My students need alto saxophone reeds and a more durable trumpet to replace our old worn down horns and practice pads to learn their rudiments.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Rawlins's classroom raised $493
This project is fully funded
My Students
"Be Who You Are." This is a quote that I have hanging on the wall in my office. I have this quote on display because I want my students to feel like they have a place they can come and be themselves. I want them to know that who they are is something they should be proud of.
Who are my students?
That's easy. My students are some of the best musicians in the entire state of Louisiana. Though they live and go to school in some of the poorest places in Louisiana, they are still full of life and hope. We have a very young band, with a lot of them being first time marchers. The majority of our band students mainly consists of 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. We have about 6 seniors and about 15-20 10th-11th graders. The rest are our 7th, 8th and 9th graders. We have only one veteran on our entire snare drum line...the rest are middle school and first time marchers for our school! This is the main reason why we need those drum pads. We want to make sure they are learning their rudiments and not just banging on a drum.
My Project
When I showed my students the plastic pBone trombone that was given to us through the generosity of Donors Choose, they were ecstatic! I remember one trombone player stopping dead in his tracks when he saw it. He has asked me to play on it every day since then! So we have tried it out and we believe it would be perfect for our band because it's more durable. We were happy to find that they also make a plastic trumpet so, of course, our trumpet players immediately asked if they could try using the plastic trumpet, especially since our current trumpets are falling apart. Due to the success of the plastic trombone, I want to make this happen for our trumpet players as well. Our saxophone section is our most disciplined section. So I want to make sure they have everything they need to keep up the good work. They only thing they've asked for is some new reeds. I told them we can make that happen!
When I took this job, the band program was severely broken.
I want to make band as special to these students as possible because I want this to be their safe haven. I want music and band to be among the things that they can count and depend on. I want to provide an experience where they feel free to express themselves in a positive and productive way.
More than three‑quarters 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 Mr. Rawlins and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.