The cost of a 6' round Tuff Stuff Carpet and a 6' x 9' Tuff Stuff Carpet from Lakeshore Learning is $377, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
We are obligated to teach our students while they sit on a carpet on the floor in my Brooklyn public school. The school however, doesn't provide the carpets for the classrooms so teachers are forced to pay for them out of pocket. The carpet that I purchased has been used every day for two years now and it's absolutely disgusting! There are no vacuums in the school to clean them and we rely on teachers and students sweeping them because it's not in the custodial staff's contract to maintain carpets. Moreover, I have many students this year with asthma and a couple of the students' health problems are so severe that they cannot participate on the carpet with the others because of the effects of the dusty, old floor coverings on their weakened respiratory systems.
My school is incredible. Every child in the school is guaranteed a free breakfast and lunch. There are more than 30 nationalities represented in the student body and it creates a truly unique atmosphere where kids learn about the world from each other. I teach a fourth grade inclusion class which means that special education students are blended into a regular education classroom. The heterogeneous grouping is challenging but wonderfully rewarding. Since the students are on such different levels, I must teach in small groups most of the time to meet their needs. This often means pulling groups of children to gather on the carpet for instruction several times a day. As you can see, these carpets are definitely the center of instruction in the classroom.
Despite the condition of the carpets, the students still love to read while sitting quietly on the carpet and I would love to give them a more healthy environment in which to pursue their passions for learning.
These simple carpets would be used CONSTANTLY. I've selected the carpets that resist stains and are the easiest to care for properly given the cleaning tools with which we work. If you chose to fund this, you could really make a difference in these children's lives every day for the rest of the year. (Not to mention those who will sit in this fourth grade classroom next year!)
Thanks for taking the time to look. I appreciate all that you do for the public schools and most importantly the kids.
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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. PARMAN and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.