My children's world only exist of the few blocks that surround their home. I teach Kindergarten in a school that is in a very poor neighborhood of our city. The school is undergoing a total change of personnel from the principal on down and a total change of focus. The staff is committed to doing whatever it can to help our children succeed in school and later in life.
My students' experiences with life do not go too far beyond their block, except for coming to school. Their families do not have the resources to even take them to the local zoo or children's museum. Of course they want to, but they barely make enough to put food on their tables and a roof over their families' heads.
However, my students love to learn about science. We have a plant that we are watching grow in our window. When I brought the plant to school, the excitement on the children's faces was unbelievable! One child was so excited she had to have her mom come to the classroom to see it. This is how they all feel.
Unfortunately, not only does the school have limited resources, but I do too. Even though I have 17 years experience I lost most of my things in Katrina and have not been able to replace them. Insurance doesn't pay much for those things. So, please any help you can give would be very much appreciated by my students and by me.
The resources I am asking for would give realistic pictures of animals and plants that my students would otherwise not even know existed. The books would open up their eyes to a world that right now is foreign to them. Who knows what a little time with a magnifying glass might do to the imagination and creativity of a child? You may be creating a spark in the next Pasteur or Madame Curie, who knows?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if 30 years from now you would get a thank you note from a child who you help now and that adult signs the thank you card "Dr. somebody." It would happen because you cared enough to help them when they were little. To my children, a little help means a lot. They have so little help or hope. Please be their beacon of light in their sea of darkness! Thank you.
More than a third of 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
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