This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
Please help prevent one of my students from becoming a statistic in the drop out rate.
I teach 7th and 8th grade English. Our school is located in the middle of graffitied factories and prime gang territory. Our school district is rated one of the 10 worst urban school districts in America;where the graduation rate is 42%.(EPE Research Center 2008)
Most of my students read at a 4th grade reading level or below, and are considered "at risk". As it turns out the 7th and 8th grade are where most students decide whether they will stay in school or drop out. Our school doesn't have any sports programs or clubs of any sort. There is no funding and most parents don't want their kids walking home from school late as the neighborhood where we are located can be dangerous. So there aren't many incentives for kids to work toward. A lot of my students have stories of broken homes, gangs in their neighborhoods, and shots fired outside their windows. Most of their parents do not even have a high school education. But they leave all that behind to enter my class and hope for a better future. They inspire me every day.
I need an ipod as a fantastic prize to help motivate my students to continue to make positive choices in my classroom and at school. Having an ipod as the top prize in our end of the semester raffle will help to ensure that students are coming to class prepared,finishing their class and homework, and displaying appropriate behavior while working in cooperative learning groups. Last year some generous friends donated a used computer to my class. This was the top prize in the raffle contest at the end of the year. My students work in small cooperative learning groups and earn points for completing their class work, homework, attendance, arriving on time with their school supplies, following expected behavior guidelines, cooperating with peers and the teacher, etc. The group with the highest amount of points at the end of the week earns each group member a raffle ticket. I was thrilled to see a significant jump in the amount of work they produced and improved behavior from all of my students as a result of this positive incentive. They collaborated and helped to motivate each other. They began to build confidence in themselves as they saw their grades improving.
What does it take to stop a kid from dropping out of school? I put that question to you. Please help me by donating an ipod to my positive reward incentive program. The only way I can motivate my students this year is to offer them an outstanding powerful incentive. Please help prevent my students from becoming one more statistic in the drop out rate.
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
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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. Tarr and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
