My students need two fast, capable computers to complete their university applications and financial aid applications. Many of them don't have computers or internet at home.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Baldwin's classroom raised $698
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.
My Students
Can you imagine trying to complete a university application on a computer so old that it takes two, five, even ten minutes when you try to click through the application pages? Can you imagine writing a comprehensive scholarship essay on a smart phone? These are things that my students do every day.
My AVID 4 students will be the first in their families to go to college.
80% of them qualify as low income and nearly 80% are Latino. They know that education is their path to supporting their futures and their families. They go through a process of self-doubt and determination, failure and resiliency for four years. The low-income background of my students poses the obvious challenges, but one challenge that even I sometimes underestimate is the digital divide. Many don't have a computer or even Internet service at home.
With college an financial aid applications completely on-line, and nearly all communication with colleges through email and university portals, my students are at a vast disadvantage. Where other students can go home and finish their applications or check deadlines, my students wait for the school library to be open, which is inconsistent amidst budget cuts. When they do get into the lab, they don't have the support a first-generation applicant needs.
My Project
The "College Dreams Lab" will be used all year long, from college searches, to test registration, applications, financial aid, and communication with universities. We need two Google Chromebooks for our College Dream Lab.
The two laptops donated in this project will kick off the lab, providing the starting technology for students to make their college dreams a reality. The goal of the lab is to eventually include five more laptops along with a printer and a fax machine, as many university verifications and signed forms are still required through fax. The lab would be a college application and college entrance test registration hub, located in a common room in the middle of the classes of 250 AVID students, but open to anyone who needs it. The common room is surrounded by three dedicated AVID teachers, who have been trained in the college application process and are equipped to support students as necessary. Students will miss fewer deadlines, and communicate with colleges with an efficiency more like their wealthier counterparts can.
In the quest for higher education, my students are striving to close the achievement gap.
They are working to change their futures and their community. This quest is riddled with roadblocks from the fear of pioneering and failing, to tuition costs nearly twice that of their annual family income. A lack of access to technology should not be the barrier to stop them. The "College Application Lab" will remove barriers. It will increase opportunity. Most importantly, it will make dreams a reality.
More than half of 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
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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. Baldwin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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