Help me give my students a safe space where they can freely express themselves comfortably in their own personal space with these individual one person art desks.
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
Our students have a variety of talents starting with our amazing magnet programs, leadership, sports, all the way to Art. More than half of our students have either learning or physical disabilities and are English Learners. The majority of the students that I work with are of the minority groups and have low socioeconomic backgrounds.
"This world is but a canvas to our imagination" - Henry David Thoreau.
I teach the visual arts to nearly 100 students and this year I received approximately $2 per student to purchase art supplies for the whole year. Although I am grateful for any amount of money that I receive, I strongly believe that my students deserve more in order for them to learn and express themselves through art.
My Project
Currently I have 30 plus students in a classroom that measures about 400 sq. ft. The desks we currently have are falling a part. In the 3 months since we have returned, one student broke one table and another student broke a chair. I requested for both to be fixed or replaced and we have yet to see the items.
It is difficult to allow my student to move around the class to retrieve art materials because we are pretty cramped and there is hardly any room to move around.
Not all the desks are facing the board in order to allow some flexibility. We currently have small tables with small chairs and most of my high schoolers have young adult bodies, and many aren't able to shift their bodies around to see the classroom instructions. I can tell that they do not feel comfortable sitting in such small spaces.
In order to allow my students to freely express themselves, I also want to give my students their own personal space with the use of individual desks. Many of my students limit their creativity and are afraid to try new things because they are too aware and worried as to what the students around their table might say. With the use of individual desks like these, I will be able to have all my students face the board and the artistic demos would all be visible for all of them.
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
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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. Castillo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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