Experience in the Classroom

Zeeland West High School


More information to be added.

Zeeland Christian School


I have had not one, or two, but three field placements at Zeeland Christian School at various times (Fall 2010, Fall 2011). One was in a first grade classroom that studied Math and Social Studies while I was there. The other two were both Spanish immersion classrooms; one at the kindergarten level and the other at the 4th grade level. I have also had my student teaching experience at this school and was in a kindergarten Spanish Immersion classroom once again.

Although all of the time I spent there was fantastic, my time in the Spanish immersion classrooms have been my favorite. It is beautiful and inspiring to see these young children grasping and falling in love with the language that is such a big part of me. 

They also provided an incredible model of what it means to be an invested, loving teacher that cares about of each of their students individually. It is a school that prides itself in its very inclusive environment, which is something I also feel very strongly about.

http://www.zcs.org/

Woodside Elementary School

One of my most recent field placements (Fall 2012) was at Woodside Elementary School in Holland, MI. I was in a kindergarten classroom with 28 students. It was a diverse field placement with many ELL students as well as a couple students with varying levels of learning disabilities and cognitive impairments. My time at this placement was very involved as I spent time teaching the studenth, both in large group and small group settings. I also administered many mathematics, literacy and phonics assessments. 

http://www.westottawa.net/woodside/

Fennville Elementary School

This field placement also took place during the Fall of 2012. It was a class of 26 students, and was quite diverse. Many of these students were from low SES families, and unfortunately the correlation of not achieving academic success at the appropriate grade level was very true for this class. Many students were one or two levels below grade level when it came to reading, and there were struggles throughout all content areas. 

That being said, this was a fantastic experience, full of many opportunities to grow and become more adaptable and flexible as a teacher. 

http://www.fennvilleschools.org/

Zeeland Cityside Middle School

In the Fall of 2011 I had a field placement at Zeeland Cityside Middle School. I was in an 8th grade Spanish 1 classroom. It was actually 2 1-hour blocks of Spanish 1 back-to-back. This was a tremendous opportunity because my mentor teacher allowed me to teach the second block most of the time. It provided me with a lot of experience, and feedback for ways to grow as a mentor and educator.

http://cityside.zps.org/