Riviera Elementary School Riviera Elementary School VE ClassroomVE Classroom

Nicole Pepinncpepin@knights.ucf.eduNovember 23, 2014EEX 4070

Riviera Elementary SchoolRiviera Elementary School351 Riviera Dr NE351 Riviera Dr NE

Palm Bay, Fl 32905Palm Bay, Fl 32905 Riviera Elementary School is a public elementary school in Palm Bay, FL. 758 students attend this school and identify mostly as Multiracial; Asian/Pacific

Islander; African American; and White, non-Hispanic. 13% of the students are “limited in English proficiency”. 81% of the 758 students

get free or reduced lunch prices. Making this a Title One school.

Mission Statement: We are a gathering of diverse people and backgrounds brought together to provide guidance in a collaborative method, to the school community, to foster an environment that will allow our students to develop to their fullest.

There has been a change in the ESE (not gifted) population, an increase from 14% to 20% to 22% due to the addition of two VE classes, a Blended VPK/EELP and a high needs EELP class.

What is VE?What is VE? VE stands for Varying Exceptionalities. The VE classroom meets the needs of students with different

exceptionalities with a smaller teacher-student ratio. There are three VE classrooms at Riviera and I was able to complete

my 15 hours of engagement in Mrs. Whites 3rd grade VE class. Mrs. White has a full time assistant teacher, Miss Dennis. There are

13 students in her classroom that range between the ages of 8-10 There is a wide variety of ethic backgrounds in her classroom. They

include African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern.

VE continued……VE continued……• Students are labeled as Slow Learning Disability (SLD) or

Developmentally Delayed (DD). Although they’re labeled as SLD and DD, the teachers have an idea of what type of disability each child has. Some of the disabilities in the classroom include Other Health Impaired (OHI), Emotionally Behavior Disorders (EBD), Language Impaired (LI), Autism, and Cerebral Palsy.

• Each student in Mrs. White’s class are considered persons with disabilities based on I.D.E.A. because each student needs additional or different services to participate in school.

Engagement Activities Engagement Activities

• I chose to volunteer in a VE classroom to better understand the services provided and how this program works in our public school system.

I volunteered in Mrs. White’s VE classroom on Wednesday’s from 10:00am-12:00pm for 8 weeks.

I was able to work hands on in the classroom helping students with science activities and guided reading groups.

Service in Action Service in Action I was able to help Mrs. White and Miss Dennis in some

creative hands-on science instruction and activities. I also helped with guided reading groups.

Students were learning about the solar system, stars, and planets.

I also worked with students one on one to help promote engagement and participation.

Perceptions of DifferencesPerceptions of Differences• I have never worked one on one with children with learning

disabilities. To be honest, I think I was more scared of the unknown then anything else.

• I feel as a future educator it’s very important to educate yourself and volunteer as much as possible with children with disabilities to understand that these children are ALL awesome and need loving and caring teachers to help them learn.

• Every Wednesday after leaving Mrs. White’s class I felt a sense of fullness. It was a very rewarding volunteer opportunity.

• The experience that had the most impact on me was with one student in particular. He is language impaired and the minute he experienced an “ah-ha” moment in reading was priceless. He was able to read a sentence to me with comprehension and fluency. He said, “I understand it and read it fast.”

Connections to Your CourseConnections to Your Course• I completed this project for EEX4070. • The three topics I understand better now through service

learning are instructional adaptations, Self Contained Varying Exceptionalities, and emotional behavior disorders.

• Instructional adaptations means more then just the teacher having a positive attitude to meet the needs of each child. It’s adapting materials and classroom environment to help accommodate the needs of each child to be successful.

Alternative Keyboard

ConnectionsConnectionsFrom this experience I was also able to understand what it means to teach in a self contained varying exceptionalities classroom. This class is designed for students in schools who would not be successful in the general education classrooms due to academic ability, health issues and/or behavioral problems. These classes are smaller and have more teachers to assist. There are always at least 2 adults in the room. The students are taught at their ability level, regardless of age or grade. They’re also taught in small groups and 1:1 when necessary. In addition to the regular education curriculum, many supplemental materials are used to teach these students. The students remain in the room all day. They are mainstreamed for Special Areas, such as OT, PT, speech, and ESOL services. Sometimes with a paraprofessional to help them be more successful.

Civic EngagementCivic Engagement My perspective on civic engagement has always been positive and

it should be something every citizen does. It helps promote relationships with the community and helps develop connections.

The purpose of civic engagement is increasing civic participation by encouraging participation in civil society. By volunteering and participating in TIA project, I am more knowledgeable and aware about how children with disabilities learn in a VE classroom.

I think this service learning project promotes student learning through active participation in a meaningful way. I would recommend anyone getting a job in the education field to participate in the TIA project in order to enhance their general knowledge, course content, and self awareness in the community.

What you learn through actively participating in service learning you can’t learn from reading a simple textbook. Hands-on experience is the best way to improve one’s life.

Final Thoughts & ReflectionsFinal Thoughts & Reflections• I’ve been volunteering for a long time, but

never to help benefit children with disabilities. This experience has made me want to help children with disabilities and get my friends and family to help as well.

• I really enjoyed working with Mrs. White’s class and I promised the students I would come back once a month to help with science experiments; not because I have to for a class, but because I WANT to.