Help me give my students access to technology and laptops during incredibly difficult times!
$999 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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.
Williamsburg Preparatory sits in the heart of the now-gentrified Brooklyn, filled with coffee shops and yoga studios, yet despite the changing demographics of our surrounding neighborhood, my 700+ students come from a variety of communities throughout Brooklyn, many from immigrant households and socio-economically disenfranchised communities. As is the case in many Title-I schools, 80% of our population receive free-reduced lunch and dozens in temporary housing.
My students’ families face daily struggles and inequities now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that has so greatly impacted the city we love.
As they sit at the epicenter, students “attend” class from all over the city at home. In many cases, students are sharing one device amongst siblings and parents, all of whom are attempting to learn and work from home.
Students juggling academics with care-taking and part-time jobs as essential workers are desperately trying to adapt to their rapidly-changing reality. While our school has distributed our existing laptops, a huge number of our students are still attempting to complete classwork from Smartphones. Given the economic devastation facing our city, we fear next year will present even greater challenges for our kids and know they need to be given a fighting chance.
My Project
At the end of each school year, Williamsburg Prep is able to use carefully-budgeted funds to build capacity – most notably through purchasing new technology for the next semester. When the pandemic hit, that end-of-year nest egg was the first to disappear; we have been told to expect to open in September with little more than the lights on. Whether classes meet in person, online, or some combination of the two, we know that laptops will be a vital tool for students to engage in academic pursuits safely and consistently.
With so many of my students facing illness and the loss of family members, job and wage loss, and immense cuts to city public schools, my kids desperately need greater access to technology in order to overcome these obstacles and provide them with a fighting chance to achieve their true potential, so that they can truly have a future that is brighter than their past.
My students exemplify resilience and strength and deserve a fighting chance with equal access to a meaningful education, pandemic or not.
From my students’ perspectives, “going to school” now means signing on with whatever device they can, and bouncing between Google Classrooms, Zoom discussions, and assignments on a wide variety of education sites. It’s a lot to juggle with the best technology; on a tiny phone screen, it’s nearly impossible to navigate the multiple apps and tabs that may be required to complete any given assignment. This project will help to secure my students access to Laptops and technology needed to make a huge difference in making sure they can fully engage.
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. K. Azer and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
{"pmaHash":"","schoolCity":"Brooklyn","showProjectRecommendations":true,"teachersOnPage":[7196579],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"NY","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":4,"name":"High School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"proposalId":4875860,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/bridging-the-digital-equity-divide/4875860/","verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":15,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. K. Azer","isEquityFocus":true,"authorIds":{"7196579":{"owner":"Ms. K. Azer","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[4875860],"proposalHash":"2123739001","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7196579_orig.png?crop=750,750,x0,y150&width=136&height=136&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1590631270698","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":21587448,"photosPublished":true,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":["NzI0NzMxOQ==","NzI0NzI2MQ==","NDM2MzEyMg==","NzI0NzQwOA==","NzI0NzY2NQ==","NjcwODc1Ng==","NzA3NDQ4MQ==","NzI0NzIxMA==","NzI0NzcyMQ==","NDgyNjM2","NjA0MzA5Nw=="],"teacherId":7196579,"schoolCounty":"Kings (Brooklyn)","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"NY","name":"New York"}}
