Dommerich Elementary School is a neighborhood school with over 600 students. It has faced challenges from economic downturn but has a strong PTA support system. Academically, the school focuses on improving writing and providing reading intervention. Teachers use various materials and assessments to engage students in learning across grade levels.

1. Dommerich Elementary School
Mrs. Virginia Joseph, 1st Grade Teacher
Introduction to the Teaching Profession
Educational Portfolio
Elizabeth Stephens

2. Dommerich Elementary
Picture #1—This mural was created by Dommerich
students in 2004. Quick Facts
• Dommerich is a neighborhood, suburban school,
with approximately 647 students and 40 teachers.
• The Dommerich school building is relatively new,
having just been built in 2008. The former building
was built in 1964, and demolished in 2008, when
the new building was complete. The former
building was a traditional brick structure. This new
one is large, open and airy.
•
• With the new school building came new technology.
Each classroom is equipped with Promethean smart
boards, phones, projectors and document cameras.
• The population of Dommerich is:
• 75% white, 18% African American, and 7%
Hispanic/Other.
• Dommerich’s School Motto:
• “I believe I can learn, I can learn, I will learn.”

3. Many years ago, Dommerich created a “Dommerich Standard”. This standard is what
the staff and students strive for daily. This standard is posted in strategic areas around
the school. Every week, one standard is picked and the staff and students all work on
that standard for the week.
Artifact #1
The Dommerich Standard
1. Do the right thing, even if no one is looking.
2. Follow and respect the rules wherever you are.
3. Learn as much as you can every day.
4. Use your time wisely.
5. Be kind in your words and in your actions.
6. Take care of possessions.

4. Communication at Dommerich
Picture #2--The Dommerich Marquee is a form
of communication for the community. Forms of Communication
• Dommerich communicates about the
curriculum, assessment, and activities.
There is a newsletter which goes out to
families, called “Smoke Signals”. The
school also uses a website, email blasts,
and phone calls to communicate. Most
classroom teachers send home
newsletters, and there is a newsletter
provided to all teachers and staff
members weekly, called “The Dommerich
Tom Tom”.

5. Dommerich Community Challenges
• Dommerich may seem like the perfect • Thankfully, Dommerich has a very strong PTA ,
neighborhood school, but it does face and they have stepped up to help out. The PTA
challenges. Since the downturn of the economy has been able to give each teacher a check to
in 2007, they have had their share of changes. use for classroom materials. The PTA also
Before 2007, the Dommerich community was coordinates volunteers to help in the classrooms
full of professional families where the majority and other school areas, and to go on field trips.
of the mothers were able to stay home and raise One of the strongest incentives that the
their children. Since 2007, many mothers have Dommerich PTA has started is their “Community
returned to work, and other families have had Support Team”. This team was founded to help
to move from the area due to the poor real those in any kind of need, including financial. In
estate market. In turn, the teachers have December 2011, the team was able to collect
noticed slight changes in the amount of time funds to help 31 families, which included and
and money families are able to contribute. impacted 70 children (12% of the school
population). The team raised $5000, and they
were able to furnish these families with gifts
and food for the holiday season.

6. PIE (Partners in Education) at
Dommerich
• Picture #3—A “Partner in Education”
member delivers plants for Dommerich’s
community garden.

7. Healthy Living at Dommerich
• Picture #4—The PTA and School work to promote Healthy Living. In this picture, the
principal, participates with students in the “Running Club”.

8. The Arts at Dommerich
• Picture #5—This Mosaic was created by Dommerich
students, teachers, and parent volunteers to beautify the
new school.

9. Dommerich’s Academic Challenges
• Academically, Dommerich has had some challenges • In the past few years, there has also been an
with writing instruction. On the day that I increase of students needing reading intervention.
observed, Ginger was on her way to an afternoon The grade levels met and discussed ways to help.
meeting to discuss these challenges, and potential Each grade level has taken on a skill, appropriate to
ways to improve the instruction. their age of students, and they have implemented
intervention methods. For example, in 1st grade,
the teachers work on reading ability; and in 2nd
grade, the teachers are working on reading fluency.
The entire school has designated 30 minutes a day,
from 9:00am to 9:30am, as Reading Intervention
time. Each teacher has loosely grouped their
students by reading ability. At 9am, there is a big
change, while children needing help or enrichment
are sent to other teachers on their grade level. At
the time I was there, 3 children left Mrs. Joseph’s
classroom, and 5 more came in. Ginger spent the
time on a fast paced reading instruction time with a
small group of students. The other students
worked with parent helpers, read independently,
read with a peer, or worked on the computers. It
was an individualized instruction time.

