Observing the Public School Environment at Marcy Open...

For the purpose of observing a school environment, I was granted the opportunity to visit Marcy Open School, a K-8 Minneapolis Public School located in 415 University Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN. Like all magnet schools, Marcy Open School strives to achieve racial balance and incorporates specialized curricular themes to reach out to its scholars. In addition, the school website states the mission of the school is to,† Educate for life-long learning in a respectful environment that emphasizes responsibility, creativity, curiosity, and connectedness to the world†. To enhance students’ learning outcomes, Marcy Open School incorporates the following nine unique programs: Marcy Arts Partnership, a program that funds for arts-integrated programs and residencies for all children, regardless of race, religion, developmental level or socioeconomic status. Parents established the program in 1995 in an effort to connect students with the wider community and strengthen studentsâ €™ education. Also, the school provides Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites (PRESS) a partnership between, target, the University of Minnesota, Reading Corps, and select Minneapolis schools (Marcy included), that focuses on teachers and students in grades K-3 and provides them Quality Core Instruction, Data-Based Decision Making, Tiered Interventions, and Professional Development. This program was designed because ample research proves that children’s’ ability to read by third grade determines their future