This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
I teach in a high needs school in the inner-city in NY. The majority of our students are eligible for reduced price or free lunch. Most of our students come from single family homes. Many live with grandparents, other relatives or are in foster care. Our students are forced to struggle daily with adult issues that they should not have to be concerned with at their age. But they have no choice. They do, however, have a choice in preparing for their own futures. And, that they do quite well. Over 90% of our graduates go on to college - virtually all of them are first generation in their families to attend an institute of post-secondary education. Given the circumstances of the home lives of many of our students, this is all the more outstanding.
Five years ago, I introduced an elective math course in statistics. Over the years, the students have created quite a buzz about the class. I also teach an Advanced Placement section of this course - and our students had a 93% passing rate for the May 2009 Exam; when compared to the national passing rate of 60% and that of African-American students at a mere 22%, our students demonstrate amazing perseverance and dedication. Since ths word got out about our success, students have been signing up for the statistics classes in droves now! Over 125 students (in 4 sections) are on the statistics roster this year!
My class set supply of calculators cannot meet my student demand and I am in need of FIVE TI-83 graphing calculators and accompanying AAA batteries. Right now, some students are left out - 'technology-less'. The school has NO FUNDS to purchase any materials for this school year. All my students need to have the same access to resources. Hence, this request.
Our students are hardworking. They meet me during lunch hours for extra help. They come daily after school to use my graphing calculators to do their homework exercises. They need these resources to succeed. In today's world, statistical analysis relies heavily on the appropriate use of technology. The graphing calculators have excellent features (such as the ability to create, store, summarize and graph lists of data). Understanding how to use this real-world tool prepares my students for college and allows them the ability to quickly run numerical data summaries so that they can apply their time and effort to the analysis of said data. Please help me to provide every student in my class with tools for successful learning.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Viau and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
