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
Imagine living in a world where you cannot control your own senses. Every light, sound, smell, and feeling is magnified, making it virtually impossible to focus and sending you into a stressful and overwhelming state that feels unending.
The ten students in my self contained 4-8th grade Special Education classroom live this reality every day.
The unique, complex, creative students in my classroom are challenged with a variety of cognitive disabilities that also greatly affect their ability to process their senses. On top of their cognitive and sensory challenges, 100% of the students attending our elementary school are low income. Their families, school, and school district have the passion, but not have the funding, to allow my students to access their educational world the way that their typically functioning peers do.
My Project
My students need a Sensory Corner in our classroom that will allow them to regulate their sensory needs with specially designed tools that will calm and focus them. This area will have items that students can use within our classroom as well as take with them to general education classrooms when spending time with their typical peers. Having a tool to help regulate their needs will allow students to behave more like their typical peers. Having sensory tools will make inclusion a possibility for students that were previously unable to handle time in a general education setting. This much needed regulation in their lives will allow their incredible personalities to shine through from beyond the challenges that they were hiding behind.
A Sensory Corner is something that my ten special education students have never seen.
They have spent their lives in an inner city setting learning to live with minimal supports due to their lack of resources. This is the chance for my students to access their classroom, school, community, and life the way that they deserve to.
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. G. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.