My students need basic supplies, such as paper, 3-hole punches and markers, to keep our classroom functioning. Our district is facing a budget shortfall this year, which translates into huge cuts in the classroom.
$522 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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.
Teachers and students in our school are constantly being asked to do more with less. Without access to basic resources like paper to make copies of relevant and interesting readings or to create instructions for classroom projects and activities, it makes teaching difficult.
New Mexico consistently ranks around 48th or 49th (of our 50 states) in research polls-in areas like poverty, unemployment, teen pregnancy, and high school dropout rates.
It is not coincidence that these problems are linked. I work in a school where, depending on whose statistics you use, as many as 50% of our students drop out. I feel that some of these challenges/problems persist because our state legislature consistently underfunds social programs to address these issues-especially in the arena of education. Our classrooms, our students and our communities suffer. New Mexico legislators seem to feel that since we have a struggling educational system, they should punish us-teachers and students-by giving us less money, rather than developing real solutions to address the problems these kids and this system faces. Because of this consistent underfunding, I often do not have the resources to buy basic supplies for my classroom.
My Project
Many of my students have complained that they feel the school doesn't value them, because their classrooms do not receive adequate basic resources. To combat this feeling, I try to provide students with interesting supplemental reading materials and help them learn through creative project based assignments-asking them to create personal connections to the material with real life examples. I just completed a unit on Congress which required students to create draft legislation about topics of their choice to learn the law-making process. This type of project requires that I at least have copy paper in order to run off the materials for my students and allow them to create products in the classroom. I plan to use the paper I requested for study of Human Rights issues and an ensuing letter writing campaign, as well as an Economics unit using the book "Freakonomics". With these supplies we will have the ability to undertake innovative learning experiences that students create themselves.
While each and every year, I am hopeful that the state legislature will change their tune, I know that I will receive no more money to attain the things I need in my classroom.
I simply ask those who care about the future of education, to think about the most effective, creative teacher they had in school-and about how much you learned with them. I want to be that teacher for the kids in my class-but I cannot do it alone. I need resources to help me to my job well. Help me be that teacher.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Burkybile and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
