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Mrs. Denise Renfro
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Douglas Byrd High School
Hometown:
Fayetteville
Class Information:
Room Number: 134/302
Students per Class: 60+
Class Description:
I teach chemistry and sustainability courses on wind, solar, and energy efficiency
Position:
teacher, director of Academy of Green Technology
Needs:
We are a title I, at risk school with very little technology available to the average teacher. Many grants do not want to fund technology devices, but we desperately need basic science technology equipment. We need adequate Vernier sensors and data loggers. I help run a small Academy of Green Technology which does more than immerse students in sustainability, it also helps them prepare for college and post secondary careers. I need to both challenge these students and prepare them for what the real world is like, but it is difficult without some experience with technology beyond an occasional website or virtual lab lesson.
My Philosophy:
It is very simple, engage and challenge. Engagement happens when students are given hands-on experiences that are as closely tied to real world problems as possible. Challenge occurs when you meet students where they are academically and then press them to take the next step. They always accept the challenge if they are engaged. As the leader of our Academy, we have things in place to help challenge and prepare our students. We require community service and work-based learning each year, guest speakers, field trips, community college courses, and we constantly revise our curriculum by dropping more book work and exchanging it for hands-on problem solving. Technology is the critical element outside of student desire and teacher enthusiasm that will help struggling students become leaders of the next generation.
Personal Information:
About Me:
I've been teaching 25 years, mostly in sciences, although I have CTE certification and Physical Education certification. I have developed a passion in environmental science, and I am a UNC Climate Fellow. I am the Director for the Academy of Green Technology at Douglas Byrd High School. I have a family
College and Degrees:
BS & MS Indiana University
Activities:
Tae kwon do with my family, cross fit training, cycling, gardening
Favorite Books:
Steven Johnson- Invention of Air, Ghost Map Patricia Cornwell novels Barbara Kingsolver Environmentaland political nonfiction
Favorite Quotes:
"[The moon] was a sobering sight, but it didn't have the impact on me, at least, as the view of Earth did." Frank Borman, Apollo 8. I met him and taught his grandchildren.
Interests:
Family time, Exercise, environment
Employment History:
3 years Science Cloverdale HS - Indiana 1 year Conversational English - South Korea 8 years science/pe Fayetteville Academy - Fayetteville, NC 5 years Univ North Carolina Pembroke - Softball Coach 11 years Douglas Byrd High School - science, Green Technology
Why Do I Teach?:
Despite how bad the plight of education sometimes seems (with a lack of funds and so many struggling families), I know I can assist a student or students to help them make a difference in their own lives.
Percent of Students are:
     At-risk: 70 %
     Average: 20 %
     High-achiever: 5 %
     Special Needs: 5 %
Percent of Students are:
     White/Caucasian : 26 %
     Hispanic: 11 %
     African American: 59 %
     Native American: 3 %
     Asian: 1 %
Free/Reduced Lunch Program Enrollment:: 70 %
ESL Enrollment:: 6 %
Average number of students in class:: 15 students
Number of students I teach:: 63 students