There is an old saying that talks about the effects of when “two worlds collide”. It happened this educational year for me. I stepped into Ramsey Middle School this year with a fresh outlook and excitement to take on sixth graders. My first year here I started mid-year, and it was a struggle to survive. This year was going to be different, and my biggest difference was that for the first time in three and a half years, I was going to be teaching students of color. I came from a small district where the diversity was extremely limited and the culture at school reflected the culture in which they lived. This was not the case here at Ramsey.
I came to understand that one of the biggest struggles for my students is that many are bused here over an hour each way, each day. By the time they walk into the school, they have been awake and moving more than their peers and most of their teachers. One student said, “More drama happens on the bus then it does in school.” Because of behavior infractions, a lot of them have lost their afterschool bus privileges and cannot participate in after school activities because of habitual behavior issues, or they are repeating the same grade and they cannot because of JCPS rules. So, my biggest problem was, “How do I make students [ei: black males] buy into this school and build community for them to feel welcomed here and want to perform at Ramsey?” This community needed to buy in because they are the group that is shown each year that are struggling with the test at the end of the school year. They are usually one of the larger populations that have behavioral issues, and they are the group that I felt are the most over looked. To get permission to do this project I had to build this community of test takers. My principal wanted to see if try new ways to address this population if we could make them successful students. This group were going to be either my shining stars or my largest struggle. By the time I finished this project, I have learned they are both.
My project was to start small this year (just working with the black male population in my classes) and building it each year to more and more teachers and classes. At the beginning of this process, I asked all of my classes to fill out a survey that asked questions about why they came to Ramsey, did they feel welcomed, and did they feel like there was a community base here to support them during their school days. I had a small group of boys who really needed the extra support to make this year a success. They all had different backgrounds: unsupportive parents, split homes, repeaters of the 6th grade, and many more.
At the beginning of this project, I had the lofty goal of changing Ramsey Middle School. I knew that our largest GAP group in testing was the black male population and that we try all types of programs to improve their scores. My mindset was, ‘Why don’t we just try and build a relationship with them?’ You have those “Hollywood” moments where you believe that you will produce the next “Freedom Writers,” but, in reality, we know the test is looming in the background. However, when you look at Hollywood you can find a common thread that these teachers have with their students, they all have a relationship that motivates the students to perform at their highest level, even when that level is Apprentice. It is psychically impossible for me to build a relationship with approximately 400 black boys in the span of a school year; however, I can totally build a relationship with 15 boys who need it most in my classroom. That is how I came up with the idea of using my relationship with students to improve our test scores this year.
I used a survey to find the answers that I needed to help me direct which way this project should go and what I needed do to keep it being successful. My students have all been surveyed 3 times this school year. Every student takes it and I pull the ones that I need to help me fill out my information. The first question that I ask on every survey is, “Do you feel welcomed at Ramsey?” I want the students to know from the beginning that we are looking at community and that it starts when they walk through the door. Most of the boys answered yes to this question, with one or two saying no, because they had to sit in the gym in the morning waiting for general dismissal to go their classes. One student said, “Yes, because when I need help on something, I feel like there is a teacher there to help me.” Another student said, “Yes, because we have teachers (Mrs. Burch) who allow us to express our opinions.”
Another set of questions I asked were opinion towards the end of the school year, for example; “Did you get the support (from teachers) to make this year a success?” Most said yes, with a few claiming that the teachers were hard on them and that they were always in trouble. One student said, “Every teacher has started encouraging me to do my best.” While another said, “Yes, the teachers are encouraging and don’t give up on the students.”
My final question on the last survey was “Would you recommend Ramsey to a 5th grader?” One student brought up the idea of community in his response: “It depends on the student, because there are certain things we do here at Ramsey that might be different at other schools. But, if the student likes to get pushed to do their best, then yes I would recommend Ramsey.”
After picking my project, I decided to talk to the social studies teacher on our team. Mr. Mac has an afternoon club where he takes certain boys out into the community to try things that are new to them or that are interesting to them. He has been my soundboard for most of this project. It has been a fear of mine that since I am a white female, I would have no idea how to start a relationship with a black male. He helped build up my confidence so that I would not be afraid to talk to these students and learn about where they are coming from. He has been one of my biggest supporters during this project and has even tried some of my techniques with these same students to make sure they feel welcomed and become successful across all classes.
The group of boys that I focused on were all in the same class. They were actually a group of friends that instantly clicked the first week of school. MC was a repeat student that struggled with finding a spot at Ramsey because he thought his “in” would be sports, however the rules state that he couldn’t play because JCPS makes you sit out for a year. JJ has a really supportive family, but was dealing with parents splitting up. He was a great athlete and a hard-working student. CD was a tough kid that had a really long bus ride. He was one that tried some days to be the “bad” kid. These 3 boys are the main focus of my project. There were a few boys that I added along the way, but these 3 were the ones that I saw needed me the most.
So what is next? I obviously am going to continue building relationships with these boys as they grow in middle school, and try to keep doing this every year in my classroom. I also want this to grow within the boys too. I want to bring the community into my school building and these boys to be the faces that the neighborhood sees. I wanted to set up luncheons and after school activities that are not sports or that, they feel like the students felt the need to be recognized for doing. I want them to have a self-worth with the work they are putting into the community.
