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451 Newport St.
Denver, CO 80230
(303) 355-7333
FAX: (720) 424-3125
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Student Profile and Teacher's Reflections
Student Profile
Whiteman is a wonderfully diverse small school
where students from many nations, cultural backgrounds, and life experiences
have come together as a community of learners.
We are fortunate to have this diversity as it allows us to learn from
one another. We are all teachers and
students here at Whiteman.
Whiteman’s student population is: 2% Asian/American Indian, 10% White, 43%
Hispanic and 45% Black. Of this diverse ethnic
population, 50% of our Black students are refugees from the many war-torn African
countries, and 50% of our students are second language learners. Approximately 17% of our students are in our
special education resource and center programs and approximately 5% of our
students are in our gifted and talented enrichment program.
Whiteman is a Title 1 and Provision II
school and although the majority of our students qualify for free/reduced lunch, come from highly mobile family circumstances, and speak a multitude of languages, we consider ourselves to be a
privileged school community. For,
it is through this diversity of circumstances and cultures that our students are: learning skills of tolerance and acceptance
of individual gifts and challenges; gaining an understanding and appreciation
of the differences and similarities of all people; and learning to respect the unique
creative, academic, and social contributions of each individual which makes
this an interesting world. These are
life-long skills and lessons which cannot be learned from a book and they will benefit
our students enormously as they continue to middle and high school, college,
and the work place.
Teacher’s Reflections Whiteman Elementary School is a bit like a travel
shop where the trip comes to you. With
students from 28 countries who speak 30 languages, we all learn about the world
and its diversity. We also learn that we
may have different religions, cultures, even faces . . . but we are all very
much the same.
"Masud
is a very Afghanistani name. He liked
geography and loved to look at the globe.
He taught me where his country was four years before Sept. 11th." "Valon
was from Bosnia. He was shy and tentative. His dad showed me pictures from the camp they
were in. Valon loved numbers. It was the only time he smiled."
“Charles,
a tall and proud African-American, was a natural on stage. He delivered the school news broadcast like a
pro and played the flute brillantly. We
know we have not heard the last word or note from Charles.”
"Berlanda
came from the streets of Port o Prince.
She was quiet and beautiful. She
cried like a baby one day when she lost her ring, and every girl in class came
to her aid and gave her their own rings.
We all cried that day."
"Cristian, whose smile lite up a room and was a
gentleman of sorts, was beaming to share his Mexican hertiage in English.”
"Tulga
was from Mongolia. He'd been raised in a yurt tent and loved the
color orange. He understood Chinese,
Russian, Japanese and Mongolian. Once he
learned to read, he discovered Dr. Seuss.
He thought Dr. Seuss was the smartest man in the world. He loved Valentine's Day most of all." The stories go on and on. They
are the reasons we keep working at the "travel shop". We have learned-the more different we are,
the more we are the same. And, we passionately
want to ensure that each of our students, no matter where they come from or
what language they speak, will obtain the best education possible to pursue
their dreams.
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