Help me give my students books where they can relate to the characters, books they can see themselves in and can relate to the experiences of the characters.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Floyd's classroom raised $389
This project is fully funded
My Students
Our school is the only high school in Lexington City Schools, a district comprised of seven schools. Our district is the second most impoverished school system in the state of North Carolina. While we have a hard-working and dedicated staff, the students and community we serve face severe economic challenges. Approximately 90% of our students receive subsidized lunches, which indicates the high poverty in our area. Our students come from homes where hopelessness is pervasive. The population of our school is very diverse in terms of ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status. Though our students live within these struggles they are well rounded students with a passion to learn.
My Project
Currently, our media center is not only the smallest in the district but it only contains only 4% of books that are copyrighted 2013 and newer. Our current collection is under the minimum guidelines and there is minimal funding available to increase our collection. The majority of our collection is older than our current seniors who were born in 2001 and the age of our collection is 1994; when it should be 2004 at the minimum. 48% of our students say they can not find books that they like to read in the media center and most students suggested having more urban fiction books.
Through this project, I hope to make available to students, books in which they can see themselves.
Literature in schools should be inviting students in, not pushing them out. Books that mirror students’ lives help them to form their identity within the world as well as help them to connect to their home and school experiences and identities. With books that put diverse characters in the starring role, our students will feel safe to explore topics in the literature that will help them develop into adults.
As I once read in an article, Humans are diverse beings with so many pieces that form an identity and those pieces need to be represented in authentic, respectful ways for the world to move in a more peaceful era. Not only will having a diverse collection of books help our minority population which makes up 81% of our school, but it will also enlighten other readers of the truths about lives they do not live as well as promote respect and empathy for all types of people. Though the various stories told from these books enlightenment will spur compassion, understanding, and change within our school.
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
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 Mrs. Floyd and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
{"pmaHash":"","showProjectRecommendations":true,"leadGenEnabled":true,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"NC","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":4,"name":"High School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/books-like-me-own-voices/4789904/","mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":807,"isEquityFocusV1":true,"teacherScreenName":"Mrs. Floyd","isEquityFocus":true,"proposalHash":"-453850422","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"photosPublished":false,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"shouldTrackEquityFocusV2":true,"schoolCity":"Lexington","teachersOnPage":[3999953],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"minimizedLeadGenEnabled":true,"proposalId":4789904,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":1,"verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"schoolId":2621,"schoolName":"Lexington Senior High School","authorIds":{"3999953":{"owner":"Mrs. Floyd","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[4789904],"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3999953_orig.jpg?crop=1215,1215,x0,y186&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1689598239268","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":20862854,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":{"completingDonationAmount":202,"proposalURL":"project/expanding-horizons-bringing-viking-hist/9682572/","proposalTitle":"Expanding Horizons: Bringing Viking History and Cultural Literacy to Life","proposalId":9682572},"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":[],"teacherId":3999953,"schoolCounty":"Davidson","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"NC","name":"North Carolina"}}
