Setting and Context of Rocky Mountain High School

Fort Collins Community

Rocky Mountain High School is located in the city of Fort Collins. Fort Collins
is a uniquely vibrant town. Located near the Poudre Valley River, Horsetooth
Reservoir, and just a short trip to the mountains, it is a great place for community
members to enjoy and appreciate the outdoors. It has a lot of school spirit for the
Colorado State Rams, and, like most of Colorado, is also a huge supporter of Denver
Sports teams, creating a fun and lively environment.
Fort Collins contains 155,400 residents. This number grows about 2.04%
each year, which shows that the city is continually growing and population is
continually increasing. The unemployment rate is 7.8% and there are 99,775 people
employed within the city. The median age is 29.3, showing that the population is
relatively young. The median family income is $76,341 and the median household
income is $53,359, which shows that the city is highly above poverty limits
compared to the state of Colorado as a whole. 52.3% of residents have a bachelors
degree or higher, showing that the education level is high for a city with such a low
age median. It also shows that the citys residents value education. 5.6% of Fort
Collins residents are foreign born: 1.8% from Latin America, 1.6% from Asia, and
1.1% from Europe. This shows that the city is not highly diverse.
The city is more democratic than republican, however the numbers are
relatively equal. The citys residents are primarily environmentally sound and the
voting issues include fracking, recreational marijuana use taxes to pay for
education, environmental issues such as recycling, using gambling tax money to
pay for education, and charging money for plastic bags at store.
The top ten employers include Poudre School System, Colorado State
University, Advanced Energy, Agilent Technologies, AMD, Anheuser-Busch Brewery,
Avago Technologies, Center Partners, City of Fort Collins, and Columbine Health
Services. There are also many local businesses and restaurants, which gives Fort
Collins an authentic and homey feel.
Poudre School District is a choice school district. Students can choose
anywhere within the district to attend. Rocky Mountain High School is often
considered to be one of the elite schools within the district. Last year, the school
reached full capacity and some students were unable to attend due to this. This
shows that RMHS is a leading school within the district.

Rocky Mountain High School

Rocky Mountain High School is the home of 1,996 students and 101 teachers,
giving the school a good ratio of students to teachers. 52% of these students
identify as male and 48% identify as female. A total of 28% of the students are on
free and reduced lunch. A total of 20% are minorities. The college readiness index
at Rocky is 25.5%.
Rocky Mountain High School is located fairly centrally in the town on the
crossroads of Shields and Swallow. It is near two big streets, allowing it to be easily
accessible to students who may live farther away from the school.

Layout and Appearance

The appearance of Rocky is unique. Due to renovation and remodeling, the
hallways are similar to a maze, thus making it difficult to find your way around if you
are not familiar with the school. The school used to consist of separate building, so
once they decided to renovate and form one large building, the school turned into
an array of small pod-like areas. While this may sound confusing and odd, it did
provide a good way to allow for common areas and offices. This gives students and
staff many places for meetings, study space, and congregation. The schools
hallways are divided by mountain ranges. This allows students, staff, and visitors to
creatively navigate their way through the school. Along with this, it shows the pride
that students and staff have for the community they live in.
The commons area expresses the intense spirit of RMHS Lobo Pride. There is
a shop for buying Lobo gear, a small stage referred to as on the rocks wherese
students can express themselves, and open space for the cafeteria. There is a gym
and weight room, media center, student run caf, a large auditorium, and a mini
theatre, a main office, and a counseling office where Student Council offices are also
held. Each of these areas within the school provide a community willing to invite,
support, and encourage students to be the best they can be.
Culture
The culture and community of Rocky Mountain High School is very rewarding
to be a part of. The school is a very close-knit community. Video announcements,
made by students, are aired in each classroom every Tuesday and Friday during
homeroom. This allows for all students to be aware of what is going on and what
events are coming up. The videos are creative and funny, which keep students
engaged. Along with this, Friday is spirit day so the majority of staff and students
dress in their Lobo Gear. Each Friday, a random student is selected to win $5.00
cash if they are wearing school gear. The majority of the students are very
respectful toward each other and the staff, which provides a safe and comfortable
environment. With Rocky Mountain High School offering an outstanding programs
for Special Needs, learning abilities, 504 plans, and more, students of all
backgrounds feel welcome. Along with this, the Special Needs Program at Rocky
which offers an outstanding support systemserves food to staff on Thursdays as
part of a learning experience for how to become independent in todays society.
They also participate in Unified Basketball Games, which large amounts of students
and staff come to watch and cheer on the players. In a program referred to as
Voyager, staff works together to make sure lower-level performing students
receive the support they need across the curriculum in order to pass their classes
and get caught up with what will be expected of them for the following year.
Schedule
Rocky Mountain High School is on a block schedule. They have four, ninetyminute classes every day. These classes switch each tern (4 quarters per year), but
many of them are two terms long (1 semester total). On most days, Rocky starts at

