Getting Ready for School

Getting ready for school has been the same every year: Go to the store and stock up on supplies; look at my class schedule to make sure I know where I’m going; and of course check out my new teachers and see what other students have to say about them.  The only difference this year is: I am the teacher.  Yes, I’m that first-year teacher shopping at all the teacher stores getting excited about finding borders for my bulletin boards, looking  over my rosters every day to try to memorize the students' names before I even see their faces, and searching for professional -- yet trendy -- wear at every shopping center in the Los Angeles area.

I’ve made it through a summer of teaching at Locke High School in Watts as a Teach For America corps member and arrived at my new school, Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale. This is a public school that's run independently of the school district. ECHS was founded in 2000 by Alison Diaz as an "alternative school of choice."  The school is small, with the total number of students adding up to about 500.  That means the students attending ECHS receive a very personalized, hands-on, rigorous college prep curriculum.  The teachers work collaboratively to make learning interdisciplinary and focus on social issues.  Students are required to complete a specific number of community service hours to graduate and learn how to become stewards of their community.  We take the students on class field trips to Joshua Tree and Catalina Island every year and advocate for becoming conscious of the environment we all live in.

I can’t possibly write down all of the things that make ECHS so special.  The students, the teachers, and the administration make ECHS what it is and all work hard to constantly improve.  We have a lot to improve upon.  Test scores and making our students competitive compared to the rest of the nation is a struggle, especially in math.  Graduation rates and acceptance into a four year college is another area of improvement that the school is continuously working on.  Because we are on our own from the school district, we face monetary issues and facilities issues.  As a new teacher, I feel a sense of community in facing these issues as a staff and school. 

So here I go into a new school year, one where I will be leading a classroom full of seniors and it is my duty to make sure they are ready for college.  Will they achieve? Will I achieve?  The answer to both of these questions will be the same.  I’m determined to make that answer a yes!

--Lauren McCabe

Comments

[Mark]

A very well written article here and I am excited to get more updates on your classroom situation. It sounds like this ECHS is a school thats up for trying revolutionary idea. I commend them for that. Good luck with learning all of the students names and keep the updates coming. Again, Good Luck!