Our students come to school every day with invisible backpacks full of trauma, worries and mental health needs. The goal of our classroom is to support these students through their education in a safe environment. In addition to academics our students are working on social/emotional skills and executive functioning skills. Every day I see these students working hard to get their work done and achieve their goals. They are excited learners and willing to try new and different things.
Our school is 58% free/reduced lunch.
Since we need to provide basic school supplies for students that they would otherwise go without we can't afford all of the learning tools that our students could benefit from. Getting classroom sets of books donated would allow our students to participate in read-a-louds that they can relate too. Getting a donation for flexible seating would allow our students to work in environments where their bodies are getting the movement, pressure or flexibility that they need to focus on their academics. Getting a donation for interactive games would improve students executive functions skills such as planning, cooperation, spacial reasoning and organization. They would also given students a chance to practice their social skills.
My Project
Our classroom is made up of students who have experienced traumatic situations and have mental health needs that make it very hard for them to be with their peers through out the school day. We are staffed with a special education teacher, school counselor and paraprofessional.
Our students come to school each day looking for positive adult relationships in a safe environment where they can count on their basic needs being met.
This doesn't leave much room in our classroom budget for sets of books, seating or interactive games.
We start our school day with a self regulation routine and executive functioning activities giving our students time to reset their brain and get ready for academics. We then move into math, literacy, social studies and science. We take frequent breaks and interweave social skills throughout our day. At the end of the day we spend time working together on something such as cooking, baking, crafts, recess, board games or field trips into the community. We use this time to try out our communication skills, conflict resolution skills, friendship skills and other life skills that students will need to be successful.
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. Houssa and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
