John Ruskin said, "The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." My students strive towards this every day as they become contributing members of society.
My students are in kindergarten through fifth grade classes for students with significant disabilities.
They attend a public elementary school with their neighborhood peers. Their differing abilities include: Autism, Angelman Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy, visual impairments, and hearing impairments. Some students are unable to communicate vocally and instead communicate with technology like iPads. Many have parents currently serving in the U.S. Military.
My Project
There are 30 raised beds in our "Best Buddies" school garden. They provide us with hands-on learning opportunities as well as social lessons. Students with significant disabilities are paired up with typical peers to water, weed, and harvest together. The birds, bees, and butterflies like the flowers we plant and the water baths students keep filled. Everyone enjoys the recipes we make with the freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. This button machine will help us make name tags so we can learn our friends' names faster and increase our friendships.
With your generous donation, general education and special education students will be able to get to know each other faster.
We hope they will build lasting friendships for many years to come.
More than a third 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
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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. Thompson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.