My students are passionate, talented, funny, and persevering. They have to be in order to survive in one of the worst neighborhoods in the South Bronx. Many come from broken homes, foster care, group homes, and family shelters for the homeless or abused. Despite these circumstances, my kids are eager to come to school and find a path out of their situation with the power of education. I have never met a stronger group of young men and women in my 20+years of teaching.
These students are so disadvantaged that many of them don't have access to the simplest supplies at home.
I want them to be exposed to as much as possible, so they don't fall behind in their future educational endeavors. They could have a very bleak outlook on what life has to offer them, but the amazing thing is they don't. I strive every day to be a positive role model for them and reinforce the idea they can make a difference in their own lives with the power of education.
My Project
Organization is key! As seniors in my Bridge to College class, my students are required to keep track of a million and one forms and documents. While some things are electronic, many more are still in paper format. While I love my students, they're not exactly the most organized.
Having a filing cabinet, file folders, and other organizational materials would be the perfect addition to my form-heavy college application classes.
I have my own filing cabinet in the back office for sensitive documents, but there are many that could be kept for more easy access by my students right in the classroom. Not only would having easy access to these items be better for me, it's better for my students who are often working on up to five different applications at the same time; and everyone is on a different one! The seniors can get up and retrieve what they need from their file and spare me the time from going to the locked cabinet in the back, thereby giving me more one on one time with the students. It's a win, win!
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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. McCormack and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
