More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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These kids deserve to have everything other kids have. Unfortunately, they attend school in a district that insists it does not have the resources to properly support athletic programs. It's sad, but since there are no state mandated standardized tests for sports, the district does not see value in them. Student standardized test scores are the only tangible thing a school can use to justify funding. So, the resources once budgeted for athletic teams like wrestling are shifted to fund academic areas like math and science. At least they don't exclusively take from athletics. SOCIAL WORKERS AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FOR MY STUDENTS ARE VIRTUALLY NON EXISTENT, AS WELL!
High school sports like wrestling exist to provide a place for students to feel valued and respected. The sport of wrestling provides kids the opportunity to discover what they are actually capable of doing. The lessons they learn in wrestling will be used every day of their life.
Our situation is very unique. For example, coaches in almost any other school district in the state of Illinois, simply go to the gymnastics or cheerleading coach and kindly ask to borrow a landing mat. However, there are no such programs at our school. I am asking for your help to provide a crash mat to safely practice the skills of throwing during wrestling practice.
Sometimes, teenagers struggle to find a reason to be proud of themselves. Hard work does not always translate to "A"s on a report card. The classroom cannot be the only arena available for kids to gain self confidence. We need to provide a place where kids can experience what it feels like to accomplish something for themselves and nobody else. There's nothing like the feeling of getting your hand raised after a wrestling match.
About my class
These kids deserve to have everything other kids have. Unfortunately, they attend school in a district that insists it does not have the resources to properly support athletic programs. It's sad, but since there are no state mandated standardized tests for sports, the district does not see value in them. Student standardized test scores are the only tangible thing a school can use to justify funding. So, the resources once budgeted for athletic teams like wrestling are shifted to fund academic areas like math and science. At least they don't exclusively take from athletics. SOCIAL WORKERS AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FOR MY STUDENTS ARE VIRTUALLY NON EXISTENT, AS WELL!
High school sports like wrestling exist to provide a place for students to feel valued and respected. The sport of wrestling provides kids the opportunity to discover what they are actually capable of doing. The lessons they learn in wrestling will be used every day of their life.
Our situation is very unique. For example, coaches in almost any other school district in the state of Illinois, simply go to the gymnastics or cheerleading coach and kindly ask to borrow a landing mat. However, there are no such programs at our school. I am asking for your help to provide a crash mat to safely practice the skills of throwing during wrestling practice.
Sometimes, teenagers struggle to find a reason to be proud of themselves. Hard work does not always translate to "A"s on a report card. The classroom cannot be the only arena available for kids to gain self confidence. We need to provide a place where kids can experience what it feels like to accomplish something for themselves and nobody else. There's nothing like the feeling of getting your hand raised after a wrestling match.