Diversity of Learning Community at South High School, Minneapolis
Demographic Information at South High School
American Indian – 07%
Asian American (several Hmong) – 07%
African American (many Somali, Oromo, and West African) – 24%
Hispanic American – 06%
White American – 56%
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Total Enrollment – 1980 students
Receive ELL Services – 07%
Qualify for free or reduced lunch – 35%
Receive Special Education Services – 10%
Students in AP courses and CIS courses, unsurprisingly, tend to have strong parental and financial support, so they tend to be students from a higher socio-economic background. Little, if any, information is provided regarding statistics related to gender, age, and social-economic status that may affect student performance at South High School.
South High School recognizes cultural diversity by offering courses in world language studies in French, Spanish, German, Latin, Chinese, Ojibwe, as well as offering courses in African American literature and Asian American literature. Other gestures that recognize diversity include: ethnic student organizations; language clubs; the All Nations curriculum in Native American-related studies; and political student groups.
The needs of special education students are met through a variety of methods and resources. According to the curriculum guide, “the Learning Center Program incorporates the following citywide programs: Autism Program, Life Skills Program, and Physically Handicapped and Other Health Impaired (POHI) Program. The Resource program provides special education services to students with IEPs who are not in any citywide program" (11). For direct, comprehensive information about these programs, consult the South High School curriculum guide.
Different learning styles are incorporated into classroom activities by varying instruction, restating ideas, and modeling learning for students. In Rathbun’s classes, students engage in small group activities, individual close readings, group discussion, and all students are held accountable to do their own work.
Generally, the core implication of these findings is the fact that South High School provides a variety of resources that might be used to address cultural diversity, as well as individual student diversity. Hopefully, I can establish open dialogues with people within the school that can assist me in determining the curriculum of the classes I will teach.