Context

NorthPointe Christian Schools lies on the outskirts of the city Grand

Rapids, off of the East Beltline and Leonard Street, two fairly well-known

streets to a Grand Rapidian. Yet this school is different from a public school in

the fact that it draws from all over. In a survey with nineteen students, nine

of them lived under 10 minutes away and the rest were 20 minutes away or

furtherone even had a 45-minute commute. That said, its hard to judge

this school by its community because so many of the kids dont live in the

schools neighborhood like many public schools. In fact, Grand Rapids Public

School lies less than a mile away from NorthPointe so the majority of the

students in this area would attend GRPS.

Since the immediate community is mostly residential on the west side

and commercial on the east side, the school is centrally-located. This

particular section of town is also quite busy so there arent many

opportunities in the community as a smaller town may have. The students

are always welcome to participate in extra sports clubs in the greater Grand

Rapids area or in groups like the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus

which many take advantage of.

NorthPointes website says their mission is to equip students to

impact their world for Jesus Christ. They are a Christian school with two

campuses, the first is for elementary (PK-5) and the second combines middle
school (6-8) and high school (9-12), but in separate wings. They follow both

National and State Standards and are approved by CSI every seven years so

make sure theyre following the curriculum. In the choir class, the curriculum

isnt strictly enforced. The choirs go to district festival every year and need

to choose at least one song from a particular list, but besides that there isnt

any further reinforcement. This gives the teacher basically full reign of what

they want to teach and how they want to do it. They have a chapel every

Tuesday and Thursday and a mentoring program where some Thursdays (in

place of chapel), two high school seniors will lead a small group of people of

the same gender and various grades. The school really seems to care about

cultivating students who are independent and Christ-centered.

From my own observations, its a fairly relaxed school. Students will

come into class late or leave early and it doesnt seem to be a big deal, they

dont have a very strict policy here. Within the choir classes, in the three

months Ive observed there, there have been at least 4 students added into

either the high school or middle school choirs in the middle of the school

year, and my mentor teacher has mentioned at least 5 students who

dropped the class since the beginning of the year. This is difficult for a choir

class especially because theyre supposed to sound like a unified group and

this is hard to do with students coming and going. Its especially difficult for

the students that come after the choir has a piece performance-ready and

the students are just joining and dont have ample time to learn it.
 As I taught my unit plan in both of the high school choir classes, those

are the students that I will refer to. The group is called the Symphonic Choir

and spans two class periods for scheduling issues, so they rehearse

separately but perform together. There are about 90 students in the choir.

The students themselves come from a wide range of all demographic areas.

Similar to other private schools, the majority of the students in the school are

middle-class (estimated around 70%), but there are also a good number of

both upper-class and those who have full tuition assistance. The age range is

like a regular high school, 14 to 18, but there are also at least twenty

Chinese/Asian international students who may be a year or two older. About

18% of the school is a different race according to Private School Review,

most of them being African American, but a few Hispanics and Asians as well.

USA School Info stated that the males slightly outnumber the females at

51.7%, but its nothing to be concerned about. The vast majority of the

students in the school speak English as a first language, but specifically in

the two high school choir classes, there are about six who speak Chinese and

even two who speak Dutch at home. In general, this doesnt seem to be a

prevalent problem, but there are about four of the Chinese students who

struggle with the language barrier. The international students are supposed

to be proficient in English before coming to the school, but it isnt uncommon

that they will lie about their abilities in order to get into the school.

Regarding thinking abilities and special needs, there are three students with

down syndrome in the high school choir classes and a couple that arent
diagnosed, but function at that same level. The rest of the school has a very

broad spectrum of thinking abilities like most schools dosome need extra

help and some are well beyond their grade level. From my own observations,

the students seem to be practicing Christians as its a Christian school, but

its not terribly evident in their interactions with each other or in chapel. The

school used to be affiliated with the Baptist Denomination, but has changed

so much that there really isnt a majority anymore. According to the Private

School Review, North Pointe represents over 120 churches in the community.

