Organization and Internship Role

For my ECO Capstone Internship this year, I am currently student/co-teaching three periods of foundational/general biology with Kerry Savage as the head instructor at Ridgefield High School. The school is located in Ridgefield, Washington. Before Ridgefield High School was established on November 12th, 1911, the name of the organization was Horn’s Corner School. At one time, it was the second-largest school in Clark County during the 1900s. The first building burned down in 1927. While there are many positions at Ridgefield High School (i.e., teachers, administrative staff, paraprofessionals, counselors, nurses, etc.), each role is vital in the cumulative effort to serve the students from within the Ridgefield community.

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ridgefield High School, like many other educational institutions, had to adapt new forms of learning. Techniques used in the traditional in-person classroom did not translate completely over to Zoom. While the Ridgefield community is mainly composed of white individuals, the biggest disparity between families was their socioeconomic status. As the entire district moved to remote instruction during March of 2020, each student received a Chromebook, ensuring that each student can virtually go to school when the next school year begins. A big issue that the district did not expect was that not every household has internet access. The district responded by opening up an “Internet Cafe,” allowing individuals to go to school, using the school’s Wi-Fi while maintaining Washington/CDC health guidelines. The school also provided lunch for students and staff as well.

When analyzing the power dynamics at my organization, Ridgefield High School, we can see different components vertically and horizontally. Vertically it would go School Board / Superintendent → School Administrative Staff→ School Staff → Students. While these categories are not fixed, horizontal aspects of leadership exist in each one as well. My position as a student co-teacher sits between the students and the school staff categories. My general duties include grading assignments (Independent Work, Group Work, Labs, Quizzes, Projects, and Unit Exams), entering grades through Skyward/Google Classroom, recording lectures related to the course content and posting them, facilitating a discussion based on the lectures I have taught, and most importantly, aiding the students (to the best of my ability) towards building a foundational knowledge within the biological sciences. My responsibilities align with Ridgefield High School’s mission by allowing me to contribute to the quality instruction that is presented over Zoom through enacting equitable processes.

One goal that I have achieved is by building relationships with my students. By having an established relationship, I have learned how to sustain space for myself and them, explaining biologically-relevant concepts using the students’ words/examples. A goal that I will be continually working towards will be learning to ‘draw the line’ between cultivating learning in equitable ways and doing the work for them. As much as I love helping my students learn biology, I have to keep them accountable in terms of them doing their work. I can’t do it all for them because they will not learn then.

Teaching online has definitely been an experience. Even though I have never met these students face-to-face, I feel so connected to/with them as we all navigate online (Zoom) instruction together. This experience altogether has made me realized how much I love working with other individuals, facilitating the process of learning within the biological sciences. While I hope to be a professor, teaching high school has given me the opportunity in building techniques that require listening and explaining complex ideas.