When we did our exploration of the community-the thing that struck my interest the most was the involvement and support of Novi School district. I knew prior to doing the actual tour that the community is highly involved in their school district and I knew that the school had money and resources. However, prior to the school year beginning numerous teachers in my school were given pink slips, teachers who had been there for almost ten years. So initially I envisioned that the schools were lacking money and resources, in comparison to how it had been in the past. Because so many schools and districts surrounding the area are struggling- I was curious to see if it seemed like Novi was or not. After visiting the library and high school, it was evident to me that there was an abundance of amazing resources and it did not seem like the district or community was struggling. I was surprised to read an article that was posted in the library, that school funding was lowered a significant amount. I was not surprised that the funding was being lowered, but I was surprised because from what I was viewing and had experienced in my school and classroom- it did not seem like this was the case at all. To me, it seemed like the students have endless opportunities as diverse learners in numerous ways.
The community visit, specifically to the public library helped me to be able to see and understand better the resources available to the Novi Community. From the parents I spoke to at open house combined with conversations about the community with my collaborating teachers and principle- I was under the impression that the parents and community were extremely supportive of the school system and the success of their children in the education system. To get a grasp on the different types of literacy represented throughout the community- I wanted to look at the library. Not only did I find the various books of all kind- there is so much technology at the library. And this technology is used in a way for the visitors of the library to be able to achieve new literacy through so many available resources. Aside from technology, the library also has different sections that cater to different types of people. It offers special rooms that have a certain type of layout that goes along with the type of books, for example there was a special graphic novel and science fiction section that incorporates an interactive video game- in an educational format, style and setting. The ways that the technology is incorporated with reading, writing and studying throughout the library was very interesting to see.
I know exactly what you mean with all the pink slips floating around! After working in low-income districts – Lansing specifically in undergrad, I think we all expect to see the very worst because, at this point, it’s what we’re used to as interns! Even though the district seems to have plenty of resources to work with, it makes me wonder about the students and their families in this rough economy. The reason I bring this up is my younger brother and sister (11 & 13) attend West Bloomfield schools and to my surprise, there are some children that receive free/reduced lunch in their school! I recently spoke to the principal at Abbott Middle School in West Bloomfield (an old teacher of mine) who explained the development of a new low-income population in the area. With the state of the economy, many people in these wealthy cities have lost their jobs and many their homes! The principal continued to explain that she actually knew a few families who lived in large houses the year before who were now homeless! I never would have guessed this would be an issue in this school district, and this new information made me think about the students from these families – could you imagine the stress associated with losing everything for a young child? How do we help these kids focus on learning when they’re trying to work through a trauma like this outside of school? I’m not sure if these same things are happening in the Novi community, but I have to believe that if it’s happening in districts like West Bloomfield it’s got to be happening elsewhere!
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