Learning Lane Elementary School Demographics

General Info about the School:

Learning Lane Elementary School is an urban public community-centered school located in
Learn More School district in Instruction County. The school is classified as being a Title I
school. There are 390 students enrolled at the school, with 23 teachers and an average class size
of 17.5 for grades K-3. Before being classified as a Title I school, Learning Lane had very little
resources and technology. Now, every classroom has a smart board, projector, access to iPads,
and desktop computers. Now the school has a printer/copy machine that all of the teachers can
use. The school also got some funding for more books, so now students have access to a variety
of new books. Literacy and technology have now become very important at the school.
Financial Demographics:
Of the 390 students enrolled at Learning Lane during the last school year, 358 were classified as
economically disadvantaged (approximately 90%). The school offers free breakfast and lunch for
all students, as well as access to Kids Food Basket sack suppers for students in need. The
number of students who take advantage of free/reduced lunch is 93.5%. When asked about the
socioeconomic status of families at the school, both teachers that were interviewed said most
students come from families of lower class, and one of the biggest challenges that families face
is poverty. They said their students are of need, but they do the best they can to make sure that
students get what they need when they come to school. The student interviewed said that he does
not have a lot of food at home or toys to play with. If the school did not provide breakfast, lunch,
and the option of sack suppers for dinner, many students would go hungry because they dont
have enough food at home. Also, during the Winter months, a lot of neighboring schools hold a
clothing drive to collect warm clothes, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots for the students at
Learning Lane. Without the help of the other schools, many of the students would also be cold in
the Winter.
Racial Demographics:
The student population at the school is predominantly Hispanic, with a population of 182
students. Many of these students come from Spanish-speaking families, and many are bilingual,
speaking both Spanish and English. There are also many students who are classified as being
ELL (approx. 152). The second largest racial group is White with a population of 93 students,
followed by African American with 62 students. The remainder of the student population
identifies as being two or more mixed races, Asian, or American Indian or Alaskan Native. The
student that I interviewed comes from a Spanish-speaking family himself, and told me that his
parents speak only Spanish at home. According to teachers at the school, one of the biggest
challenges that teachers and families face alike is a language barrier. Since it is hard for Spanishspeaking families and teacher to communicate, families might not understand the teacher at
parent teacher conferences who is trying to tell them that their child is struggling in school so
they wont know how to help their child with schoolwork at home. Reading comprehension and
vocabulary skills are also important for students, and some parents might not know enough
English to read books to their child and help practice these skills in English.

School Programs Offered:

Learning Lane is very much the center of the community, offering support programs and
resources for school families. A unique feature of the school is that it has a community room for
families to meet and seek support. As well as having a food program for students, the school also
offers additional financial support for families such as assistance with medical and dental bills,
and assistance with paying home expenses like rent and electric bills. The school offers classes
for parents who are interested in learning English, and also parenting classes.
The teachers interviewed also said that there is a strong sense of community at the school, and
when a family experiences disaster from a fire or there is another emergency, the school
community rallies together to make sure the family has what it needs.
The school is a central support for many families, and the staff at the school provide families the
support they need to have children who are safe, healthy, fed, and educated. Without the supports
that the school offers, many families would struggle even more to make ends meet and might not
have the resources they need to provide for their students.
School Performance Level:
Students at Learning Lane take the MEAP, M-Step, and M.A.P. assessments. In comparison to
average state performance, Learning Lane does not perform as well. For example, the state
average score for student proficiency in language arts/reading and math for 3rd grade content are
50% and 48.8% respectively, in comparison to Learning Lanes scores of 27.6% of students
proficient in math and 28.9% of students proficient in language arts/reading. According to
teachers at the school, they work really hard to help students perform well on standardized tests.
They say they try really hard to help their struggling students, but they feel like more has to be
done to help them. The school has recently done a lot of restructuring for their RTI program, so
they are going to keep pushing to help their students perform better this year. One assessment
that they find is particularly challenging is the M.A.P testing, which is a computerized
assessment. They feel that this assessment is not an accurate measure of student performance
because it is especially challenging for younger students who do not have a lot of experience
with computers and who have never taken an assessment before. They have also witnessed a lot
of technical difficulties with computerized assessments, which affects student scores. Despite the
lower test scores in recent years, the teachers said that they still hold really high expectations for
their students.
There is such high stakes in standardized testing, so it is so important that the students perform
well and show all that they have learned.
Parent Involvement:
When asked about level of parent involvement, the teachers interviewed feel that parents get
involved as much as they can. A lot of parents work, so it is hard for them to give their students
the extra help they need at home. Some parents do not speak English or do not have a lot of
education past high school or dropped out of high school, so it is really hard for those parents to
help students with their homework. A lot of parents really try to help, but a lot of them feel that
they don't know how to help. The teachers also said that a lot of parents have troubled pasts from
dropping out of school or getting in trouble for crime, so they want a better future for their kids
and feel that receiving a good education is really important for them. The parents also seem to be

really interested in how their kids are doing in school, and most parents show up for parentteacher conferences.
Parent support is so important for student success because teachers can only do so much. When
parents communicate with the teacher about how their student is doing in school and understands
the teachers expectations, they can help reinforce those expectations at home to help keep
student behavior in check at school. Parents can also participate by helping their child with
homework, extra practice, and reading to their child, which helps tremendously with student
performance and understanding in the classroom.
Technology/ Supplies/ Resources:
The school has technology resources such as Smart Boards, projectors, document cameras, and
desktop computers in every classroom. The school also has a computer lab full of desktop
computers, as well as a chrome book cart and iPad cart for teachers to reserve for use in the
classroom.
The school also has a teacher supply room with two copy machines that teachers can use, a diecut maker, and shelves full of construction paper and basic classroom supplies. However, the
school has a limited budget this year, so the supplies have to last the whole school year. The
teachers at the school feel like they have learned to be resourceful, and with the help of the
families who bring in extra supplies at the beginning of the year, they feel that they have
adequate supplies for the school year. The teachers also mentioned that they also spend a lot of
their own money buying supplies and materials that the school does not have funding for, but
that is something they have had to do every year, no matter the budget.
When asked about what kinds of supplies and resources he has at home, the student that was
interviewed said that he doesnt have scissors, crayons, or glue sticks like the ones at school, but
he does have a T.V. that he watches and an iPad he is allowed to play on sometimes. The student
also said that he doesnt have very many books at home, and his parents dont read to him very
often or take him to the library. From observing the classroom, I have also noticed that a lot of
the Kindergarten-age students have not had a lot of prior experience looking at books, which
could possibly suggests that those students don't have access to books at home.
Teachers have access to enough resources at the beginning of the year, but may really struggle
when resources start to dwindle at the end of the year. Without enough resources, teachers must
either spend their own money or learn to be resourceful, otherwise it might be a real challenge
for them to teach without enough resources at the end of the year.
**Note: Numerical data is from the 2014-15 school year
Sources:

2 Classroom teachers and a Kindergarten student

https://www.mischooldata.org/DistrictSchoolProfiles/ReportCard/EducationDashboard2.a
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Key:
General Info about the School
Financial Demographics
Racial Demographics
School Programs Offered
School Performance Level
Parent Involvement
Technology/Supplies/Resources
Interviews (included w/in subcategories)

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Total points: 100