Service Learning

I chose to do my Service Learning experience at a wonderful school in my community. The school where I will be serving is Vineyard Elementary School in Vineyard, Utah. I have come to know many of the students and teachers at the school through various substitute teaching assignments I have had in the past three months.

Vineyard Elementary has a relatively diverse population for Utah County. It consists of 69% White students, 21% Hispanic, and 10% of other minority students. Test scores at the school fall below the state averages in English, Math and Science. My son goes to a different elementary school near Vineyard Elementary with similar demographics and worse test scores. I believe that the influx of limited English speakers is an major contributing factor to these test scores and does not accurately reflect the success that is occurring at Vineyard Elementary.

Because my teaching experience and education is in foreign language learning, I am especially excited to be involved in a service learning experience in a school that has a more diverse population and particular language learning needs. I have been away from teaching for more than 20 years and I believe that the things that I will learn in this course will help me develop improved methods in teaching. I hope that this experience will help me discover how I can use my knowledge and experience in helping meet the needs of students at Vineyard Elementary and in other schools where I may work in the future.