MA Family

I don't really know what I expected when I drove into Newark today but I did expect to be surprised.

I was surprised about how easy it was to walk into both schools - the security guards were not right at the door. This gave me a feeling of comfort and I'm sure it does the same for the students.

I expected the school to be in even worse shape than it was - but as the morning went on, I realized that the school is old and in a state of disrepair and that it is the effort of the teachers that makes it look better. I especially realized this when we heard distracting noises from outside (dogs, trucks, planes, yelling) because the windows were open to let in the air since there is no air conditioning.

I was so impressed with the amount of work that went into the presentation at the first school and as I watched and listened, I was also impressed with the variety of programs the school offers for teachers, students and the community. Some of those programs - especially the teacher study groups - don't exist in most suburban schools. I was very taken by how serious and professional the Honor Roll students were who greeted us and guided us through the school.

However, as I sat and listened, I started to think that it would have been more interesting to see a school that was more 'in need' where they weren't meeting their AYP. I made the INCORRECT assumption that because the staff was so committed (a first year teacher said she loved being part of the 'school family'), because there are so many great programs in place, because there are so many clubs and so much technology, of course they must be meeting AYP. When someone asked the question and it turned out that I was wrong, that was the moment I was really surprised. For the faculty to be putting in so much extra time and effort and the school to still be 'in need' just shows how much I don't know and how much I don't understand.

The classroom visits were probably the most interesting - especially seeing such different teaching styles from different teachers and such different emotions across the students (some looked so bored and miserable and others were jumping to answer questions with so much energy and excitement).

All in all, it was a great experience for me and I'm really looking forward to the rest of this week.