Color Me Happy

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.

I teach in a small urban school. The school is located in a largely Hispanic, underprivileged, inner-city community. The students like to be in school as is evidenced by our high (95%) attendance rate. Our families are poor, some homeless, some are new arrivals from Mexico, and all hit hard by the economic downturn. 93% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch which is another indicator of the need in the community. The majority of the students are bilingual which is an asset they will carry into the future. Many come from homes in which English is not spoken. I teach the 5th-8th grade Special Needs students. In my school, the majority of these students are Learning Disabled which means they have deficits in processing information. This usually becomes evident as they are learning to read or do math. They are intelligent students who need assistance in developing skills to help them access information in other ways. That is where I come in. As the Special Education teacher, I try to help my students fit in with their non-disabled peers by giving them these skills and a sense of pride in their accomplishments. Last year, I requested and received a color printer in a Donors Choose proposal. The purpose was to help my students create printed projects of which they could be proud to present. Thankfully, my students really enjoyed printing their work on a color printer and were happy to see their classroom teachers compliment their efforts. This year, however, I need to request ink for the printer since it is not within the school's budget to have color printers in every classroom. For this reason, I have chosen the multi-pack of the proper ink which should be sufficient for the year. The choice has the added benefit of coming with photo paper which could lead to some interesting projects. My students and I would be most grateful if you would consider funding our proposal. I know you are interested in education by the very fact that you are perusing this website. Your kindness and generosity toward my students will make a lasting impact on my them. I am always careful that they understand that the things we receive from a donor such as yourself are given out of someone's kind spirit. Thank you for considering this proposal.