7:20 a.m. and ends at 2:50 p.m. Lunch is 50 minutes long, allowing students and
staff to go off campus, enjoy a break, or complete missing assignments. On
Wednesdays, students have a late start. They are not required to be at the school
until 8:40 p.m. During this time, faculty and staff have department meetings,
Professional Learning Communities, or entire school meetings which are held in the
auditorium. This provides a time for staff to collaborate and plan for the following
terms.
Clubs, Athletics, and Academics
Rocky Mountain High School offers over 80 clubs for the students to join.
Along with this, they also offer numerous varsity and junior varsity sports for the
students to participate in. These sports include, Volleyball, Gymnastics, Baseball,
Soccer, Hockey, Swimming and Diving, and much more. The school even offers
sports clubs for sports they do not have a team or coach for. For example, womens
lacrosse is not offered at Rocky; however, students desiring to play have the
opportunity to play with Thompson Valley High School in Loveland. Transportation
and equipment is provided as well. Overall, if students are willing to get involved in
the school community, they are easily provided with multiple opportunities and
environments for this.
In addition to clubs and activities, the school offers a wide array of
academics. There are 17 advanced placement classes that cover multiple subjects,
and can be taken to receive college credit. The school works with CU Boulder, and
has CU Gold certified teachers. If students are enrolled in a CU Gold class, they are
eligible to receive credit for that specific university. The school also offers regular
classes, remedial English (Read 180), various elective English classes, and the
Voyager program. The school also offers Lobo 101 to students. This class is
required to complete, for each freshman, at Rocky. The class helps students adjust
to high school by teaching them fundamental skills such as organization, test
strategies, and time management. Students with IEPs and 504 plans are placed in
mainstream classes with support. The school also offers after school tutoring and
tutoring sessions during lunch. Also, counselors are readily available to meet
students academic and emotion needs. Lastly, each student at Rocky has a laptop,
making technology accessible to everyone.
The English department at Rocky contains 19 teachers and various student
and STEPP 450 teachers from Colorado State University. The department head is
Tom Smailes whom has been teaching for 35 years. The department strongly
encourages fluidity, collaboration, and communication across the curriculum and
the grade level. This allows students to understand what is expected of them while
also allowing teachers to understand what learning level students should be at. The
department is very close-knit and friendly with one another, which provides a
comfortable and supportive teaching environment.
Classroom Environment
I am doing my student teaching in Room 318. The room is set up
appropriately and conveniently, creating a secure learning environment. The desks
are set up in rows, and students are allowed to choose their seats as long as no