Overall, I feel that this year was a successful year for my students, I have had growth in my test scores and I have had growth in my classroom. I have been connecting with a population that is in most ways, my complete opposite. However, I have enjoyed the effort that I have put into my classes this year on a level that I haven’t felt since my first year teaching.
I came to understand that one of the biggest struggles for my students is that many are bused here over an hour each way, each day. By the time they walk into the school, they have been awake and moving more than their peers and most of their teachers. One student said, “More drama happens on the bus then it does in school.” Because of behavior infractions, a lot of them have lost their afterschool bus privileges and cannot participate in after school activities because of habitual behavior issues, or they are repeating the same grade and they cannot because of JCPS rules. So, my biggest problem was, “How do I make students [ei: black males] buy into this school and build community for them to feel welcomed here and want to perform at Ramsey?” This community needed to buy in because they are the group that is shown each year that are struggling with the test at the end of the school year. They are usually one of the larger populations that have behavioral issues, and they are the group that I felt are the most over looked. To get permission to do this project I had to build this community of test takers. My principal wanted to see if try new ways to address this population if we could make them successful students. This group were going to be either my shining stars or my largest struggle. By the time I finished this project, I have learned they are both.
My project was to start small this year (just working with the black male population in my classes) and building it each year to more and more teachers and classes. At the beginning of this process, I asked all of my classes to fill out a survey that asked questions about why they came to Ramsey, did they feel welcomed, and did they feel like there was a community base here to support them during their school days. I had a small group of boys who really needed the extra support to make this year a success. They all had different backgrounds: unsupportive parents, split homes, repeaters of the 6th grade, and many more.
At the beginning of this project, I had the lofty goal of changing Ramsey Middle School. I knew that our largest GAP group in testing was the black male population and that we try all types of programs to improve their scores. My mindset was, ‘Why don’t we just try and build a relationship with them?’ You have those “Hollywood” moments where you believe that you will produce the next “Freedom Writers,” but, in reality, we know the test is looming in the background. However, when you look at Hollywood you can find a common thread that these teachers have with their students, they all have a relationship that motivates the students to perform at their highest level, even when that level is Apprentice. It is psychically impossible for me to build a relationship with approximately 400 black boys in the span of a school year; however, I can totally build a relationship with 15 boys who need it most in my classroom. That is how I came up with the idea of using my relationship with students to improve our test scores this year.
I used a survey to find the answers that I needed to help me direct which way this project should go and what I needed do to keep it being successful. My students have all been surveyed 3 times this school year. Every student takes it and I pull the ones that I need to help me fill out my information. The first question that I ask on every survey is, “Do you feel welcomed at Ramsey?” I want the students to know from the beginning that we are looking at community and that it starts when they walk through the door. Most of the boys answered yes to this question, with one or two saying no, because they had to sit in the gym in the morning waiting for general dismissal to go their classes. One student said, “Yes, because when I need help on something, I feel like there is a teacher there to help me.” Another student said, “Yes, because we have teachers (Mrs. Burch) who allow us to express our opinions.”
Another set of questions I asked were opinion towards the end of the school year, for example; “Did you get the support (from teachers) to make this year a success?” Most said yes, with a few claiming that the teachers were hard on them and that they were always in trouble. One student said, “Every teacher has started encouraging me to do my best.” While another said, “Yes, the teachers are encouraging and don’t give up on the students.”
My final question on the last survey was “Would you recommend Ramsey to a 5th grader?” One student brought up the idea of community in his response: “It depends on the student, because there are certain things we do here at Ramsey that might be different at other schools. But, if the student likes to get pushed to do their best, then yes I would recommend Ramsey.”
After picking my project, I decided to talk to the social studies teacher on our team. Mr. Mac has an afternoon club where he takes certain boys out into the community to try things that are new to them or that are interesting to them. He has been my soundboard for most of this project. It has been a fear of mine that since I am a white female, I would have no idea how to start a relationship with a black male. He helped build up my confidence so that I would not be afraid to talk to these students and learn about where they are coming from. He has been one of my biggest supporters during this project and has even tried some of my techniques with these same students to make sure they feel welcomed and become successful across all classes.
The group of boys that I focused on were all in the same class. They were actually a group of friends that instantly clicked the first week of school. MC was a repeat student that struggled with finding a spot at Ramsey because he thought his “in” would be sports, however the rules state that he couldn’t play because JCPS makes you sit out for a year. JJ has a really supportive family, but was dealing with parents splitting up. He was a great athlete and a hard-working student. CD was a tough kid that had a really long bus ride. He was one that tried some days to be the “bad” kid. These 3 boys are the main focus of my project. There were a few boys that I added along the way, but these 3 were the ones that I saw needed me the most.
So what is next? I obviously am going to continue building relationships with these boys as they grow in middle school, and try to keep doing this every year in my classroom. I also want this to grow within the boys too. I want to bring the community into my school building and these boys to be the faces that the neighborhood sees. I wanted to set up luncheons and after school activities that are not sports or that, they feel like the students felt the need to be recognized for doing. I want them to have a self-worth with the work they are putting into the community.
Overall, I feel that this year was a successful year for my students, I have had growth in my test scores and I have had growth in my classroom. I have been connecting with a population that is in most ways, my complete opposite. However, I have enjoyed the effort that I have put into my classes this year on a level that I haven’t felt since my first year teaching.
Kimberly Burch teaches 6th grade ELA at Ramsey Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky.