large portion of the population are legally classified as
special needs students and it is this demographic that the school really specializes in serving.
However, due to the individualized attention that each student is given at PCA, it is the position
and practice that all students can be considered as receiving some level of special needs
accommodations and support. The school employs two full-time counselors (one of which is
made possible by a grant), a resource /special education teacher, as well as a para to assist
students with all their personal educational needs. Any and all reasonable and available
accommodations are made to ensure that each student has the opportunity to succeed in their
courses. In addition to a wealth of assistance for students who struggle, the school also offers a
Gifted and Talented program that offers these students enrichment opportunities beyond the
scope of the normal classroom.
Classroom Environment and Students:
On average, classrooms at PCA have a small student-to-teacher ratio roughly 14/1 with
some outlying exceptions. This small class size is an essential quality for an alternative school
setting as it is what allows for the low-stress, individualized environment the students need to be
successful. PCA classes are typically less formal than those found in traditional schools. The
first thing that a visitor to the classroom will notice is that students and teachers are on a first
name basis with one another. This seemingly simple adjustment to standard classroom procedure
has a profound effect on the classroom (and school) environment. It establishes a level of
equality between students and teacher, further strengthening the sense of community that is so
critical to the overall culture of the school. In my classroom students sit in groups at tables that
seat either three or four students with a single standard desk stationed in the rear of the room.

Students are not initially given a seating chart and are allowed to select their own seats in the
classroom further supplying the students with a sense of ownership over their education.
However, in the event that seating arrangements prove to be disruptive or hinder student
productivity, seating assignments are implemented. The room itself is quite large with very high
ceilings and large windows on the south, west, and north walls giving it an open, non-confining
feeling. The walls of the room are lined with various book shelves, a long utility table, the
computer cart for student laptops and the teachers desk which sits at the far end of the room
from the main door. From this position, the teacher is able to monitor the entire classroom
including all entry into and exit from the room. The decoration in the room is kept sparse in
part due to the presence of the book shelves and limited open wall space, but as well to limit
student distraction. There are a few tack boards where student work is displayed, but otherwise
the room is fairly simple keeping the focus on the lesson or activity at hand. At the head of the
room is the Smart Board and a similarly-sized white board used daily for instruction. A smaller
second white board is located in the rear of the room behind the teachers desk where daily
objectives and learning targets are displayed. Additionally, on two of the windows the teacher
has affixed light-weight dry erase plastic sheets to act as additional white boards for listing
objectives and learning targets that do not fit on the afore mentioned white board. The large
desks are arranged in two rows in such a way that all students are able to work comfortably and
maintain clear line of sight to the boards at the front of the room. There is ample space between
the various student tables to allow for teacher circulation throughout the room and to ensure that
the students do not feel cramped or confined.
In my classroom, following the protocol established by my host teacher, students are
responsible for keeping track of all their own work. It is never collected by the teacher, but
rather all work is turned in by the students to the appropriate class bin located on a shelf of the
book shelf near the door. Once graded and recorded, it is then placed in the appropriate class file
bin located adjacent to the teachers desk. The purpose of this is to ensure that the students
work is maintained throughout the quarter for the purpose of review for the final. These files are
available to the students at all times so that they may check or review their work. In the
instances where student work contains teacher feedback they need to be aware of, assignments
are passed back to the students but then they must be filed with the rest of the graded work. This
system was implemented due to the overwhelming tendency of the students to lose their work

and have to redo it or take a zero for the assignment, and/or not have it available for review prior
to final exams. Although I personally feel that students should be responsible for keeping track
of their own work, I recognize that in the unique situations of the students at PCA, doing so can
be a nearly impossible task and unnecessarily punishes students for things that are largely
beyond their control.
Since PCA has an established no homework policy, all work is completed during the 55
minute class period. For this reason, days are split between instructional and work days. During
formal lessons, in accordance with school-wide policy as denoted in the student contract,
students are expected to be on task that is, active participants in whatever the days activity
might be including listening, reading, discussion, or the production of student work. Although
the school stresses a focus on student accountability, it is ultimately up to the teacher to decide to
what degree they will accept students being disengaged from the lesson or not producing work.
In my own classroom, students who are not being active participants in the lesson or activity are
typically given a single warning and repeated offenders are sent to the principals office for
disciplinary action. On the whole, since the students at PCA have made the conscious decision
to transfer to the school and are fully aware of the contractual agreement they signed that
stipulates that they must be active participants in class and produce work as required, a simply
warning from the teacher redirecting their behavior is sufficient to handle most disciplinary
situations that arise in the classroom. It is important to note that while PCA takes the policies
outlined in the student contract and handbook very seriously, due to the issues that many of our
students must deal with on a near-constant basis, as teachers, we must use a great deal of
discretion regarding how we handle disciplinary problems. This may include allowing a greater
deal of leniency, allowing a student to simply observe for the day, or having them meet with a
counselor rather than sending them directly to the office. This can indeed prove to be a difficult
line to walk, and it is not unheard of for students to attempt to take advantage of this, so it is vital
that teachers are invested and involved with the students on a deep and consistent level so as to
be able to properly identify genuine issues and address them appropriately. Despite the strict
school and classroom discipline policies, the environment of the English Language Arts
classroom is typically one that students enjoy being in they are allowed and encouraged to
express themselves freely (within the bounds of what is deemed school appropriate), they are
given a great deal of freedom as to keep with the policy of personal accountability, and they are

generally encouraged and allowed to have fun with their education. Work days operate in a
similar manner, and students typically respect the no homework policy and the fact that they are
given this time to complete their work. During work days, I and my cooperating teacher spend
the period circulating and assisting students as needed, checking to ensure they are in fact on task
(redirecting when needed), and completing any housekeeping work that may need to be done.
While the expectation of working diligently is well understood, students are permitted to work at
their own pace and socialize to an allowable degree. Many students often work collaboratively,
assisting one another when they can or need to, and overall the classes are highly productive.
Although there may be a good bit of discussion happening, it is typically relevant to the task at
hand and is welcomed when strictly independent work is not stipulated.
What makes the environment of the Language Arts classroom so impressive is the
dynamic mixture of students it serves for any given class and how they are able to self-regulate
and come together as a true community of learners. Being an alternative high school, it is quiet
common to have a diverse student population in a classroom not only in terms of their
backgrounds and ability levels, but in age as well. Nearly all the classes I worked with (English
9, World Literature, US Lit and Humanities, and Short Fiction) had students of all age and grade
levels since students are often making up for missed or failed classes at their former schools. It
has been my experience that aside for a very small handful, all of the students at PCA and in my
classes recognize the opportunity the school offers them and that in order for it to work it
requires that everyone is an active participant in the learning. Students are often quick to lend
assistance to their peers as well as to teachers, and older students consistently act as role models
for younger and new students. The sense of community in the classroom as well as throughout
the school is clearly evident to any observer.