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This teacher needs your help!

Dr. Quantz from Aurora, CO is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Dr. Quantz is requesting

Igniting the Spark: Books They Won’t Want to Put Down

Help me give my students new books to read. I inherited my classroom library and most of the books are old and beaten up. They deserve new books that represent their interests.

  • 9 donors
  • $738 still needed

expires Apr 25

  • 9 donors
  • $738 still needed
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My Project

My students are bright, capable, and full of potential, yet many identify as "reluctant readers." This reluctance isn't a lack of ability; it is a lack of opportunity. Our school has not had a librarian for years due to budget cuts, leaving my classroom library as the primary source of reading material. Unfortunately, the collection I inherited is outdated, tattered, and literally falling apart. My students deserve better than hand-me-downs that are missing pages; they deserve to see themselves in fresh, exciting stories.

We tell our middle schoolers that reading is a critical life skill and that they should read daily.

However, when we hand them taped-up, yellowed books from twenty years ago, we are silently telling them that they aren't important enough to have books they actually want to read.

I am requesting a library refresh featuring books chosen directly from student interest surveys. These titles represent the diversity of my classroom and the specific interests of my students—from graphic novels to modern realistic fiction. By funding this project, you aren't just buying paper and ink; you are validating my students' worth. You are proving that their interests matter and giving them the dignity of opening a brand-new book. This is the spark they need to transition from "reluctant" to "engaged."

Dr. Quantz will only receive their materials if this project is fully funded by April 25.

Dr. Quantz Columbia Middle School Grades 6-8

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.

