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"I work at a special education school, servicing emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, and other special education classified students. Our students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Over 95% of the student body is eligible for free lunch and over 90% receive public assistance. These facto... " MORE

"I work at a special education school, servicing emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, and other special education classified students. Our students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Over 95% of the student body is eligible for free lunch and over 90% receive public assistance. These factors come together and place our children at a huge disadvantage, but we are committed to providing them with a rigorous academic and therapeutic program. The school’s ethnicity is as follows: 60% Hispanic, 30% African American, 8% Caucasian, and 2% Asian.

The Student Fellowship Program at our school was founded in the 2006-2007 academic school year by a Special Education Teacher and Science Teacher. It was originally conceived for higher achieving students to have the opportunity to teach their peers in actual classroom settings. During its original year, several students were able to receive high school credit for their participation. During the 2007-2008 school year, the program rapidly expanded under the guidance of the program’s founders and moderators. It now encompasses students in all the schools in our district.

The Student Fellowship Program is designed to elicit alternative learning opportunities, both inside and outside of the traditional classroom setting. Interested students are invited to submit essays and letters of recommendation to the program directors each fall. They are subsequently interviewed by the Fellowship directors and respective program moderator. Pupils chosen to become Student Fellows are required to make a 1-year commitment to the program, during which they attend weekly common planning meetings with other Fellows. All students participating in the program are expected to uphold and model the school district’s nine core values: Confidence, Courtesy, Honesty, Integrity, Judgment, Perseverance, Respect, Responsibility, and Sportsmanship.

One branch of this program is the Community Service Fellows Program, where students work with developmentally disabled youth and young adults. Additionally, the students are working with community-based soup kitchens and relief centers in the area. This work has inspired some of my students to pursue social service degrees in college, which has made me immensely proud.

I would like to take the Community Service Fellows on a 3-day/2-night cultural and educational tour of Ithaca, New York. They would be taken on campus tours of Ithaca College and Cornell University in order to stimulate their interest in higher education. This trip would include visits to Ithaca's Sciencenter, Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Farmer's Market, SPCA, Commons, and Collegetown. My students will also enjoy the awesome beauty of the area's gorges, waterfalls, and Cayuga Lake.

For a typical school trip, parents would be asked to provide funds for their children. However, most of my students live in poverty, and their families are unable to reach into their own pockets. We strive to provide our students with as many experiences as possible, regardless of their financial situations.

Thank you so much for considering my deserving students. This trip would be the experience of a lifetime!!

My special education students need funding for an overnight trip to Ithaca, New York!

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