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 teach at a STEAM model school that incorporates performing arts, visual arts, coding, computer science, financial literacy, and social-emotional learning within its curriculum. Our urban school receives federal funding for programs that provide free breakfast and lunch for every student, and Title I services to economically-disadvantaged boys and girls. We are a class that includes military families, gifted/talented students, ESL/ELL students, inclusion/special education students, and the tech-savvy. My students are energetic and very busy within the classroom. Even with parental support, I would love to say that my students have everything that they need to be successful but they don't.
We focus on problem-based and project-based learning taking place within our "Castle on the Hill".
Our innovators will be developing new mindsets that will embrace critical thinking, communication, creative thinking, citizenship, collaboration, and culture. They will have a guiding hand in defining their education while being problem-solvers in a flexible, educational setting. Building a community of global citizens is what we are excited about!
My Project
I am requesting twenty-two sets of Heggerty Decodable books from their Toucan and Frog series.
What Difference Does It Make?
When it comes to unequal opportunities in education, our school addresses three of the four major aspects. Our school is small in population (220 students) with smaller class sizes (15:1) being taught by qualified teachers. But the last piece of the education puzzle is a challenging curriculum. With the current global pandemic keeping our students away from in-person, direct instruction, they will be 2-3 years behind moving forward. As an educator, I need to provide my students with books that represent them and they can also use to learn how to read. Phoneme awareness is so important to my students' reading because they must be able to be aware of the sounds that make up the spoken word. Providing decodable books that my students can see themselves in while they are learning to read, will give them the motivation to pick up that book to want to learn.
Nearly all 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 Mrs. Richardson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
