The Scenario - HoPip Academy

The storied yet fictitious HoPip Academy could be any urban school in America –

It is located in the urban core, an area with potentially greater risks of exposure to crime, poverty, and numerous social ills than other parts of the city. For some, the events of the school day offer an outlet to problems at home – for others, school is a means to a professional end or something to do to play sports. Some kids just seem to show up and play school.

Out of the 400 students that attend HoPip:

·         80% receive free and/or reduced lunch,

·         60% of the student body are ethnic minorities and

·         the English Language Learners population (ELL) is on the rise.

Of all the problems the school has, diversity is not one of them...

Out of the 40 teachers employed, half are seemingly “stuck-in-their-ways” veterans. Every year, half of the staff has to be hired for a myriad of reasons – some teachers cannot adapt to needs and expectations of our urban school and some do not want to. Those left standing are resistant to changing the school’s culture, citing behavior modification as most important. Teacher morale is low and beginning to infect student motivations. Any meetings or professional development sessions held to address the issues generally end with attitudinal sighs and someone saying, "you don't have to do that after you close your door"...

The supportive neighborhood and school’s small size should be components in creating an optimal learning environment but teachers and students alike call HoPip a dismal prison-like atmosphere.