Many of my students are the children of deployed military personnel and all are eligible for free breakfast and lunch. Half my students receive ELL/ESL services, six students are in Indian Education, and five are language delayed.My twenty-eight students are like sponges who want to learn EVERYTHING but they lack the background and vocabulary for most subjects so they need extra support in order to be successful. We are a high poverty school and my students need the help of DonorsChoose.org.
My school has a tradition of being a neighborhood school, but it is now a school in transition.
Our stable neighborhood is changing. 18.4% of the families receive supplemental Social Security income or public assistance. Our student population is racially and ethnically diverse. We have students who have recently arrived from Somalia, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, as well as natives from Alaskan rural areas. Although they represent the very best in America, many of my students suffer from low self esteem. We have a problem with bulling on the playground and teasing and name calling in the classroom. We need to change the climate in our classroom.
My Project
I believe in the quote by Georgia O'Keeffe who said that she found she could say things with color and shapes that she couldn't say any other way, things she had no words for. I want my students to learn to say things with color and shapes so they can express themselves.
To build compassion and empathy among our multiethnic and multilingual students, I need art supplies, books about artists and children's books.
I am requesting 23 different titles of books about artists and art in children's books, a class set of crayons, and construction paper. Even though many of my students cannot read, they do enjoy creating art projects. They can express themselves via color and line. They can create the most amazing things which they can share with others. We do not have enough money to buy art supplies and art books for our classroom. I want my kinders to work on art projects for a local senior center. We will spend part of each Friday reading and discussing the art in the books by our target artists and then working on our posters. We will share our art with the senior center.
This project is designed to help my students begin to communicate with others. Many of my students cannot read or write, but they can produce art. This project will help them become more self confident while working together on art projects. They will also learn more about their community and about sharing art in public places.
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 Ms. Bartz and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.