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This teacher needs your help!

Mr. Overacker from Monroe, LA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mr. Overacker is requesting

Excelsior! Change a Students' Life One Book at a Time

My students need these texts to improve their literacy achievement. My students are inner-city youth that have been disenfranchised by their past education.

FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Overacker's classroom raised $609

This project is fully funded

My Students

"We must be the beacon of light for our students," (Natasha Hunter)). A typical day in my classroom involves rich, content area literacy with engaging activities. It is controlled chaos. In the past four years, I have raised literacy achievement in my classroom with limited funds and a small library

My students are all African-American and have grown up in the inner-city.

They have been disenfranchised by the educational system and have almost lost hope on their education. They just need to be engaged and motivated to succeed. My "babies" (I call them my babies even though they are in high school) know I believe in them and know I will do whatever in my power to be an advocate and voice for them. My students may not have the literacy achievement to be ready for college or a career (the mean reading level for my students is 4.5), yet they do have an infinite knowledge of what struggle is and how to overcome hurdles. Many of my students have IEPs and have deficiencies in reading and metacognition, but, when driven and pushed, they rise to the occasion. My school tries its hardest to empower its students with pride, yet not all of the teachers truly believe in the students. Our school is situated in the hood, yet there is a light that beams in my classroom. They need the assistance.

My Project

With the many books, my students will be reading material that is engaging and relevant to their lives. I instill the value of reading and have twenty minutes each day in my schedule for independent reading. Our class novels with serve as anchors for their knowledge and other texts will build their capacities. Literacy will become reality when these texts arrive in our classroom! With the markers, students will create masterpieces, Gallery Walk art, "movie posters," and foldables from the literature they read. While students read, students will engage in active reading strategies and learn how to connect, synthesize, evaluate, and visualize what they are reading. Through the texts we receive through the funding, my students will raise their reading levels by reading texts that are on their Lexile level and true student achievement will occur!

If our classroom receives the donations, then my students' lives change.

We need the books to raise students' reading levels. When students' reading levels rise, true achievement and intrinsic motivation occurs. I know how to motivate my students, teach them how to read actively, and how to empower them as readers. What I cannot do is afford the books to get in the hands of my students. If my students get these books in their hands, they have a fighting chance at a quality of life and a future!

Mr. Overacker Wossman High School Grades 9-12

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Monroe, LA View local requests

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

90 students impacted 7donors

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
PURELL 9625-04 Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer, 2 Liter Economy Size Pump Bottle (Case of 4) • Amazon $74.07 1 $74.07
Common Core Curriculum: English, Grades 9-12 (Common Core English: The Wheatley Portfolio) • Amazon $24.77 1 $24.77
The English Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-To-Use Techniques and Materials for Grades 7-12 • Amazon $19.33 1 $19.33
Homeboyz • Amazon $8.09 2 $16.18
Quicksand and Passing (American Women Writers) • Amazon $14.36 1 $14.36
White Slave: A Novel • Amazon $14.36 1 $14.36
Expo Low Odor Chisel Tip Dry Erase Markers, 16 Colored Markers • Amazon $12.26 1 $12.26
The Real Deal: A Spiritual Guide for Black Teen Girls • Amazon $11.83 1 $11.83
Cane (New Edition) • Amazon $11.73 1 $11.73
Eleanor & Park • Amazon $11.39 1 $11.39
Wonder • Amazon $9.51 1 $9.51
The Rose that Grew from Concrete • Amazon $9.04 1 $9.04
Kick • Amazon $8.99 1 $8.99
All the Right Stuff • Amazon $8.99 1 $8.99
Stranger Things Have Happened • Amazon $8.99 1 $8.99
Foul Trouble • Amazon $8.80 1 $8.80
Street Pharm • Amazon $8.80 1 $8.80
Game • Amazon $8.80 1 $8.80
The Book Thief • Amazon $8.52 1 $8.52
If I Was Your Girl (Ni-Ni Girl Chronicles) • Amazon $8.25 1 $8.25
Dope Sick • Amazon $8.17 1 $8.17
Runner • Amazon $8.09 1 $8.09
Hip-Hop High School (Hoopster) • Amazon $8.09 1 $8.09
Bad Boy: A Memoir • Amazon $7.66 1 $7.66
Twisted • Amazon $7.66 1 $7.66
Tyrell • Amazon $7.35 1 $7.35
Shortie Like Mine • Amazon $7.30 1 $7.30
Hoops • Amazon $7.19 1 $7.19
The Black Hand: The Story of Rene "Boxer" Enriquez and His Life in the Mexican Mafia • Amazon $7.19 1 $7.19
The Rivalry: Mystery at the Army-Navy Game (The Sports Beat, 5) • Amazon $7.19 1 $7.19
After Tupac and D Foster • Amazon $7.19 1 $7.19
Women's Slave Narratives • Amazon $7.16 1 $7.16
Night Hoops • Amazon $7.03 1 $7.03
Thirteen Reasons Why • Amazon $6.87 1 $6.87
Out of My Mind • Amazon $6.25 1 $6.25
Looking for Alaska • Amazon $5.94 1 $5.94
Abducted by the Alpha (The Crestwood Chronicles) (Volume 1) • Amazon $5.39 1 $5.39
Fever 1793 • Amazon $5.12 1 $5.12
Because of Mr. Terupt • Amazon $4.80 1 $4.80
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 • Amazon $4.80 1 $4.80
When I Was a Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection (Dover Thrift Editions) • Amazon $3.60 1 $3.60
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (Dover Thrift Editions) • Amazon $2.70 1 $2.70

Materials cost

$441.71

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $38.65

3rd party payment processing fee

$6.63

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$516.99

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$91.23

Total project goal

$608.22

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $608.22

4 Donors

-$608.22

Donations toward project cost

-$516.99

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$91.23

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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