Rita

The David School is in a rural poor area of Kentucky.  This school faces many challenges because this is the last chance for many students to get an education.  Most students do not see any future for themselves due to the high poverty rate and lack of jobs and opportunities.  The David School struggles with finances and finding ways to motivate students to be successful.

The Wilson Middle School is in a metropolitan area with about 1200 students and is strong in art, drama, and music.  The issues with the Wilson are the low test scores and the diverse ethnic and economic groups are not properly represented in the artistic programs.

Rita Martinelli is the new principle at Wilson Middle School with a desire to get the school back on track academically and wants to integrate students of all diversities into all programs.  Rita under stands that students under achieve because they are not pushed to higher standards.  I feel that Rita would make a strong impact on the David School as well.  Rita has a background of working students in poverty and diverse ethnic backgrounds.  She also knows the importance of capturing the student’s attention and pushing them in directions they will be successful. 

I feel that Rita would work with the teachers at the David School to think outside of the box when presenting new topics.  These students would do much better with hands on topics because they are in small groups and this helps them control their learning.  Many of the David School students have placed walls and barriers around themselves because they don’t want to be hurt or let down.  These students need to see how each lesson will affect them in the future.

Rita would also work with each student to find what motivates or interest them.  She would find projects or assignments that they could research and show as an accomplishment.  I feel that Rita would create more job related activities that would help these students be successful in the real world.  While the Wilson and David Schools are different in size, they both have similar problems.  I feel that Rita would be successful at both schools because of her passion to help economically deprived students to be successful.