Mylan Park Visit--Title I School

For my contract, I thought that it would be a great idea to visit a school that has something different to offer compared to North. I chose to see what it was like to be a Title I school and I chose to so at Mylan Park Elementary here in Morgantown.

Upon my entrance to the school, I was immediately approached by the principal, Mrs. Tampoya. I found this to be very welcoming. It was a nice feeling that someone was excited to have me in their school, no offence, and a completely different feel than that of entering North.

After being introduced to the school, I saw down and interviewed Luann Baker, Mylan's intermediate academic coach. She told me about all of the extra funding that goes into being a Title I school, which they mainly use for teachers and other professionals. Also, she told me all about the extra funding that is used for various resources. For example, one thing is the number of resources and books for various leveled readers and extra practice. North has these resources available to them, but at North there is one wall shelf about three feet wide full of these types of books while Mylan has half of a classroom full!

Then, I worked with Aimee Henkins, a Title I teacher. I talked with and observed her instruction for two and one-half hours. She used the "Read Naturally" system in her instruction. This is a designed system that focuses on Oral Reading Fluency. The students read a passage for one minute while the teacher marks misreadings and add-ins. Then, the students set a goal for their next reading. They practice seven times before they are timed and marked again. This system was very nice to see because the students were very excited to see if they could do better; they were anxious to improve!

Overall, this was a great experience. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to visit another school and see how things are different, especially doing so in a Title I school. I feel that I learned a great deal about the school and what it means to be a Title I school.