Our student demographic is very diverse and includes Native Hawaiian, Mexican, Russian, Filipino, and Micronesian students, among others. Our students are bright and curious; they enjoy rhythm, dance, and performance. Many of them are kinesthetic learners, meaning that they need to move around and experience hands-on learning in order to acquire skills. They are modest but can't hide their pride and excitement when they master a new concept or come to the realization that their hard work has resulted in academic success.
About half of our students qualify for federally-subsidized free or reduced lunch due to economic hardship at home.
Many of these students are unlikely to experience the educational and career opportunities enjoyed by their well-off peers. Nearly all of my students are limited in their access to opportunity compared to their peers on the mainland United States.
My Project
This project is for admission to DolphinQuest. Our students will experience hands-on learning at DolphinQuest in order to learn about ocean ecosystems and keeping the ocean clean. For these kama'aina (local) children, who are constantly surrounded by marine life and can often be found at the beach, being a part of the DolphinQuest program will allow them to become more educated about the environments that they often see.
For many of our students and families, Dolphin Quest (located at the Hilton Waikoloa) is inaccessible due to the extremely high cost.
Imagine observing these dolphins from afar and wanting so badly to be able touch and experience them like the children whose families can afford to pay for a ticket. For those of our students who are being raised in poverty, an opportunity such as this one would seem like just a dream.
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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. Pine and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
