Academic

Academically, G performs fairly well, consistently earning Bs and Cs. She asks questions of teachers and requests help when she needs it. She is willing to (and does) work hard; however, she sometimes requires additional time to process or complete work. Often, repeating or re-explaining materials to her one on one is helpful for her.
While she does a great job advocating for herself, she would like more support and help from all of her teachers. She sometimes feels that teachers do not have the time she would like to sit down and talk through assignments or materials in the way she would prefer. She shared that her ENL teacher is her more helpful teacher because Mrs. B helps her with homework and assignments in all classes.

Her navigation of school demonstrates that she has the cultural capital to succeed.

 

Literate

G speaks both English and Spanish fluently. Both languages are spoken at home by all members of her family. She feels most comfortable and prefers to speak English, especially at school or outside of her family. She can read and write some Spanish, but her reading and writing skills are stronger in English. She doesn’t have a desire to learn to read and write in Spanish in order to develop the same fluency with Spanish that she has with English. She feels that because she speaks Spanish she can learn to read or write it better if she ever wants to.

She is a consistent reader; she enjoys reading during silent reading time in English class. She prefers reading realistic fiction and mystery books.

 

Inclusive

Because she has confidence in herself and her identity, G feels comfortable at school and in society overall. She feels that most people she encounters at school respect her culture, but do not necessarily take the time to talk about it with her or completely understand it. Occasionally, she feels that others make assumptions about her. She is especially bothered when others assume she’s Mexican simply because she speaks Spanish. She feels sometimes lumped into a group with all Hispanics instead of being valued for her individual merits.

Despite the occasional misunderstanding or misinterpretation, she feels that she is still able to connect with a wide variety of people, especially at school. She thinks that being at such a large school allows her to interact with a diverse blend of people.

She feels included in her classes and that class is a safe place for her. She likes most of her teachers and feels that they do want to her to do well. However, she does wish that more teachers would talk openly about different cultures, languages, and values. She stated that she wishes this conversation happened more not just so others might understand her better but so that she would be able to understand and connect with others.

 

Vital

All basic elements are apparent in G’s life. She has reliable access to shelter and food, often having dinner with her entire family, spending time talking about their days. She also has the same interests as many teenage girls, including music and hanging out with her friends. She doesn’t make time to specifically exercise but is able to get her physical activity in by playing rugby whenever she can.

 

Empower

G does a great job advocating for herself in order to be successful. She asks questions of teachers and peers when she is confused or needs assistance with anything, whether academic or social-emotional issues.

She currently has short term goals which include getting good grades; she hopes to improve upon her past performance. In order to achieve this short term goal, she knows she will most likely need support and help from her teachers, specifically Mrs. B, her ENL teacher, as well as her mom, who sometimes helps her with her homework.

G’s long term goals include going to college and medical school. She does not yet have any concrete plans for how to achieve this goal, but she knows it must start with doing well in high school. As a freshman, she still has time to solidify her plan, and she is willing to work hard. 

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