The neighborhood.
Initially and through most of the 20th century, CAPA's neighborhood was populated by almost exclusively Caucasians and African Americans. However, over the past twenty years the diversity of the neighborhood has grown exponentially. Below is a list of the different nationalities represented in the neighborhood as of the 2010 census. Out of a total population of 5,129, nearly a third of the population of Census Tract 24 is made up of this diverse mix of Asian, Central American, and South American.
Nationality | Population | Nationality | Population |
---|---|---|---|
Mexican | 650 | Puerto Rican | 91 |
Cuban | 20 | Costa Rican | 2 |
Guatemalan | 3 | Honduran | 30 |
Nicaraguan | 1 | Salvadorian | 10 |
Argetinean | 8 | Bolivian | 2 |
Chilean | 4 | Colombian | 22 |
Paraguayan | 1 | Peruvian | 5 |
Uraguayan | 2 | Venezualean | 6 |
Spanish | 19 | Asian Indian | 40 |
Bhutanese | 6 | Burmese | 4 |
Cambodian | 29 | Chinese | 374 |
Filipino | 30 | Indonesian | 11 |
Japanese | 6 | Korean | 10 |
Malaysian | 1 | Nepalese | 4 |
Pakistani | 13 | Taiwanese | 3 |
Thai | 2 | Vietnamese | 232 |
When I visited CAPA last week i was surprised to see the school full of students, of all ages, hard at work in the classrooms. The school was hustling and bustling like it wasn't the summer, full of parents, teachers, and students alike. CAPA is one of ten Philadelphia high schools that opens it's doors for the entire summer to special education students as part of the Extended School Year (ESY), a program that provides special education students of all ages with IEP-specific instruction, practice, and reinforcement that they aren't able to receive during the school year. As far as I could tell, all of the ESY students at CAPA were not actually CAPA students, positioning CAPA as an institution that truly cares about the needs of Philadelphia students, not just those that attend the school during the school year. This is huge for the community, as CAPA provides a beautiful building with classrooms, resources, and even food to the special education students from surrounding neighborhoods.
History and School Culture.
CAPA students major in one of seven areas: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, Vocal Music and the brand new CTE Television and Film major, a career and technology centered major aimed to teach students about the different aspects of film and media, including graphic design, photography, film editing, television production and much more. Alongside their major classes, CAPA students are required to take Math, Science, Social Studies, and English classes as well as two years of a foreign language. CAPA also offers several AP courses, including Biology, English Literature and Composition, and World History.
In order to enroll in CAPA, students must pass academic and disciplinary requirements as well as pass an audition process. Depending on the student's desired major, auditions can range anywhere from bringing in a portfolio of previous artistic creations to performing a musical or dance number. Because CAPA is a publicly funded magnet high school, students are given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study and utilize professional equipment at no extra cost.
CAPA By the Year | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Enrollment | Student Attendance | Teacher Attendance | Suspensions |
2011-12 | 694 | 93.5% | 94.1% | 16 |
2012-13 | 716 | 96% | 95.8% | 23 |
2013-14 | 709 | 96.5% | 95.3% | 10 |
2013-14 School Year | |
---|---|
Ethnicity | |
African American | 53.7% |
White | 27.5% |
Asian | 4.5% |
American Indian | 0.1% |
Special Education | |
Students with Disabilities | 5.6% |
Mentally Gifted | 12.3% |
Students without Disabilities | 82.1% |
Economic Status | |
Economically Disabled | 62.2% |
Other Students | 37.8% |
English Language Learners | |
ELLs | 0.8% |
Other Students | 99.2% |
The CAPA experience.
Who are the students? What do they want from their schooling and their lives?
The students are a different breed. They are very driven in terms of their arts classes. They like to experience what it is they came here to experience. I think in life they are motivated, they are not like some of the other high schools you go to in Philadelphia. They are very motivated in some fashion. They may not be motivated in Math or Science or English, but they are motivated in somethings. Its just trying to tap into that motivation. They have to pass an academic screening to get in here so it is not like they didn't have some sort of success in some previous life time in being able to do well in a school.
What is it like to teach here?
It's kinda crazy sometimes. There is always something going on. There is always something that might be disrupting classes, it might be supplemental to classes but it is still disrupting classes. The kids are, you know, many different facets of the kinds of kids you get. You get the average kid, You get the very intelligent, intellectual kid, the artsy kid. You get the wide range of kids you have [at CAPA]. For me that's really cool. It's really cool to see lots of different kinds of kids. They are all really nice. They are all really courteous. They all interact with each other very well.
Are there any reform movements?
