My students need 2 digital cameras and 2 memory cards to shoot pictures for their yearbook project. They have the skills, desire, and motivation, just not the resources.
$267 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! 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.
Imagine a yearbook without pictures. I have to tell my students that though they have the creativity and vision to record their memories, the budget doesn't allow for a camera. They ask me, "Mr. Ellis what good is a yearbook without pictures?" Please help us remember our time in middle school.
My 8th graders live and attend school in one of the most dangerous areas of East Oakland.
Trauma is an integral part of their everyday experience and yet they still desire to record the best parts of their middle school years. I constantly remind them that though they often must assume the role of an adult at home, school is a place for them to truly be children. The student body is predominately Hispanic and represent a strong and rich cultural identity. They speak both Spanish and English and are, in many cases, the primary channel connecting the outside English world and the Spanish world at home. They like playing outside, riding their bikes, gossiping (as middle school students do) and playing sports. They are loud, rambunctious, and creative. Their notions of the world are heavily influenced by their small communities, but they are eager to experience more of the world. Many of them have never left East Oakland. They love and cherish computer access!
My Project
We want to create a yearbook! We have generously been provided with an online layout and publishing program. Students have access to sophisticated layout technology and a platform that facilitates the construction and publication of a beautiful and professional quality yearbook. However, without cameras, the pictures are often limited to those taken by teacher's personal cameras (which are rarely and very cautiously lent out) or students' cell phone snap shots. The infrequency and poor quality of these photos does not lend itself to the professional quality yearbook that my students are capable of creating. I want to give my students the privilege and opportunity to take ownership over their yearbook and feel the great responsibility of caring for and using a high quality camera and capturing their own photos. My students will learn responsibility and empowerment through the use of these 2 digital cameras and 2 memory cards. They will feel great pride over their self-driven accomplishments!
Many of my students don't have computers at home and being able to take photos and lay them out online to ultimately create their own yearbook is an INCREDIBLE opportunity for them.
Taking ownership over every aspect of their yearbook provides a sense of accomplishment often not even imagined by many of my students. Additionally, the empowerment felt by being entrusted with such responsibilities is invaluable to students whose lives are impacted everyday by distrust.
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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 Mr. Bratt and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
