Introduction
Each school and learning institution has an environment that affects both students and teachers. Every school is unique in its own way, such as having different demographics, locations, rules and principles, clubs, programs, etc. A teacher needs to analyze and consider it as institutional plans are developed for further practice. Such factors as community and school information, classroom information, and students’ characteristics significantly impact the teaching-learning process.
Discussion
Community factors of the West Harrison High School in Gulfport are essential to inform the unit and lesson planning. The school is located in Harrison County, Mississippi, with a population of 206,169 residents (Explore West Harrison High School, n.d.). It is a diverse community with a low crime rate and a beautiful nature. The school population is 50% male and 50% female. It offers some level of diversity, with 61.1% of the students being White, 30.9% African American, 3.3% Multiracial, 2.9% Hispanic, 1.1% Asian, and 0.7% of other races (Explore West Harrison High School, n.d.). There is a significant level of cultural diversity that allows for the creation of a culturally responsive learning environment. The school offers free or reduced lunches to all of its students. The climate in the school is reasonably strict and highly supportive.
The classroom information and rules directly affect each student; therefore, they are an essential topic of discussion. West Harrison High School’s classrooms have all the necessary learning equipment, such as modern computers, whiteboards, labs, and many other technologies. Each student is given a laptop with access to programs used in the educational process. The student-teacher ratio is 19:1, which is higher than the national one but still allows teachers to care about the individual needs of each student. 6.2% of first/second-year teachers bring some new ideas and fresh minds to the learning environment (Explore West Harrison High School, n.d.). Most students agree that teachers in the school genuinely care about them and adequately lead and control the classroom. Parental involvement is also vital for the school, being the key to a student’s positive experience. All mentioned classroom characteristics positively affect the active community’s growth and improve students’ attitudes toward learning.
It is also essential to analyze the characteristics of the students to determine the impact of the learning environment on them. As mentioned, it is a multicultural and diverse community with an equal gender distribution. All students speak fluent English language, there are no international students. The school has plenty of organizations for students to attend; therefore, the overall participation of students in sports or club activities is high. The school features AP, art, music, and language courses. Besides, most students in the school are performing at or above grade level, and the test scores are above the state average (Explore West Harrison High School in Gulfport, MS, n.d.). There are students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and the school staff equally supports all. There is a high promotion of leadership and teamwork in classes that allows students to develop high moral standards and be active members of society. The school provides students with disabilities with a comfortable studying environment and support, although there is always a space for improvement in this area. Students are happy to participate in the school’s many activities and be a part of the community.
Conclusion
Overall, the mentioned factors have a significant effect on the school environment. They are crucial for the teacher to join the community and reflect on the performance naturally. The teachers cannot be productive and do their job effectively without knowing the basic school and students’ characteristics. Therefore, collecting and analyzing such contextual factors provides the teachers with an understanding of their impact on the teaching-learning process.
References
Explore West Harrison High School in Gulfport, MS. (n.d.). GreatSchools.org. Web.
Explore West Harrison High School. (n.d.). Niche. Web.