My unit would be implemented in the high school choir class which

actually spans two class periods. The students range from freshmen to

seniors so its a wide age-range, and this is the only choir for a high school

student to be in. This excludes Dayspring Chorale, which is the schools

audition choir that rehearses on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Out of the 90

students in the Symphonic Choir, 25 of them are also in Dayspring Chorale.

What this means to me is that at least 25 of the students in Symphonic Choir

enjoy singing and want to be there. The students are not required to be in a

choir class so one would think that these students also want to be in this

class, but there are other factors as well. These students are all over the

board in the demographic areas stated above so theres not just one type of

student that I would be targeting. In terms of rules and routines, the students

seem set in their ways and are therefore not eager for change. Their routines

are not necessarily bad, but both the students and the teacher seem to be in

a rut and need to be shaken up. I hope that by knowing more about the
demographics of the neighborhood, the school, and the students themselves,

I can produce a unit that will be effective for this group of learners.

Works Cited

NorthPointe Christian Schools. (n.d.). In Private School Review. Retrieved

March 27, 2017. http://www.privateschoolreview.com/northpointe-
christian-schools-profile

Northpointe Christian Schools. Retrieved March 27, 2017.

http://www.npchristian.org

Northpointe Christian School in Grand Rapids, MI (2009-2010). In USA School

Info. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
http://www.usaschoolinfo.com/school/northpointe-christian-school-
grand-rapids-michigan.127448/enrollment
Notes:

1. Context: In this section you will demonstrate that, when planning and
implementing instruction, you can take into account the social, cultural, and
economic characteristics of the community in which your school is located.
Although you will use the context of your internship, develop your plan in
such a way that it could be used in a similar context. Research your context
using data sources such as nces.org and cite any sources of information.

Use the Classroom Learning Profile form to focus your attention on your class
of students.
 1. When describing the learners, include the number of students in your
classroom and their ages, gender, race and ethnicity, cultural and
socioeconomic backgrounds, primary or native language(s), levels of English
proficiency, attention and memory, motor and spatial/sequential ordering,
and higher order thinking range of abilities and special needs. Draw attention
to the social systems of peers and family and also the students moral,
spiritual, and faith development. Also include any unique qualities about this
group of learners (use actual statistics). Describe the particular classroom in
which your unit would be implemented in terms of rules and routines and
physical arrangements.

2. When describing the school, include the type of school (e.g. K-5, K-8, 6-8, 9-
12), socioeconomic statistics, grade level and/or subject configurations,
particularly noting any tracking that occurs. You should also note what
curriculum standards and/or textbook series are being used.

3. When describing the local community in which the school is located, note
whether students are primarily from that neighborhood or whether the school
is more regional. If regional, describe the broader region. Note learning
opportunities within the neighborhood and community and the schools
support base.
About 2 double-spaced pages

Students:

-ages: 14-18

-gender: 60/40 (girl/boy)

-race: 33% different race (Chinese/Asian, AA)

-Socioeconomic: large span, get them all. Some have full tuition
assistance. Mostly middle class

-Languages: English, Chinese, Dutch (2 students, spoken in the house)

-English proficiency: Mostly okay but some we dont know how much
they understand (Chinese. Theyre supposed to be proficient when
they come but some arent)

-Thinking abilities: full range

-Special needs: 3 down syndrome, a couple that look normal but

function at that level. Lots of kids (about 30%) with IEPs in this class
because its too difficult for them.
School:

-Grade level/tracking: hard with choir, doesnt really relate

-Curriculum: National/State Standards, try to get most of them. To be

CSI approved they need to take whats given (which can we actually
cover) and ever 7 years when CSI comes in they need to approve that
theyre following the curriculum.

Community:

-Students geography: Some kids drive 45 minutes, Saranac, Cedar

Springs, Lowell, Ada, Allegan (in the past), no neighborhood kids really.

-Learning opportunities: extra sports stuff, youth symphony

How far away they live

5: 4

10: 5

15: 3

20: 3

25: 2

30: 1

45: 1