My ninth-grade students live in the financially poorest county in North Carolina, but in an area with some of the richest diversity. Most (if not all) of my students qualify for free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch. This is the only time some students get to eat; they cannot depend on having food at home.
In the last 3 years, our area has been heavily impacted by both Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence.
Many students were homeless after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and had yet to find housing when we were delivered another blow with Hurricane Florence in 2018. While I, along with hundreds of other teachers, furnish what we can out-of-pocket, we, too, were impacted by these hurricanes. The financial burden caused by these natural disasters has only made it more difficult to get supplies for our students.
Most of my students worry about day to day necessities: food, clothing, shelter, etc. School supplies are a luxury many cannot afford. While our school board recognizes this, and, therefore, furnishes each student with a backpack which comes with one 1-subject notebook, two pencils, and a plastic pencil pouch, this cannot begin to last for each student for a whole year.
My Project
These supplies will be used on a daily basis by my students. Because 95% (or more) of my students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch and come from low-income families, their families have to decide between school supplies and food. That's not something that any child should have to deal with.
Children should never feel embarrassed because they don't have the financial capabilities of purchasing their needed school supplies.
We can't expect our students to be successful if they don't have the necessary supplies for learning.
By having these simple items available in my classroom in a central location, students can help themselves when they need to, without feeling any shame about not having them. They won't have to walk up to the teacher and ask in front of other students. They can go up and get what they need.
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