Common Area Observation
Submit
the assignment by 11:59 PM PT Sunday of Module 4.
In
the Module 4 application, you are provided a profile of a school and a special
situations analysis of the school’s cafeteria. You will develop a paper in
which you make observations about the school cafeteria based on the profile and
analysis and offer recommendations for improvement.
·
Follow the steps below
and compose your responses in a single, 5- to 7-page Word document (not
including the title and references pages).
o Use APA format for the title page, references page, and in-text
citations.
Step
1. Read the Profile of Lacy
Elementary School, Special Situations Analysis of the School Cafeteria at
the bottom of this page.
You
will make your observations from the written profile, and compose a paper
summarizing the observations and stating your recommendations/action plan for
improvement.
Step
2. From the profile, identify those things
that help keep the cafeteria calm, orderly, safe, and well managed, along with
those things that contribute to different management or behavioral problems.
Categorize
your observations in the five areas detailed below, and record your comments
about each area in a well-developed paragraph.
·
Student
Characteristics, Issues, and Factors
Who is demonstrating appropriate and
inappropriate behavior? Note where this behavior is occurring (e.g., in the
line, at the tables, during the clearing process, when exiting). Note how
students are responding to others’ inappropriate behavior, as well as how the
on-site staff is responding to different groups of students.
·
Teacher/Staff
Characteristics, Issues, and Factors
Assess what the teachers and staff in the cafeteria
are doing, what they are supposed to be doing, and how they are influencing
and/or responding to appropriate versus inappropriate student behavior.
·
Environmental
Characteristics, Issues, and Factors—Physical Plant and Logistics
What are the physical characteristics and
conditions of the cafeteria, and how are students and staff are
physically/logistically moving in and around the cafeteria (e.g., in the line,
through the serving area, when clearing their tables, upon exiting)? Note how
these physical and logistical factors are contributing to a safe and orderly
environment, or a chaotic, problematic one.
·
Incentives and
Consequences
Assess the incentives and consequences for the
students relative to their appropriate and inappropriate behavior, respectively,
in the cafeteria. Note who gives these incentives and consequences, and how
they contribute to the climate of the setting and the interactions of the
students.
·
Resources
Assess the resources in the cafeteria (e.g.,
the people, materials, space, technology) and how they are being used. Note how
these resources are making the cafeteria experience successful for the students
and staff, or how they could improve the success of the experience if they were
used more or more effectively.
Step
3. Compose a thorough summary report
detailing the strengths, the weaknesses, and your recommendations/action plan
for improving the climate, management, safety, and overall experience for
students and staff in the cafeteria.
Profile
of Lacy Elementary School
Special Situations Analysis of the Cafeteria
Lacy
Elementary School is a K-6 public school located in an urban school district.
The oldest school facility in the district, Lacy was built to accommodate an
enrollment of 500 but is serving 650 students. Most of the students who attend
this 60-year-old school qualify for the federal breakfast and lunch program.
Lacy
is a neighborhood school. However, as a result of a recent rezoning project,
200 students ride buses from surrounding neighborhoods. The school cafeteria
opens for breakfast each morning at 7:30 a.m., and school begins at 8:30 a.m.
Teachers are not required to report to school until 15 minutes prior to the
opening bell, and most do not arrive early.
Teacher
assistants or paraprofessionals are paid a stipend to supervise students before
and after school. However, only two individuals have chosen to supervise in the
breakfast program. Members of the school’s PTA volunteer in the cafeteria
during breakfast, and the principal and assistant principal supervise in the
cafeteria on alternate days.
Observation
1
Each morning, most students exit the school
buses and enter the building through an exterior cafeteria door. The remaining
students (about 50-75) enter the school through the front doors and proceed
directly to the cafeteria for breakfast. The cafeteria is furnished with
fold-up tables with attached seats. About 300 seats are available. Two
paraprofessionals and one school administrator supervise during breakfast. In
the mornings, students are generally quiet. They grab their breakfast, find a
seat, eat, chat, and finish homework. When they leave, they chatter but not
loudly. Most trash is placed in the garbage. Disruptions are rare.
Observations
2 and 3
Lacy’s lunch period begins at 11:15 each day
and ends at 12:45. There are two lunch periods (11:15 a.m.-noon. and noon-12:45
p.m.) Teachers have a duty-free lunch period, and, after escorting their
students to the cafeteria, they are free to leave. Most teachers elect to leave
the campus for lunch or to eat lunch in their classrooms. Three
paraprofessionals, three parents, and two administrators supervise the two
lunch periods.
Lunch
is much more crowded and noisier than breakfast. There are only 300 fold-up
tables with about 325 students in each lunch period, so extra chairs are
brought in. Students scramble to find seats. Pushing and shoving sometimes
occur. A nearby parent or staff member breaks up the skirmishes. Lines for
lunch are long, and it takes about 20 minutes for the students in the back of
the line to get through. Students talk loudly; some shout. A handful of
students wander from table to table. A few students do homework.
When
students need to leave to use the restroom, they must leave their school ID
with the administrator sitting by the door. No more than two students are
allowed to go to the restroom at a time. A couple of students plead with the
administrator to go to the restroom even though they forgot their IDs. The administrator
lets the first couple of students who ask go, but then says “no” after that.
Before
the bell rings, students begin lining up at the door. After the bell rings,
cafeteria supervisors open the doors to release the students. (Students in the
first lunch period go to recess. Students in the second lunch return to their
classrooms.) Most trash is picked up, but there are some tables cluttered with
trays and garbage. All students leave through one door, creating traffic
congestion. Some push to get through. Two students take off running down the
hall back to their classroom. A paraprofessional yells, “Walk!” The students
ignore the command.
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