Exploring School and Community Dynamics at Sherman School of Excellence

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Fieldwork Project Part I: The School and Community Name [Author] The characteristics of the community can impact the capacity of the school to meet the needs of its students. For this project, I chose to observe the community and school that I have worked in for the past 4 years since I have access to information regarding its culture. Sherman School of Excellence is located on the south side of Chicago, in a neighborhood called “Back of the Yards.” Sherman has become a very crucial part of my teaching career because it is the first school I have ever worked at as a teacher. I have a great rapport with students, parents, and colleagues who can provide valuable information for this project. I am well represented amongst my colleagues and I set on various communities to help build the moral of Sherman parents and students. Researching my school and community will provide insights on how teachers can create a more inclusive learning environment with the support of administrators and parents at the organization. I will use the findings of my research to become a better educator at my school and to positively influence how my colleagues implement effective practices at the organization. Regarding the Community The community culture in my school’s neighborhood has been shaped by historical inequalities that have created patterns of exclusion at my school. Back of the Yards is a minority community with 61.79% of the population being Hispanic, 23.61% Black non-Hispanic, 11.65% White, and 2.03% Asian (The University of Chicago, 2025). It is a low-income community with a median income of $35,179 which is lower than the city, state, and national median incomes. A demographic profile of the neighborhood by The University of Chicago (2025) shows that inequality is a major factor defining the culture of the community and has a significant impact on exclusion in schools in the neighborhood. Poverty is a major challenge affecting how schools meet the needs of the students in their community. Back of the Yards is a low-income neighborhood where individuals and families are exposed to financial challenges, poor healthcare, and nutrition outcomes. Inequality and poverty have significantly defined the school culture and the challenges teachers face meeting the needs of their students. The culture of the Back of the Yards community emphasizes on survival and meeting their immediate needs as opposed to long-term enrichment and growth. An interview with one of my colleagues, Ms. Davis, on the challenges she faces in the classroom is that parents are unable to participate in their children’s education. She noted that she works hard to engage parents and caregivers of children in learning activities by contacting family members. Teachers feel excluded when they lack the support and resources they need to meet the education needs of their students. The community’s culture affects the school by limiting the cooperation of teachers and parents in the education of students. From the interview with Ms. Davis, I learnt that the community lacks adequate resources to support the school and teachers in meeting the academic and emotional needs of the students. The resources in the community determine the support systems available for teachers and schools in the neighborhood. Back of the Yards offers resources such as school extended day/after school classes, athletics, and art programs. The resources increase the engagement of students in productive activities and limit their exposure to negative behavior. There are community-focused initiatives and collaborations with organizations that provide resources for school-aged children in the community. Blessing Bank and the Catholic Church have established charity programs that target the low-income families in the neighborhood. Their contributions have a positive impact on the students’ wellbeing and their success in emotional and academic growth. A key cultural component in the community is the impact of inequality on the funding of schools in the neighborhood. Schools in the Back of the Yards are significantly underfunded compared to institutions in more affluent and predominantly white neighborhoods. Since over 88% of the population are minorities in a low-income community, schools lack sufficient funding to provide resources for teachers and students. The challenge has significantly affected how schools are able to adapt to the needs of students requiring additional instruction support. Teachers in schools in the community lack the resources to offer better curriculum and provide extracurricular activities. The report by The University of Chicago (2025) on the community showed that 16.8% of the adults above 25 years old did not have a high school diploma. The level of education in a community is a major cultural issue affecting how parents are involved in the education of their children. A higher proportion of the Back in the Yards population does not have a high school diploma compared to the state’s 9.7% (Illinois Report Card, 2025). Teachers in schools in the community face the burden of working with insufficient resources and minimal support to facilitate the education of their students. Despite these challenges, educators have the responsibility of fostering inclusive education and helping their students navigate the cycle of inequality affecting their community. Regarding the School Class, race, and inequality play a significant role in the cultural dynamics at Sherman School of Excellence that affects the learning needs of the students. Race and ethnicity are important variables in education that affect the exclusion of students and teachers in the classroom. The Illinois Report Card (2025) on the school showed that 81.3% of the students in the school are Black and 18.3% Hispanic. According to the report, almost all the students attending the school are racial minorities living in a minority community. The demographic report for the teachers showed that 80% are black and 15% are Hispanic. 95% of the teachers at the school...