Aurora, CO View local requests

More than three‑quarters 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

115 students impacted 9donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
4 Book Set: Native American Spotlight (ages 10+): Mascot, Elatsoe, Killers of the Flower Moon (Young Readers Edition), Apple: Skin to the Core • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $77.00 1 $77.00
3 Hardcover YA Book Set (14+): They Both Die at the End, First to Die at the End, The Survivor Wants to Die at the End (Complete Death-Cast Series) • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $62.00 1 $62.00
Shadow Children - Shadow Children, The Complete Series (Boxed Set) - Paperback Book • AKJ Education $40.87 1 $40.87
Fablehaven Complete Set (Boxed Set): Fablehaven; Rise of the Evening Star; Grip of the Shadow Plague; Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary; Keys to the Demon Prison • Amazon Business $40.22 1 $40.22
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (paperback) • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $11.00 2 $22.00
Rebound (The Crossover Series) (paperback) x Black Books Matter from MahoganyBooks • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $10.00 2 $20.00
Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem • Amazon Business $16.95 1 $16.95
Legacy of Orisha - Children of Blood and Bone - Hardcover Book • AKJ Education $16.78 1 $16.78
Bomb (Graphic Novel): The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon • Amazon Business $16.38 1 $16.38
Ghost (Track #1) (paperback) x Black Books Matter from MahoganyBooks • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $8.00 2 $16.00
Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds (Volume 1) • Amazon Business $15.98 1 $15.98
Drum Roll, Please: A Heartwarming Sapphic Middle Grade Tale of Friendship, Music, and Self-Discovery at Summer Camp in Michigan • Amazon Business $14.39 1 $14.39
The Other Half of Happy: (Middle Grade Novel for Ages 9-12, Bilingual Tween Book) • Amazon Business $14.26 1 $14.26
The Best At It (YA paperback) • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $14.00 1 $14.00
The Carrefour Curse • Amazon Business $13.99 1 $13.99
Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. Children's and Young Adult. Winner (Awards) - A Different Pond - Hardcover Book • AKJ Education $13.86 1 $13.86
Genesis Begins Again • Amazon Business $13.66 1 $13.66
Blood at the Root • Amazon Business $13.56 1 $13.56
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team: (A True Story of Survival, Teamwork, and Global Rescue Efforts - For Kids Ages 9-12 in Grades 4-7) • Amazon Business $13.49 1 $13.49
Abuela, Don't Forget Me (YA paperback) • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $13.00 1 $13.00
7th Grade Revolution • Amazon Business $12.99 1 $12.99
Rise of the Halfling King (Tales of the Feathered Serpent #1) • Amazon Business $12.95 1 $12.95
Redwood and Ponytail: (Novels for Preteen Girls, Children’s Fiction on Social Situations, Fiction Books for Young Adults, LGBTQ Books, Stories in Verse) • Amazon Business $12.90 1 $12.90
Hungry Ghost • Amazon Business $12.74 1 $12.74
An Ember in the Ashes • Amazon Business $12.55 1 $12.55
Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel (paperback graphic novel) • DonorsChoose Featured Favorites $12.00 1 $12.00
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam • Amazon Business $11.99 1 $11.99
I Survived - I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 (I Survived Graphic Novel #9) - Hardcover Book • AKJ Education $11.24 1 $11.24
The Things She's Seen • Amazon Business $11.17 1 $11.17
The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal) - Gift Edition • Amazon Business $11.03 1 $11.03
Sad Perfect: A Novel • Amazon Business $11.02 1 $11.02
Witches Steeped in Gold - Hardcover Book • AKJ Education $10.95 1 $10.95
Buried and the Bound - The Buried and the Bound - Hardcover Book • AKJ Education $10.89 1 $10.89
The Proto Project: A Sci-Fi Adventure of the Mind for Kids Ages 9-12 • Amazon Business $10.39 1 $10.39
Healer of the Water Monster • Amazon Business $10.33 1 $10.33
The Poisons We Drink - Paperback Book • AKJ Education $10.21 1 $10.21
A Spoonful of Time: A Novel • Amazon Business $10.19 1 $10.19
Dear Mothman: A Novel in Verse • Amazon Business $10.02 1 $10.02
Ellie Engle Saves Herself • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
Runaway • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
Spoken: A Novel • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
The Stars Beneath Our Feet • Amazon Business $9.97 1 $9.97
I Hate Everyone But You: A Novel About Best Friends • Amazon Business $9.96 1 $9.96
Reverie • Amazon Business $9.69 1 $9.69
I Am the Night Sky: ...& Other Reflections by Muslim American Youth (Shout Mouse Press Young Adult Books) • Amazon Business $9.69 1 $9.69
Drama: A Graphic Novel - Paperback Book • AKJ Education $9.48 1 $9.48
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Newbery Honor Book; National Book Award Winner) • Amazon Business $9.05 1 $9.05
Bone Gap • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
Black Frontiers: A History of African American Heroes in the Old West • Amazon Business $8.79 1 $8.79
Not Here to Be Liked • Amazon Business $8.79 1 $8.79
Between Shades of Gray • Amazon Business $8.72 1 $8.72
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia • Amazon Business $8.69 1 $8.69
Foul Lady Fortune Duet - Foul Heart Huntsman - Hardcover Book • AKJ Education $8.63 1 $8.63
White Smoke • Amazon Business $8.37 1 $8.37
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice • Amazon Business $8.30 1 $8.30
Tell Me What Really Happened • Amazon Business $7.87 1 $7.87
Navigating Early • Amazon Business $7.19 1 $7.19
When You Trap a Tiger: (Newbery Medal Winner) • Amazon Business $7.18 1 $7.18
Jinxed • Amazon Business $7.00 1 $7.00
The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal) • Amazon Business $6.89 1 $6.89
Lucky Broken Girl • Amazon Business $6.51 1 $6.51
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel • Amazon Business $6.50 1 $6.50
A Home for Goddesses and Dogs: A Middle Grade Novel of Loss, an LGBTQ Family, and a Rescue Dog • Amazon Business $6.39 1 $6.39
The War That Saved My Life: (Newbery Honor Award Winner) • Amazon Business $6.25 1 $6.25
The Night Diary • Amazon Business $6.00 1 $6.00
The Gravity of Us • Amazon Business $5.84 1 $5.84
Prelude for Lost Souls • Amazon Business $5.43 1 $5.43
I Survived - I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 (I Survived #3) - Paperback Book • AKJ Education $4.37 1 $4.37
I Survived - I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 - Paperback Book • AKJ Education $3.64 1 $3.64

Materials cost

$928.09

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$13.92

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$972.01

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$171.53

Total project goal

$1,143.54

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $1,143.54

9 Donors

-$406.00

Donations toward project cost

-$345.10

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$60.90

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $737.54

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

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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 Dr. Quantz and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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