The cost of 30 v-back plastic stacking chairs (with 16" seat height) from Quill Corporation is $956, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
Imagine your ultimate workspace -- now do you envision yourself sitting at a table that comes up to your shoulders? Neither do my 26 students, although they have made the best of it for a year. We had hoped that the school would have the resources to provide us with functional and comfortable seating, but we were passed over because our tables and chairs are "good enough."
Our vision of "good enough" is very different. The students in my class come in all shapes and sizes and need workspaces that can adjust to their bodies, promote good posture, and, therefore, foster good attention and excellent work.
We are a very diverse Brooklyn school that draws from the nearby projects as well as from the neighborhood brownstones and townhouses. Our diversity comes from a wide range of economic, cultural, academic, and ethnic backgrounds.
I am a classroom teacher moving up with the class from 4th grade to 5th grade. I teach reading, writing, math, social studies, and science to these students who spend most of their day and complete most of their work in these hand-me-down chairs from when the school had 6th graders. I notice them shift uncomfortably, distracting them from their reading. I bite my lip when the smallest kids kneel in their seats to get proper leverage and when others struggle through the physical act of writing. Far too many of our students live in chaotic worlds that do not fit their needs; the classroom must be a place that fits who they are in order for them to reach their full potential.
These students deserve workspaces that promote their best work and their full attention each day that they are learning and when they take their standardized tests. I know that proper seating will cause immediate and dramatic results, and I can see the impact of this common-sense furniture enduring for quite a few years in our school.
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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. Best and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.