There isn't really a reform movement. There is change. You are getting a new principal. The idea isn't to reform the school, the school doesn't really need reforming from its essence as a performing arts school, but there is a sense of reform in the notion that we do need to change the way that we do things. We do need to change the way that the teachers teach sometimes and the way that they look at students. And i think that is a reform that will happen, it is not necessarily something that's gonna be on paper. It's not something that we are going to publish, you know “The New CAPA High School”. It will be something that will be more subtle but definitely be noticed if you are operating within the school.
Does CAPA get involved in the community at all?
Yeah, there are different organizations that do get involved in the community. Our theater department, the juniors, they all will do the CAPA Caravan where they go to different elementary schools and will put on plays for the elementary kids. The different groups will go and do different charity shows and things like that. A lot of it is still driven in the performing arts as it's a large section of [the students'] lives. Outside of that, there are different clubs. There is an environmental club, they do some different community service things. There is a lot of different things going on. It is not necessarily the school as a whole, but there are things that the kids are doing through organizations within the school.
How involved are parents in the childrens' schooling?
Mixed. I think you have some parents who are very driven, very motivated, very dedicated. I think most parents want what’s best for their kid, it's just some of them don't necessarily know how to help them. And i’d say that is a minority here. And some aren't really in their kids lives or really super involved. I think it is something you see in city schools a lot. For where we are, and the type of school that we are, we don't really have that as much other Philadelphia high schools.
what now?
I have met multiple times with my classroom mentor, Jeremy Wright, and he is as excited to be working with me as I am to work with him. We have already started discussing syllabi and curricula for the upcoming 2014-15 school year. Jeremy is intimately involved with CAPA, a member of multiple hiring committees and the roster chairperson. And he has only been at CAPA for one year! His drive and motivation inspires me to get as involved with the students' education and culture as I can.
Prior to starting the TEP, I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about all of the different types of students that I will be encountering and how to navigate their unique and individual cultures and backgrounds. However, after taking School, Society, and Self, I am much more confident and eager to get in the classroom and meet my students. I have learned that of upmost importance for my efficacy as a teacher is to get to know my students. CAPA houses a richly diverse student body in a richly diverse neighborhood and as such I will be encountering all types of people during my residency. I now know that I need to put my ego, all of my preconceived notions, and any judgements that I may have had aside and view each of my students as an equally capable and worthwhile member of my classroom. My success as a teacher hinges on the level of patience, understanding, and compassion that I show each student, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., and my ability to synthesize these aspects that make each student unique and feed a little bit of each back into the community of my classroom and the school.
I cannot lie that I am still nervous, as this will be my first time ever teaching more than one student at a time. However, my nerves are much more rooted in excitement and anticipation rather than fear or trepidation. I have realized through School, Society, and Self, as well as Teaching and Learning, Community Based Math, and Teaching Diverse Learners, that it doesn't really matter where or who I am teaching. What i mean is, that whether I am teaching at an entirely White suburban school or a diverse city school, the recognition that all of my students, and humans in general, are unique beings that are direct and real results of everything that they have experienced thus far in life. Regardless of the ease or difficulty of a student's history and experience, teenagers are incredibly complex and multifarious beings, each deserving of a strong, equitable, and mindful educational experience that will push them to be the best students and humans that they can be.
In my talks with Jeremy, I have learned that student performances, whether they are during school or after school, are a huge part of CAPA. Between late October and January, Jeremy said there is usually multiple performances per week and he highly suggests that I attend them. I will be very busy in the fall with class (at CAPA) and class (at Penn), however I still am going to try as hard as I can to make it to as many performances as I can. These performances are a huge part of the students' lives and education, providing the opportunity to showcase their talents to their fellow students, teachers, friends and families. For me as a math teacher, I recognize that I will be teaching a subject that a majority of students will not actually be interested in. Their focus, and reason for attending CAPA, is the arts. By seeing my students' performances, I am conveying to them that I don't just care about them within the context of the math class but I care about the things that are actually important to them, whether it be singing, acting, dancing or any of the other majors at CAPA. This is a great way to get to know my students better and hopefully will provide me with avenues to incorporate activities into the math class that are closer to the students' individual creative passions.
Overall, I am incredibly excited and ready to get into the classroom. I think that due to it's enthusiastic and diverse student body, CAPA will be a great place to begin my teaching career. It is a beautiful school with an interesting history and an environment of creativity that I have never been exposed to. I think it will be both challenging and rewarding for me and I hope to be able to enact the theories and ideals that I have learned in class to create a caring and strong learning environment for me and my students.