Setting and Context

Blevins Middle School is a school of choice, sixth through eighth grade, public school in
Poudre School District. This school, located on the west side of Fort Collins, serves its
surrounding neighborhood as well as several students who have choiced into the school from
around town. A common saying at Blevins is Its all good in the neighborhood. Blevins works
hard to ensure that their school has an inclusive culture where students, staff and community
members feel welcome and part of the neighborhood.
This neighborhood extends beyond the students and staff. Blevins is proud to be the
school closest, in proximity, to Colorado State University. They take advantage of their
geographic relationship to the university. Blevins hosts CSU students at all levels of CSUs CEP
program. There are CSU students engaging with staff and students throughout the day in
several ways. They can be found observing in classrooms, doing after school homework help,
tutoring AVID or as a part of the staff as student teachers. In addition to including CSU in their
neighborhood, Blevins invites several people from the community to engage with their students.
The health class host the Fort Collins fire department on several occasions to teach fire and
bike safety. Stu Kabe was invited to do a school-wide, anti-bullying assembly which was a great
success in fostering a sense of self-discipline and inclusion among students. In, addition,
several retired Blevins teachers and specific substitutes are always well-received at Blevins.
Another key role in outside support is the parents of Blevins students. Parent participation is
encouraged within Blevins environment. Parents are encouraged to volunteer for: field trips,
school dances, outreach projects and tutoring among many other things. Parents took
leadership in organizing the community fair which brought out Blevins students families for a
night of community fun. There are also family game nights at Blevins where families come with
their students to play board games which fosters a sense of community within the school. The
addition of these families, CSU students and community members are a pivotal piece of Blevins
inclusive school culture.

The neighborhood that Blevins serves is especially diverse in relation to the low level of
diversity within Fort Collins. Fifty percent of the student population receives either free or
reduced lunch. Twenty-nine percent of the students identify as an ethnicity other than White.
There is an equal distribution of genders among the 593 students within the school. In
comparison with other schools within Poudre School District, Blevins is the home to a diverse
population.
Blevins Middle School follows the MTSS Plan set forth by the district as a guideline for
their student management system. There is a system of documentation needed before students
are evaluated for programs and management plans. Modifications are given on a case by case
scenario. Discipline-based modifications are set simply at first and are given additional
conditions as needed. Common discipline related modifications are: alternative passing periods
and daily check-out sheets. More advanced discipline modifications commonly implemented
are: restricted computer access and line of vision regulations. Overseeing the computer use,
hallway access and teacher observations of students are systems in place which work in
collaboration with other measures to ensure student and school safety. One common go-to for
student discipline is in-school suspension. Students are often sent to ISS for minor infractions
and are given work to do by teachers. Often the same group of students spend more time in
ISS than in the classroom and told to do work without having been given instruction time before
hand. While ISS can effectively work to keep schools safe from unruly behaviors, using it as a
quick fix to control student behavior only perpetuates the disruptive behavior by creating an
academic gap in instruction and positive student-teacher interactions. Conflict resolution seems
to be centered around putting a stop to negative behavior as it happens and on an individual
basis. Students disciplinary issues are dealt with administration as opposed to with the
classroom teachers where the behavior is happening.

All classrooms in the building follow the 6 Ps as a way to dictate expectations. Students
are expected to be: prompt, prepared, polite, have a positive mental attitude and participate.
When students are not following one or more of these expectations they are given a verbal
redirect. After three verbal redirects within one class period the student is given a yellow sheet
to fill out. The yellow sheet guides the student through a series of reflective questions which
ask the student to take responsibility for their action and brainstorm a solution to remedy the
behavior. For more concerning behavior or after having been given a yellow sheet, a student is
given a blue sheet, which is a referral and requires administrative intervention. The school-wide
use of the 6 Ps and redirective language facilitates the development of problem-solving skills
and personal responsibility.
Blevins provides individualized differentiation for students on IEPs, 504s and behavior
plans on a case-by-case scenario. Integrated Services has several special education teachers
allowing for each teacher to have only a few students on their case. Specialized attention is
given to modify work for each individual student on an IEP or 504 versus a blanket modification
for all IEPs or 504s. There is an eighth grade social studies PLC with two integrated services
staff members where the team discusses modifications for the upcoming content. Effective
collaboration paired with purposeful observation and early intervention make for an impactful
integrated services department within Blevins Middle School.
Our classroom pulls from the school management system and culture when building a
unique classroom culture. Gabbys classroom from an aesthetic point of view appears to be
overflowing with papers, posters, maps and desks among other things. The classroom can be
overwhelming to students who respond well to an organized work space. The front wall, where
the SmartBoard is located, is surrounded by whiteboards with plan of the day notes, and
Gabbys personality wall. The south wall has the learning targets written for all classes along
with various supplies. The east wall is a floor to ceiling world map and a very full bookcase with

textbooks and history books. The north wall is divided into three sections for the three classes
she teaches that have supplemental information for each course. The U.S. History section, for
instance, has state capitals, presidents, a Civil War map and famous documents. The room is
full of thirty-one desks, two standing desks, three teacher desks and two carts. The full
classroom makes movement near impossible and creates a chaotic energy in the classroom.
For students who thrive in an unorganized environment or who tend to stare off do well in this
environment because there is plenty of educational material in the room to increase the access
to information.
The classroom culture varies greatly from class to class. Being the lead teacher in the
4S and 5S classes, it is logical to focus on these two classroom cultures as I was able to
assimilate and shift the cultures in these two sections the most.
The 4S class is a very small class, consisting of only nineteen students in a room full of
over thirty desks. This makes the class seem even smaller. The unique thing about this class is
that it had the highest rate of high achieving students but had the lowest maturity rate out of the
five sections. This class was able to have more time for off topic conversations and elaborated
discussion because of its small size and high number of highly achieving students. This class
seemed very comfortable with one another and brought a sense of humor to most everything
being taught. The challenge with this class was absences. There were a couple of students
who spent a lot of time out of the classroom because of administrative handlings with
misbehavior. Their missed class time made their level of involvement in the classroom a
challenge. Overall, this class was a joy to teach in thanks to their level of engagement and
sense of enjoyment for the material being covered.

Our 5S classroom culture is very different from the 4S culture. Our 5S is the last class of the
day and is directly after lunch, making for a chaotic class that is full of energy. Additionally, this
is a full class. Calming the energy in the room has been the biggest challenge. Several
students on any given day have uncharged laptops as a result of using the computer for the
entire day. Juggling these complications while running class and teaching the material makes
this class feel more stressful than the other classes. The kids in this class come from a variety
of different cliques. Many of the kids in the class are close friends. Because of this, dialogue
in the class is easy as the kids have a high sense of familiarity. The commentary from the
students ranges from engaging questions to off topic chatter depending on any given moment.
All of this dissonance creates a high energy classroom culture.

Overall, the culture of Ms. Wymores history classes is focused, light hearted and collaborative.
The content is the main focus in the class and students are expected to engage with the
material from the start to the end of every class. With that being said, discussion is always
encouraged and the development of friendly interactions are fostered through guided free
discussions. Relationships are established through friendly and respectful discourse. The
aesthetic environment is disorienting and chock full of educational material.