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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Ball from Manning, SC is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Ball is requesting

South Carolina's Freedom Writers

My students need thirty five copies of "The Freedom Writer's Diary" so that they can relate and respond.

  • $537 goal

This project expired on April 7, 2012.

This project expired on April 7, 2012.

Classroom photo
Ms. Ball Manning High School
Manning, SC Grades 9-12

My Students

My shelves are lined with the classics; the books that took me out of reality and into fiction. These are the same books my students are fearful to touch for possibility of feeling failure. I recently came across the answer to encouraging their reading AND writing: The Freedom Writer's Diary.

Just 18% of the adults over the age of 24 have a degree higher then a high school diploma.

This is the educational demographic that my students suffer growing up in rural South Carolina. A predominantly African American community, nearly 85% of the students at our high school are on free or reduced lunch. SAT and ACT scores are among the lowest of the country, scoring well below average in English. As a member of the Teach For America charter corps in South Carolina's new region, it has been a struggle to bring my 11th and 12th graders up to an 11th and 12th grade reading and writing level when we first began at the 4th and 5th grade levels. Finding a book that will spark their interest to read, encourage them to write, and motivate them to recognize the power in their voice is what I am hoping will be enough for them to spark conversation towards making a difference in the town they are so eager to escape.

My Project

The same students that inspired Erin Gruwell to continue working hard for underprivileged, inner city teens have the opportunity to inspire yet again. A class set of The Freedom Writer's Diary is exactly the story I need to inspire my 16, 17, & 18 year old students that reading and writing is in fact a way out of the rural South Carolina that they consider to be a black hole. I have been fighting with everything I can to encourage them to read and write as often as possible, and failed miserably on my first two tries. This book is exactly what I need to restore faith in my students that reading and writing can in fact be the knock at the door they've been waiting for, for far too long.

This project has the potential to have a monumental impact on the lives of my students, as they will recognize the importance of their voice through written word.

They will also find pleasure in reading and learning from their peers.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Nearly all students from low‑income households

80 students impacted
Ms. Ball Manning High School Grades 9-12

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Manning, SC View local requests

Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

80 students impacted

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
The Freedom Writers Diary • AKJ Books $11.09 35 $388.15

Materials cost

$388.15

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $27.36

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.82

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$456.33

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$80.53

Total project goal

$536.86

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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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 Ms. Ball and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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