This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
I have the honor of teaching art to all of the roughly 400 students that attend my school. They come to my classroom eager to learn new things and challenge themselves to think creatively. While students are at school, they all receive a free breakfast and lunch; as the neighborhood that they reside in falls well below the poverty level, with more than 87% of my students' families considered economically disadvantaged. Despite the many challenges they face outside of school, they are determined to do their best in my classroom and explore the world of art with me.
My students are my inspiration every single day.
They challenge me to be the best I can be so that I can provide them with the best learning experiences that they deserve. With so few of them ever exposed to the wonders of drawing and painting, I feel it is so important that I provide the best materials and techniques to show them that they too are fully capable of becoming great artists.
My Project
My students are always so excited to try out new ideas and materials in the art room, but unfortunately, we do not have access to all of the necessary supplies that could afford us those experiences together. As students coming from low-income homes, they have had very little interactions with art before, so materials like watercolor paper for creating landscapes, papier-mâché for 3D figures, markers for creating colorful designs, and felt fabric for exploring fiber arts would be so beneficial to their art experience and creative thinking.
I feel that it is my duty to provide all 400 of my students with the best art experience that I can and one that they deserve.
I chose these items specifically for my students and our art room. The classroom caddies will be extremely beneficial to help keep our classroom neat and organized, especially with over 400 students using similar materials every day, class after class. This organization tool will also help show students how important it is to respect and take care of our art materials so that we can get full use out of them. What may seem like simple, basic materials, such as Sharpie markers and tape, are things that are essential to so many different types of art projects, but are also things that we currently lack in our classroom. With the help of these basic materials, I can show them that the world of art is a wonderful, fascinating place that they can experience and strive in as well. These materials will be used by brand-new kindergarteners to students in middle school, soon to head off to high school. Letting them investigate and explore with these new materials would be an experience my students and I would never forget.
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. Belfiore and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.