ROOM 309

Swarthmore Rutledge School

2006

     As I walked onto the tennis courts on the first day of school to pick up the class for the first time, I was met with an overwhelming sound - the sound of excited young students on the first day of a new school year. My co-teacher directed me towards a line on the right side of the courts towards our line, and I was thrilled to see some familiar faces. I knew Maddie S., Evan and Noah from their first grade class which I was observing in and working with for one of my education classes. I could see other students that I had babysat for in the past eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new teacher. I also saw the excited faces of 11 boys and 10 girls who were looking at me with confusion on their faces, most likely wondering who I was equally as much as I was wondering who they were. My co-teacher introduced himself as well as myself to each student in the line, shaking their hands as he made his way down the line. With each new face came a name. With each new name I heard myself responding "Hi! I'm Ms. Costello!" It was almost too much to be real, was I really "Ms. Costello"? Suddenly it was time for us to go upstairs to the classroom, and while walking up the tower stairs, twisting and turning as we climbed the 50 steps to the third floor, I could feel my excitement rising equally as much.

My classroom at SRS was a wonderful mix of not only boys and girls, but also students with varying learning styles and disabilities.

- We had four children identified as gifted students

- There were two students who were pulled out of class for special education support

- Three children needed speech therapy

- Two children needed occupational therapy

- One child was diagnosed Asperger's Syndrome and had a support person come in for writing time

- One child had severe ADHD and was on medication for this

- Twenty-one children with wonderful talents, gifts and interests to share, all of whom showed an amazing dedication to learning and engaging with content.

This variety often led to other teachers telling my co-teacher and I that we had the "gold star" in terms of class composition this year, but I always viewed this eclectic mix as a wonderful community where diversity was represented in many different ways. It also meant that I was constantly "on my toes" when I taught, making sure to find a balance between engaging my students who struggled academically while challenging my gifted students. I never assumed that any lesson was perfectly understood by any student and took care to speak with all of my students throughout the course of any given work period.