I teach music appreciation and vocal music students are in grades six-eight. Our community is a diverse mix of students from a variety of backgrounds, but, overall, we are an inner-city school with extreme poverty and limited resources. Many of my students do not speak English at home. A full 80% qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. My students rarely leave their neighborhood and have limited access to the world around them. Many are dealing with a lot of trauma in their personal lives and are forced to grow up far too quickly at home. I try to help everybody feel free of worries and stress through music making and singing! My students work on having a positive growth mindset and making everyone feel safe and included. I strive to instill a lifelong love and appreciation of the fine arts through music making, while also teaching skills like teamwork, confidence, creativity, and self-motivation. My students are just like any other middle school students, struggling with finding their place and their identity. But together in music, they can all feel like they belong!
My Project
This project will allow for us to purchase matching performance attire for my chorus students! Every year, we perform at a festival where we gather with other schools from the community. Each choir wears a t-shirt that represents their school. We have been unable to purchase matching t-shirts, so my students go every year wearing whatever school colors shirt they can find. Every year they comment that they feel left out because our choir doesn't have a cohesive look like the other schools do.
Choral uniforms provide a sense of ensemble, a professional presentation, a unity of visual appeal, and ensemble identity.
Due to our lack of budget to purchase uniforms for chorus, I ask my students to wear their own clothing and to wear their "nicest" outfit. However, many of my students struggle financially to be able to pay for nicer clothing. Many also lack a parental presence to take them shopping for this type of clothing. Having a chorus t-shirt would take the financial hardship and guesswork out of having to find something appropriate to wear as well as instill a sense of unity and pride in my singers!
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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. Rathe and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
