This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
I teach at a Title I high school that serves a predominantly low-income, minority student population. My students are marginalized, overlooked, and underrepresented in the community at large. I am creating a journalism class, as well as an ACT prep course. My objective is to give my students a voice through the journalism class and to level the playing field with the ACT prep class. People make unfair assumptions about my students based on where they live, but my kids are smart, funny, sweet, and want so badly to be successful.
But it's hard to succeed when you have never been provided with the tools to achieve success.
So many of my kids are just struggling to survive, and their parents don't have extra money for the types of enrichment experiences more affluent students have access to. Until my students are given the same opportunities that students in wealthier school systems receive, they will not be able to achieve the type of success they yearn for.
My Project
I have been hired to create a journalism program at my high school. This program will serve two purposes: it will increase literacy and fluency and it will allow my students to engage in real-world, collaborative learning. However, this program will not be possible without the benefit of classroom computers. We need 10 Chromebooks.
My current classroom technology consists of one ancient desktop computer which is insufficient for either a journalism class or an ACT prep class.
To compete in technology-driven job market, my students MUST have the computer skills their peers possess. As the classroom teacher, I will teach mini-lessons on writing, style, grammar, and editing. But as the course facilitator, I will guide the students as they use technology to research platforms for hosting a school newspaper, to decide on design and layout, and to learn how to develop content for an online publication. This kind of real-world experience is invaluable for my students and will prepare them for life beyond the walls of high school.
But most valuable of all is the opportunity for my students to express themselves to a wider audience. A school publication that is hosted on the web truly expands their borders and gives them the opportunity to see where they fit into a larger world. My students are isolated in their little pocket of the city, and it's easy for them to stereotyped and dismissed by an indifferent society. Their voices must be heard in order for them to claim their own identity and not the one that society has dismissively thrust upon them.
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 Mrs. Brunner and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.