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
I teach in a very high poverty school in the middle of Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto, California. Ninety-nine percent of my students receive free or reduced lunch.
A startling number of my students are considered homeless due to living conditions particularly because many families share housing units.
My students describe how they manage their sleeping spaces by having to share floor space to sleep on, sometimes as many as a family of five rent a room in a house. Families, often times, rent garage space for their families as well.
My Project
A few weeks ago I started a Calligraphy center in my classroom just for fun. We started out with an old Calligraphy book that I had from years ago, some regular markers, and scratch paper. The next day I purchased a Calligraphy book for children and bought some chisel tipped markers because of the overwhelming response that I got from the students that wanted to participate.
It so happened that a colleague at my school was reaching out because a former student of mine was having a really difficult time and we wanted to create a safe space for the child.
This student in particular has had many challenges. Her father, the lone nurturer in her life has been battling cancer for many years. Unfortunately, our students do not have many resources to help them cope with stressful situations. I suggested that she come to my classroom once a day to learn calligraphy. I had read that there are studies that show that learning calligraphy can reduce stress. This seemed like a great opportunity to create a space where my current students and former students can come and learn the art of calligraphy. I will purchase sets of real calligraphy pens with different sized nibs, ink, marker pens (for the younger children), and calligraphy type paper.
My heart is telling me that sometimes just a little stress-free connection can yield a high return. The Calligraphy center is a start.
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. Dellamano and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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