All About Amanda's Classroom

Hi there! My name is Amanda, and I am a 2nd year teacher, at an elementary school on the west mesa of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I teach in a 3rd grade, Dual Language classroom. We spend 50% of our time learning all curriculum in English, and 50% of our time learning in Spanish. All of my 22 students are bilingual. Sixteen out of my 22 students are English Language Learners, meaning they are still learning how to speak, and be literate in English. The school I teach at receives 100% free lunch because of the low socioeconomic status of the student body. My school is huge. I am one of ten 3rd grade teachers!

According to No Child Left Behind, my school is classified as a school in Restructuring Phase 2. Which means that the student body has been "academically failing" for a number of years, and we have to do a number of required actions to show that our students are improving on standardized testing. I am lucky to have an active and goal oriented principal who supports teachers, and provides us with leadership on how best we should provide instruction. I work long days. I get to school at 7am and leave around 4pm. I'm only paid for 6.5 hours a day. I budget and cook enough beans to last a week of lunches, and try to make the salary work. My time spent with my 22 students is exciting, and I can't wait to share my ideas, challenges and reflections about my teaching.
A tad bit more about me:

• I'm 26 years old
• I'm bilingual, but I still get my Spanish polished weekly by my weekly Skype Spanish lessons with my teacher Fernando who lives in Guatemala.
• I have a dog: a cute and crazy pug named Nina (who I brought back with me from China.)
• I love to travel: in my little red car, in my scooter, on my bicycle, and by plane to foreign countries.
• I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico
• I have a Masters Degree in Elementary Education, and a Bachelors in English and Women Studies.

That's all for now!