My students need 100 binders, 1500 sheet protectors, and 100 sets of dividers to create professional portfolios.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Hoffman's classroom raised $822
This project is fully funded
My students are 7th and 8th graders with great potential, although they are largely unaware of it. I teach them math and science. My students all received free breakfasts and lunches. They are a diverse population, including Caucasians, African-Americans, Vietnamese, Albanians, Palestinians, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Costa Ricans, and Mexicans. Most of them have no family members or even acquaintances, aside from their teachers, who have graduated from college. They desperately need help realizing their potential and preparing to reach it!
The dropout rate in my city is alarmingly high! If drastic steps are not taken at the middle school level, students will continue to drop out of high school, many as early as in 9th grade! I believe this is because they do not realize their potential and are unable to envision themselves pursuing higher education successfully. If they do have such dreams, they lack the practical steps required to pursue them. After seven years of teaching this demographic, I am convinced that the middle school years are crucial, and I need your help to achieve my dream of lowering the dropout rate in my city!
I see professional portfolios as a practical way to help my students begin to envision and prepare for their futures. I have helped students create portfolios in the past but on a small scale. I would like ALL of my students to create portfolios that include the following components: resumes, report cards, standardized test scores, recommendations, awards, community service documentation, activities, and sample work! From my initial attempts with portfolios, I've found that students get excited about getting involved in school and community activities, often asking as their first question, "Can I put it in my portfolio?" The portfolios have also served as an organizational tool, helping them to realize the importance of documents that they will need to have handy and in good condition for applications to high schools, high school interviews, and job interviews, as well as college applications and interviews. I anticipate that if ALL of my students are able to create portfolios, their use of them will potentially inspire them to research careers, pursue job shadowing opportunities, request recommendations, strive for awards, participate in community service, and produce higher-quality work!
Your help will enable ALL of my students to create professional portfolios that have the potential to serve them well for the rest of their lives. More importantly, your help will enable my students to obtain a sense of their great potential as the teenagers they are and as the adults they will become!
Nearly all 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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