Classroom Context

Brookdale Elementary School is located at 394 Brookdale Drive, Orangeburg, South Carolina 29115. The new principal is Dr. Charlene A. Stokes. Mrs. LaTonya Nelson serves as Assistant Principal, and Ms. Yvette Pelzer-Brown serves as the Guidance Counselor. Brookdale Elementary School is one of the eight elementary schools in Orangeburg 5 School District. Orangeburg, South Carolina is an urban area with an average of low incomes. Last year, Brookdale Elementary School received an At-Risk rating and has a Below Average Growth rating, which means that the school performance fails to meet the standards for progress towards the 2020 SC Performance Vision. Now Brookdale Elementary School received an Average rating and has an Excellent Growth rating, which means that the school performance substantially exceeds the standards for progress towards the 2020 SC Performance Vision. Brookdale Elementary School contains 338 students in grades PK through 5th grade. The teacher-student ratio at Brookdale is sixteen students to one teacher. According to Brookdales yearly report card in 2013, the school enrolled 50% females and 50% males. Brookdale Elementarys student economic level was slightly lower than the South Carolina average. The student ethnicity at Brookdale breaks down to 96% Black, 4% White, and 1% Hispanic. Brookdale Elementary School contains 72% of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch programs, compared to the South Carolina average of 54% of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch programs. Brookdale Elementary School is a Title 1 school, means improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged. The purpose of a Title 1 school is for the school and staff to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a highquality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. Mrs. Murrays class consists of twenty students, ten girls and ten boys. All of the students in Mrs. Murrays fourth grade class are African American/Black. Brookdale Elementary School contains twenty four teachers. Brookdale Elementary School has the honor of having 2013-2014 Orangeburg County School District 5 Teacher of the Year, Mr. Burgess, a fifth grade teacher, in their hallways. PASS is the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards. The PASS is a standardsbased test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of South Carolina. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard. This past year in fourth grade, 55% students passed the Reading PASS, 55% students passed the Math PASS, 54% students passed the Science PASS, and 64% students passed the Social Studies PASS. In 2013, 47% students at Brookdale Elementary School passed the Science PASS. The state average for Science was 74% in 2013. Forty-five fourth grade students were tested at Brookdale Elementary School. The overall scores for science at Brookdale Elementary School are as follows: 6.6% scored exemplary, 39.5% met the requirements, and 53.9% did not meet the requirements.