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
Our school is home to a wildly diverse student body in terms of socioeconomics, race, and life experience. We have students who are living in million dollar homes and students whose single parents are working three jobs just to make ends meet. We have substantial populations of caucasian, African American, hispanic, and Burmese students. The diversity is phenomenal, but it can often lead to a disjointed, disconnected student population.
How do we unite these students and build community?
The simple answer is to show them that they are more similar than they are different. We want to show them that although we each bring our own unique experiences and perspectives to the table, we are all NV. And our school is great because of the dynamic student population. We want to celebrate our differences while banding together as a strong, supportive, unified school family.
My Project
Because soccer was never previously a passion of mine or really on my radar, I had no idea how important it is to so many of our students. Coaching this year, I had students coming out of the woodwork to talk to me about soccer. We did a “planning for your future” project in my class, and I had so many kids say that they wanted to play professional soccer as their dream career. Many of our more privileged students who share this passion can simply play club or join an indoor league. Unfortunately, most of our students for whom soccer is everything cannot afford those options.
Soccer reaches more people than any other sport and creates a sense of community unparalleled in our school.
For a lot of our Hispanic, Burmese, and African students, soccer was the thing that wove them into the fabric of our community at Northview. And I want to do what I can to help keep them there.
My co-sponsor and I started the Northview United Soccer Club because we wanted to continue the sense of connectedness and community that started during the soccer season. We had our first club meeting this week, and almost 40 students from all grades, all cultures, and all walks of life came out. It was truly beautiful. We have the interest, and we have the passion. What we don't have is the equipment to sustain an indoor soccer program. Our school does not have goals for indoor use, nor do we have the futsal balls that make indoor play effective. We are requesting goals, futsals, and cones to make soccer fields out of the spaces available to us until we are able to head outside again in late spring. Help us create unity in our school through soccer!
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. Cosler and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
