SETTING AND CONTEXT

The School Community:

The culture of Rocky reminds me a lot of the culture at CSU, specifically the Rams take
care of Rams motto we hold. So, at Rocky it would be Bos take care of Bos. The job
of a school at its core is to obtain or provide an education however I feel the culture that
students learn in daily is more than just that. There is the human component of
compassion still strongly interwoven in interactions between students, teachers, and
other staff members. Such strong camaraderie is not unexpected considering the school
mascot, wolves have to stick together in their packs after all.

Some of the programs, resources and activities for students include but are not limited
to: athletics, school sponsored and student sponsored clubs such as DECA, FBLA,
Knowledge Bowl, Environmental Club, Comedy Club and many more, the Career
Center, the Wellness Center, ACE, AP courses, and a Health Center.

Some of the ways parents can be involved with the school include, volunteering through
PSD partnerships and volunteering, parent teacher conferences, completing and
signing forms for their children, and parents can report a bully online. Of course, parents
can be involved more informally by having teachers make calls home or showing up as
spectators to athletic, the arts events or club events.

Appropriate student behaviors are encouraged and supported through the Lobo Way.
The Lobo Way is part of the overall setting of school culture that creates a warm,
welcoming environment for all students. Students can be recognized for following the
Lobo way with little cards that students can turn in by the end of the quarter for prizes or
more casual encouragement and support from teachers.

Overall, the learning climate seems to be rigorous, but supportive. Rocky challenges its
students every day to learn more but also gives appropriate supports for students to
achieve high standards. Teachers are caring and leave their doors open during lunch to
help students with homework if they arent hosting a club or the like.

The demographics of the school are:

1,976 total enrollment

0.46% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2.73% Asian Islander, 1.01% Black,
15.07% Hispanic, 0.46% Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, 4.35% multiracial
and 75.94% white
2.88% of students are ELL
29.2% are on Free or Reduced Lunch
12.89% are identified as GT
The mission of the school, from the student handbook found online at
https://rmh.psdschools.org/webfm/1601 is: Rocky Mountain High School inspires
guides and supports our students, faculty and staff to reach their maximum potential in
a caring, challenging and safe environment.

Students and Classroom:

The students in AP Physics 1 are a mix of sophomores, juniors and seniors. The juniors
are the dominant class and constitute the majority of the students in the class.

All students in the class show grade level proficiency in math and reading skills. Many
students have expressed interest in a STEM field when they do to college. The students
are interested in a wide range of extracurricular activities from football, cross country,
band, theatre, and many more so students are bringing varied experiences and
perspectives to the classroom.

The class culture is very friendly. I always appreciate how Chung has brought his sense
of humor into the classroom. Hell joke around with students but it doesnt cross into the
line of being too casual as he can also get the class back on track quickly and easily
when they start to get off track or disruptive. Although
student are running quickly with the content, it never
seems overwhelming. Chung seems very open and
receptive to student input and feedback.

The classroom itself is your typical science classroom.

There are right white lights and tile floors and cabinets to
one side of the classroom with sinks and storage of lab
supplies. One of my personal favorite parts about the
class is how it is set up in groups of four which
encourages students to collaborate on homework, labs,
and so forth. One quirk of the classroom is a table with
more lab supplies on it including stopwatches of which
one or two go off every period.

Although the content of the class in difficult and certainly

high level(the class does after all use the book I used and according online homework
after all. The students and teacher know the class isnt going to be easy and takes a
significant amount of effort but Chung will take care of them, and offer support
whenever and however its needed.

Although I am not sure of the exact demographics, I would expect them to be similar to
the overall demographics of Rocky.
Section 2: Modifications, Adaptations, Accommodations

Being in an AP class, its sometimes easy to forget that modifications, adaptions and
accommodations still need to be made for students. I always wonder if AP teachers
think that if a student takes AP then they are ready for the increased challenge and that
increased rigor is also suited to best serve GT students who would feel bored in a non-
AP class. Of course, it would be a fair assumption that the majority of students who
choose AP will more likely feel equipped and ready for a challenging class. Many of the
student in AP physics for example would be more likely to be in high level math courses
or have done well in past sections of sciences.

I have not included specific ways to make sure certain learning needs are met because
I have only done half a lesson. However, in the future, I would set seating charts to
create diverse groups of students, modify worksheets on the fly by writing sentence
stems or hints, modify homework assignments or tests to include fewer questions that
cover the same topics for students who take extra test time, and allowing for student
choice in projects so that multiple intelligences and learning styles can be utilized.

Other modifications can be addressed when addressing specific labels given to

students such as English as a Second Language and Gifted and Talented. Some
modification for ESL students can be to speak slower in class, provide skeleton notes,
create routines for the class that are clearly displayed and especially in science,
creating word walls that define relevant vocabulary and for physics, to explain the many
different equations and variables needed to complete calculations. For GT students,
providing extra homework and extra work is not an effective way to address their need
for additional rigor. Instead, I would offer extension activities, small inquiry based
projects that they can work on or complete if/when they complete the regular classwork
early, individual conferences about learning goals so they can be active participant in
their learning and allowing them to preview units to assess what they already know.