Perfect Practice Makes Perfect!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

My second-grade students are brilliant, caring, curious, resilient, and enthralled by their own achievement. They need a reliable, long-lasting way to show me their progress in the realest time possible, so that they can track their own mastery throughout an individual lesson. They need WHITEBOARDS!

My students are California dreamers one and all.

Their career ambitions range from soccer player to "dinosaur scientist," and a few even want to be astronauts when they grow up. All but a few of my students are English Language Learners; most are recipients of free or reduced-price school lunches and breakfasts because of their families' socioeconomic statuses. Many of my students live in apartment complexes colored by gang tagging; whether or not they are aware of this and other harsh realities of their lives or their community, they apply themselves to their learning with effort and enthusiasm that both border on sheer ferocity at times. The most thrilling aspect of my job as their teacher is that I am able to play an instrumental role not only in their academic achievement but also, perhaps more importantly, in their development as individuals. In that sense, we are all teachers and learners in a classroom community built on respect, responsibility, empathy, and persistence.

My Project

The "broken window theory" espouses the idea that, especially in communities that are accustomed to vandalism and general disrepair going untouched, every little detail matters; if something is broken, you fix it immediately, and if something is not of the highest quality possible, you change it so that it is. According to this theory, community members will be inspired by their environment, and will achieve more because of it. This theory guides my desire to provide real, sturdy, high-quality whiteboards for my students. My students currently use homemade whiteboards (consisting of sheet protectors stocked with thick paper), and although these faux boards "get the job done" in some senses, they also lend a feeling of cheapness to the independent practice that is so important to my real-time assessment of my students' learning. Several months into the school year, our "whiteboards" are falling apart. We need whiteboards that will LAST -- that will INSPIRE my students to ACHIEVE.

If I am to truly close the achievement gap with my second graders, I must ensure that all elements of their learning -- from the lessons to the materials -- are of the highest quality possible, not just "good enough." High-quality whiteboards will make our practice more exciting, more efficient, AND more effective.

Your investment in my students' learning supplies is an investment in them! Here's a huge THANK YOU in advance to any and all supporters of this project and my classroom!