ViscardoFEJournal1

Today was the first day of my placement with Mrs. Toczylousky at Southern Columbia Middle School in Catawissa. Mrs. T teaches two periods of fifth grade reading (language arts) and is the RTII Coordinator. Today, I just met with Mrs. T to get to know her, the school, and a general overview of her students.

The first thing that caught my attention about the school is that the high school was connected to the middle school. This was interesting to me because my hometown had distinct, separate schools. Mrs. T said it is a smaller school, so it works. She said it can be overwhelming for the younger students to travel the hall with the high schoolers. She said teachers walk the younger students (~5th grade) around the halls.

I thought it was interesting that Mrs. T only teaches two classes. She spends the rest of her time as the RTII Coordinator. I am definitely interested in finding more information out about RTII. It is something I have learned about in many of special education classes but only a brief description.

Mrs. T said there is one other fifth grade language arts teacher. She said the two of them plan all their lessons together and synch their instruction so all the students in the fifth grade are learning the same material. I thought this was a great idea, and also helps with planning and having someone to plan with.

I am definitely excited to meet the students. Mrs. T described the school and town as small and rural. Growing up in a large, suburban town, I am interested to see how the two differ. At the end of the day, I know that kids are kids, but this will be a great experience.