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TeachersKBAY Teacher of the Month
“I love teaching because everyday I know that I make a difference. I specifically love teaching at Arbuckle because I am doing my small part to eliminate one of the greatest social injustices, the educational achievement gap. Working with people and shaping the futures of people is so rewarding. Being able to set a solid foundation for each student allows me to feel like I am doing my part to make this world a better place.”
Scott Wolf has been a teacher at Arbuckle for three years and came into teaching as part of the “Teach for America” program after graduating from Northwestern University. He is working on his Masters Degree in Education Leadership at San Jose State University. Scott will use his SJEF Teacher Innovation Grant to purchase materials for his “Paleontology Plunge project. “The grant will give my students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they gained during our unit on Fossils. The students read about digging for fossils, watched videos, and heard me talk about the process of excavating. Unfortunately, there was not money to have the students partake in a digging experience of their own. This grant allows them to have the digging experience where they can really see many of the concepts and vocabulary words that they learned about in action.” “Arbuckle is located on the east side of San Jose. It is a K-5 school serving about 400 students. Arbuckle has universal free breakfast and lunch because so many of the students are low-income. Over 80% of the students are English Language Learners with the majority of these students speaking English as their primary language. As a second grade teacher I teach all subjects, so I am their math teacher, art teacher, and PE teacher just to name a few. They have worked incredibly hard this year. They all have their wonderful unique personalities. Some love to write stories, others love to draw, and others can’t wait until math time in the afternoon. Most importantly, my students love coming to school and love getting homework. They get sad when there is no school and really show a great desire to learn.” “The biggest challenge that I face every day in my classroom is that my students do not have as many opportunities as those with more money. As a result, they not only face an educational achievement gap, but an experiential achievement gap. My students hate vacations from school, even when it’s only one day because they do not have anything to do at home. Many of the families live in one bedroom apartments or else there are multiple families living in one home. Asking students to do homework in these environments is challenging, but I expect it and my students rise to the challenge. I deal with these challenges by being as proactive as possible. That may mean finding a homework center for students to do their work in or pushing the student and the family to apply for a scholarship to go to camp. Ultimately, I deal with all challenges by being the best advocate I can be for the students.” This SJEF grant will help Scott meet this challenge. Congratulations to Scott Wolf, KBAY’s Teacher of the Month for August. |
The KBAY Teacher of the Month for August is Scott Wolf, who teachers second grade at Arbuckle Elementary School in the Alum Rock School District. Scott will receive a $500 Innovation Grant for his classroom from the San José Education Foundation.