Johanna Busch
About Us
About my School
Monarch Academy is a charter school in the Coldstream-Homstead-Montebello neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Monarch is part of Baltimore City Public schools and is operated by the Children's Guild. Monarch serves students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Monarch is a "school of influence," meaning students learn how to critically address real world problems through a curriculum that integrates arts and technology. Learn more about my school's vision and mission here.
In the 2017-2018 school year, there were 973 students enrolled at Monarch Academy. 47% of students were female. 53% of students were male. The elementary school has a mobility rate of 21.8%. The middle school has a mobility rate of 18.0%. Over 90% of students at Monarch Academy are African American. There are a few white students and a few Latino students at Monarch Academy. All students at Monarch qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Learn more about my school from its Maryland report card.
Monarch Academy has no students who require ESOL services, thus no ESOL services are provided. There are five laptop carts and one computer lab which students can use. Almost every classroom is also equipped with a classroom computer, Smartboard, and document camera. Students participate in a daily special including visual art, music, health, physical education, and Spanish. Monarch's school-wide PBIS program involves giving out B-Fly (butterfly) bucks to students who are following the five norms and five promises. Students save their B-Fly bucks and use them to participate in monthly events.
At my school, kindergarten through second grade is self-contained, and grades third through eight are departmentalized. Last year, I helped run the second grade animal club, which met every other Wednesday and gave students a chance to learn about different animals through games, videos, and crafts.
My school uses Pearson's Reading Street curriculum for reading, science, and social studies. We use Pearson's Investigations for math. In addition, we provide daily small group intervention in both reading and math based on students' levels and skill gaps.
Students at Monarch Academy have access to mental health clinic at the onsite Children's Guild Outpatient Mental Health Clinic (OMHC), our school's food pantry, and a YMCA before and after school enrichment program . Qualifying students receive Title 1 targeted assistance and special education services.
About my Classroom
I teach second grade. After teaching only math as part a departmentalized schedule in my first year of teaching, I now teach all subjects (language arts, math, social studies, and science) to the same group of second grade students. There are currently twenty-nine students in my class.
Twenty-eight out of my twenty-nine students are African American. One of my students is white. Thirteen of the students in my class are girls. Fifteen of my students are boys. Six of my students have IEPs and receive special education services.
Based on the I-Ready math test, 0% of my students are one or above grade level, 45% of my students are one grade level below, and 55% of my students are two or more grade levels below. Based on the I-Ready reading test, 10% of my students are one or above grade level, 24% of my students are one grade level below, and 66% of my students are two or more grade levels below.
This pie chart shows the breakdown of my student's I-Ready math scores.
This pie chart shows the breakdown of my student's I-Ready reading scores.