My students have just begun their high school experience. For the first time, they will attend the same school as every other student in their class. My students go to school in a large urban district with over 16,000 students. They went to one of two middle schools which feed into a freshman center that is separate from the 10th-12th-grade high school.
My students are honors students in an underprivileged school district; 78% of students have free or reduced lunch.
My students are trying to find their place, their niche, for the rest of their high school experience.
My Project
Many of my students are not comfortable at home, they dread breaks. My hope is to create a safe, comfortable learning environment. This school year (2017-2018) was my first experiment with flexible seating. I wanted to see if the plan that was working for many elementary school teachers could also be applied to high school. My principal was supportive and donated some standing tables that were in school storage, but the rest of my supplies came from thrift shopping.
Like I'd hoped, my students loved having flexible seating!
They are able to choose where they are most comfortable in the classroom to work. It helped create a classroom community much faster. Some students chose to work at standing tables, or sit on the couch, while others preferred traditional desks.
By the end of the first semester, the couch was broken. An old, cheap couch couldn't withstand the wear and tear 120 students placed on it day in and day out.
My students need a new "comfortable" option to replace the broken, cheap couch. The chairs I found on Quill.com are made for note-taking and are sure to be a huge hit in my classroom.
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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. Vanderveer and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
