Running head: SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Aurora Sauceda
School Assessment
Arizona State University
PPE 310
February 7, 2016

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Assessment Results:

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Sunset Elementary school is a great environment but is lacking in physical
activities and health education for the students. One strength this school has is that there
are sports teams that students try out for. Just a few weeks ago they had girls basketball
tryouts. Out of the girls who did not make it 10 were chosen to be on a practice team to
get them better for next years try-outs. I think having an opportunity for students to
participate in sports is a great way to get students who did not make the team still
involved and gives them a chance for exercise. One weakness I noticed is that the
students only get to go to P.E. once or twice a week depending on the schedule. I think
students need to have a chance to be in an organized physical activity at least 3 times a
week. If they had more chances to be active they will be less likely to act out in class.
Another weakness that may just be in the upper grades is that when students dont
get their work done and have work to make up they have to sit in during recess to finish
it. They only have about 15 minutes of recess a day, just before lunch. If they are inside
for even 5 minutes they only have 10 minutes to run around and use their energy. I think
there should be another way to handle students who dont have their work done. At the
end of the school day there are 20 minutes of intervention time and I think this would be
the best time for students to catch up on their work. Another strength is that when they
are given breakfast in the morning there is always a fruit option for students to have.
Either grapes, apples, or a fruit cup each morning and I have noticed most of the kids will
choose that along with the main food choice. I think its good that the students get the
opportunity to eat fruit as part of their breakfast because that may be something they
dont have at home.

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I mentioned above how students get their recess taken away if they have work to
make up. I think a solution for this would to give those students the opportunity to make
it up in the last 20 minutes of the day instead. The last 20 minutes are meant for students
to be able to work on what they need anyway so if the teachers monitor them and make
sure they are working I dont see why it couldnt work. I understand that if students are
working on the same project for days then maybe they need their recess time to catch up
but it should not be the first solution.
One way I think that would improve student participation and get them physically
active in the class I am placed in would be to have a 5 minute brain break before the last
period. After lunch the fifth grade students still have 2 more classes. The class that
happens right after lunch they seem to do fine in because they go to run around then eat.
Then comes the last class and students seem tired and uninterested in what is going on in
the classroom. I think if teachers created a 5 minute activity for them to do before starting
class they would see improvement in participation and student achievement. Some
options would be to run around the playground once, some jumping jacks, or anything
else that gets them moving.
Information:
I am currently student teaching in a fifth grade class at Sunset
Elementary, which is located in the Washington School District. In 2014
there were 534 students enrolled at the school. The racial makeup of
the students according to School Digger was. 37.6% White, 46.1%
Hispanic, and 8.4% African American. The percentage of students
receiving free or reduced lunch was 78.5% in 2014. Sunset has

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students from Pre-K to sixth grade. In 2014 the student to teacher ratio
was 17.2. Sunset is a Title 1 public school located in Glendale. For the
2013-2014 school year it was ranked a B letter grade. The surrounding
ethnic community within the 85302 zip code from 2010 was, 29.2%
Hispanic, 56.6% white, 6.5% African American.

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References
Sunset Elementary School. (n.d.) Retrieved February 7, 2016, from
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/AZ/schools/0906000945/school.aspx