issues occur on a regular basis. This creates a comfortable feeling, which allows for
student growth and learning. The room is decorated brightly and creatively. Since
Larissa has been in charge of the musical and a part of the Theatre department for
13 years now, she has posters hanging up from every show she has directed.
Bulletin boards with school information and upcoming events are placed in the
room. The desk and computer are positioned in the left side of the room, which
provides a nice work environment and a good location to see the entire room.
Dictionaries, magazines, pens/pencils, and a computer charging box is located on
the far right side of the room for student use. Like all the classrooms at Rocky, a
smart board and white board are both provided.
On the left side of the board, the class agenda and learning targets are easily
available for students to read at the beginning of class. This allows everyone to be
aware of what is expected for the day and what their schedule will look like for the
90 minutes of class. Along with that, the learning targets allow both the teachers
and the students to be aware of where they are in the lesson goals and what they
still need to accomplish.
English 9, Pre AP English 9, Musical Theatre, and College Prep
Composition
I am primarily in charge of teaching English 9 (Voyager) and English 9 Pre
Advanced Placement. Larissa, my match up teacher, is also the lead director in the
Musical for term 3 and is the course instructor for a small class called College Prep
and Composition.
Pre AP English 9, 2nd hour, consists of 24 students. Of those 24 students, the
male to female ratio is exact, with 12 students identifying as male and the other 12
students identifying as female. Students are allowed to sit with their friends, which
creates a comfortable environment. The males tend to speak up more, while it is
more difficult to get some of the females talking. After talking with Larissa and
some of the other teachers, this is pretty typical for the age group. However, if
called on, all of the students have really interesting and mature comments to add to
the conversation. One student identifies as African American, her African culture
being a large part of her identity. The rest of the students identify as
White/Caucasian. Being a Pre AP class, the majority of the class are very good
students. They ask a lot of questions regarding assignments, showing they are
concerned about their grade and always strive for an A. Only two students are on a
504 plan, one for minor allergies and the other for a slight learning disability.
Overall, class average for 3rd term (1st term of the second semester) was a B-. Being
a Pre AP class, Larissa and I have really emphasized that this is a tough class and in
order to be prepared for Advanced Placement courses in the future, students need
to be responsible for their own learning. If students miss class or are struggling with
an assignment, it is their responsibility to come in and ask for help or guidance. We
also have a strict NO late work policy, which keeps students on track and on time
for assignments and due dates.
Voyager English 9, 3rd hour, is a class designed to get lower-level students
back on schedule for their grade level. Offered as a required English 9 credit, the
class is available for freshman and sophomores to take at Rocky Mountain High
School. In contrast to the Pre AP class, 3rd hour is a large array of students from

different backgrounds. There are 20 students in the class, 8 of whom identify as

female and 12 as male. The class average is a C-, with grades averaging anywhere
from an A+ to a D-. Typically, only 1-2 students are failing (59% or lower) on a
regular basis. Many of the students come from a lower economic status, and often
an unstable home environment. Out of the 20 students, 1 identifies as African
American, 5 identify as Hispanic, and 14 identify as White/Caucasian. The class is
very high-energy. Students have to be reminded regularly of the class rules, group
work strategies, and listening and speaking etiquette. Students are always willing
to participate in discussion and share their opinions, which provides a very
successful learning environment, as long it is strictly monitored and supervised. In
the class, there are 6 students on either IEPs or 504 plans. These plans range from
severe health issues to learning disabilities. Currently, one student is in the process
of determining if she needs to be placed in a lower-level English course and what
IEP or 504 is necessary in order for her to succeed. Altogether, the class consists of
a strong group of students who just need a push in the right direction to continue
furthering their education at Rocky.
Musical Theatre, taught 4th hour during the 2nd term, was a class that put on
the Spring Musical. There were 75 students in the class, ranging from pit, to crew,
to cast. Three teachers and three student teachers (including myself) helped teach
the class. Since theatre is out of my element, I helped Larissa as much as possible
with our other classes and mandatory staff requirements in order for her to focus
the majority of her attention on directing the musical. This reward for this was
great, as I gained a lot of experience and the musical was an amazing show!
College Prep and Composition is currently being taught during 4 th hour, 4th
term. This class, due to its difficult content and only being offered 4 th hour of the
last term, is extremely small. Only six students are in the class, one being a Junior
and the rest being Seniors. There are two male students and four female students.
With such a small class, it is very relaxing and rewarding. All of the students are
willing to participate in class discussion and focus on writing and learning. The class
is intended to teach students how to write at the college level, which prepares them
for any major as a writing course is required for most universities. Students are
given a large amount of writing time, which allows us to listen to classical music and
have small, friendly conversations with each other. Along with this, in the first few
weeks, students are encouraged to write about their own lives and experiences.
This is very rewarding because it allows us to get an insight of their lives outside of
school. I learned so much about these students in the first two weeks, it was
extremely powerful to here where they come from and how their experiences have
shaped their personalities. Not only this, but it is nice to have experience working
with 9th and 12th graders because I am able to see how much they grow into young
adults throughout the four years of high school.