My field experience at Rogers-Herr Middle School

in Durham Public Schools:

An overview

I did my field experience at Rogers-Herr Middle School in Durham. Following is the overview of Durham, Durham Public Schools, Rogers-Herr Middle School and its ESL program and an overview of ESL program in North Carolina.

Durham : Durham, known as a city of medicine, really makes a grade when it comes to Education. From grammar school through higher education, Durham offers some of the finest learning opportunities in the nation. At almost every level, Durham students outperform their peers. Here are a few of the educational accolades of which Durham can be proud.

  • #6 best university in U.S.
  • #4 best medical school in U.S.
  • National Magnet School of Excellence Award
  • Top 2 universities for African-Americans
  • #3 fastest-growing student body in UNC system
  • Two schools in top 5% of U.S. academically rigorous high schools
  • #10 law and #8 business schools in U.S.
  • Students outscore peers in N.C. & U.S. on SAT
  • #1 best law school for women
  • 1st public, residential high school for science & math

For more info on Durham, please visit

Durham Public Schools: The Durham community cherishes its children, and the Durham Public Schools are the daily expression of that care. The vision of DPS says, “We share a vision of our schools where every child succeeds. This vision includes schools so enticing that students want to attend every day, where they find a safe, orderly and culturally diverse environment for learning that nurtures and strengthens the whole child—body and mind……”

The mission of DPS says, “In collaboration with our community and parents, the mission of Durham Public Schools is to provide all students with an outstanding education that motivates them to reach their full potential and enables them to discover their interests and talents, pursue their goals and dreams, and succeed in college, in the workforce and as engaged citizens.”

In DPS 31,981 (on 20th day of the school, 16,256 males and 15725 females) children are enrolled for the school year 2006-07 with 2300 teachers serving in its 46 total schools. It is the 7th largest school district in North Carolina State. It provides variety of programs.Magnet Schools, year round schools, and High School Career Pathways comprise a healthy menu from which to select the right program. It is ethnically very diverse.

Ethnic group / Percentage
African American / 54.0%
White / 24.3%
Hispanic / 15.7%
Multi Cultural / 3.4%
Asian / 4%
Native American / 0.2%

You can find some more facts about Durham Public Schools at and at

Rogers-Herr Middle School

Rogers-Herr is a year round middle school located at 911 Cornwallis Rd, Durham. It is the vision of Rogers-Herr Year-Round Middle School to build tomorrow's leaders today. They say, “Our efforts will focus on encouraging students to become life-long learners who strive for excellence in every aspect of their lives.” Its motto is "Today's Challenge -- Tomorrow's Future."Their website is Also you can find some more information at

The instructional program at Rogers-Herr is comprehensive and wide-ranging. The teaching staff uses the strengths and cultures of the children with powerful learning activities that integrate a variety of subjects into a common set of themes. Rogers-Herr serves a wide variety of students in collaborative, as well as pull-out, models. The core curriculum is provided in a cohesive team setting that uses a variety of means to excite student learning and strengthen basic skills. The elective program is varied and offers students exploration in careers, computing, band, art, chorus, and drama. Several areas of extra support are available for our students. One is an outstanding after-school program--heralded by former Gov. Jim Hunt as a model program. The Academic Enrichment program that is designed to strengthen reading and math skills has been developed specifically to meet the needs of our students. It also serves academically gifted and Intellectually gifted students. Many community groups provide assistance by donating their time, expertise, materials, and financial resources.
Rogers-Herr takes great pride in its rich history and legacy of dedication by its faculty, staff, administration, parents, and community to provide the best possible climate for educational and social development of all students.

It has 635 students. It has 321 male students and 314 female students.The following information about ethnic data I found at

School Information: / Student Ethnicity:
Rogers-Herr Middle
911 Cornwallis Road
Durham, NC 27707-2817
(919) 560-3970
Grade Range: 6-8
Enrollment: 591
Full-Time Teachers: 38
Students per Teacher: 16 / / W / White/Non-Hispanic / 18.1%
B / Black/Non-Hispanic / 73.9%
H / Hispanic / 5.9%
A / Asian/Pacific Islander / 1.9%
N / American Indian/Alaska Native / 0.2%
Ethnicity Data Source

ESL program at Rogers-Herr: The ESL classroom, where I did my student teaching, was located on the second floor. It was of adequate size and well lighted with two windows. I taught 9 sixth grade ESL students (Novice Low and Intermediate High). They had their own computers/laptops for their use. Rogers-Herr has Sheltered ESL/Language Arts classes, sometimes with mixed grade levels and same language levels.

There are 40 LEP students and two teachers are serving them. The school also offers summer and after school programs for LEP students.

ESL program overview:

Languages

As of October 1, 2002, there were approximately 60,000 limited English proficient students in North Carolina's public schools. Two-thirds of these students indicate Spanish as there home language. The other one-third of these students speak one of 150 different languages. The following chart lists the top 16 languages of North Carolina's limited English proficient students:

Spanish = 45,478
Hmong = 2,733
Vietnamese = 1,128
Arabic = 914
Chinese = 883
Korean = 529
French = 467
Russian = 446
Hindi = 430
Laotian = 342
Japanese = 319
Gujarati = 274
Bosnian = 215
Cambodian =192
German = 186
Ukrainian = 173

Population Distribution

Limited English Proficient Students are in schools throughout North Carolina. As of October 1, 2002, there were limited English proficient students in all but three local districts and in 21 charter schools. Numbers vary greatly between districts and between schools within districts. However, the English Language Development standards address what students should be able to know and be able to do, regardless of the local environment or the way in which services to this special population are provided.

National Standards

The ESL Standards for Pre K-12 Students were published in 1997 by the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The standards describe expectations for students in three grade clusters and three proficiency levels. These standards were consulted throughout the development of the NC SCS. However, the North Carolina document has been structured to meet the specific needs of North Carolina schools including linking to the North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study.

The North Carolina English Language Development Standard Course of Study (SCS) establishes competency goals and objectives in English language proficiency for K-12 students whose first language is not English. This document focuses on the progressive development of the English language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing for personal, social, and, especially, academic purposes.

The document is designed to set standards for growth leading to the attainment of full English language proficiency in accordance with the cognitive development of children and adolescents as well as the language needs of academic content which becomes progressively demanding as the student moves up the K-12 continuum.

Program Goals

The SCS is organized into four goals representing the four domains of language acquisition: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Program Delivery

Limited English proficient students must be provided the services they need in order to acquire English and participate fully in the total school curriculum. However, the local district or charter school may determine the ways in which students are served. The models of instruction currently used across the state include the following:

English as a Second Language- ESL programs instruct students from different language backgrounds in English. They may be delivered through an ESL pull-out program Sheltered English-Sheltered English classes generally occur at the middle school or the high school. Bilingual program-Initial instruction in content, especially in reading, is provided in the students' first language while they are acquiring English. Two-way/ Dual language-In Dual language programs language minority students from a single language background are grouped in the same classroom with native English-speaking students. Instruction is provided in both languages and students acquire proficiency in bothlanguages.