10. Curriculum and Assessment
• I am also a substitute at Dommerich so I have • Academic performance is assessed in a variety
been able to observe the curriculum at the of ways. There are paper and pencil tests,
different grade levels. In every classroom, I observation checklists, and other testing
noticed that the students were learning with a procedures used. These include: FCAT, FAIR,
variety of materials and in a variety of ways. In Benchmark, and more.
one 4th grade classroom, students broke up into
groups to research and create a timeline of • Dommerich communicates about the
Florida history. In a 2nd grade classroom, the curriculum, assessment, and activities. There is
students’ assignment was to look at a picture a newsletter which goes out to families, called
and write a story about what they thought was “Smoke Signals”. The school also uses a
going on. We brainstormed ideas, and then website, email blasts, and phone calls to
they went on to write some amazing stories! communicate. Most classroom teachers send
home newsletters, and there is a newsletter
• I was also able to talk with the group of provided to all teachers and staff members
teachers about their lesson plans. For the most weekly, called “The Dommerich Tom Tom”.
part, each teacher creates their lesson plans on
a computer. They must include what standards
are being met with each objective and activity.

11. Artifact #2
Classroom Rules
“Our Class Promise”
Mrs. Joseph sets high expectations for
her 1st graders. Students are expected to
behave, in order to reach their highest
level of learning.
The school motto and school standards
are often referred to throughout the day.
Incentives vary from intrinsic, such as just
a good feeling from following the rules,
motto, and standards; to extrinsic, such
as an announcement to celebrate an
accomplishment of a student or class.
On the first day of school, the students
established the “rules” with Mrs. Joseph.
As a class, they decided to make the rules
into a Class Promise. As this artifact
shows, instead of creating a black and
white printed poster of the rules, Mrs.
Joseph wrote the Class Promise in a
bright color. To show ownership of the
Class Promise, the students each drew a
picture of themselves, which were then
placed around the Class Promise.

12. Artifact #3
Class Newsletter

13. Teacher Interview
Mrs. Virginia Joseph, 1st Grade
1. Do you think that the school culture is different at the 3. What forms of communication do you use with your
elementary level versus the middle or high school parents?
level? If so, how? I send a class newsletter every other week. I also call
Yes, the culture is different at elementary, middle and parents on the phone. I do email individual parents
high school levels. At Dommerich, there are just a sometimes, but I find the phone calls to be much
few neighborhoods and surrounding areas from more personable.
which the students come. When they get to
Maitland Middle School, there are many other 4. What effective teaching strategies are used at the
elementary schools feeding into the one middle elementary level?
school. The culture changes due to this.
In my 17 years of teaching, I continue to go back to using
strategies that are age appropriate. I also have to
2. What challenges do you face as an elementary school make sure the strategies fit my style, and my
teacher? students’ style. I love to meet my students at the
My biggest challenge is lack of time. With new beginning of the school year and to figure out what
standards, I have to continue to plan, and set up is going to work best for them.
learning goals. The intended outcome is for each 5. What forms of incentives do you utilize with your
teacher to post learning goals for each lesson students in the classroom to enhance extrinsic
taught every day. This is difficult when you have a motivation?
class full of students working at varying levels. The I am not a big believer of many rewards. I like to let the
school has also started some special intervention students know, daily, what is expected of them. I
strategies, which I know are very good, but those use a lot of positive reinforcement. I work hard on
take more time too. In addition, there are teacher transition times, always thinking of what will be the
observations, conferences, and meetings. best for the children. I include a lot of movement
throughout the day. I also redirect inappropriate
behavior.

14. Sample Lesson Plan
from
Mrs. Joseph’s Class
•Florida Department of Education
Sunshine State Standards Addressed in
the Language Arts Section, to show
standards for accommodations as the
children worked in small groups.
•LA 1.1.4.2 This benchmark belongs
to: Phonics an Word Analysis.
The student will identify the sounds of
vowels and consonant digraphs in
printed words.
•LA.1.1.6.2 This benchmark belongs
to: Vocabulary Development
The student will listen to, read and
discuss both familiar and conceptually
challenging text.
•LA.1.1.6.6 This benchmark belongs
to: Vocabulary Development
The student will identify and sort
common words into conceptual
categories.

15. Verification Form
7 hours on 1/26, 6 hours on 2/8, 2 hours on 1/13
15 hours total