This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Project
My students are bright, inquisitive, and love a challenge. Many of my students come from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the day, I teach math and reading enrichment groups for gifted students. We include many science and engineering-type activities during our reading and writing time that connect to the math concepts we learn during math time. These groups also serve high-achieving students who are not identified as "gifted" because we try to be as inclusive as possible. Ensuring equity in gifted programs is always a challenge.
I ensure access to enrichment STEM activities to students of all backgrounds by providing my students with all the basic school supplies they need while in my classroom.
This way, all learners have equal access to the tools they need to be successful, whether or not their family has money for school supplies. Because I do not receive a classroom budget from the school, these supplies often come out of my own pocket.
On each child's first day in my classroom, they get a large plastic pencil pouch, brand new pencil, pencil topper eraser, and their choice of fun sticker to help identify their pouch as their own. This immediately starts building positive relationships and helps kids feel good about coming to my class and excelling in STEM.
These pouches are large enough to hold entire sheets of paper, so they can save their work from day to day in one place. This is essential for keeping my room organized since I have around 120 students come through my classroom every two days.
In our rural district, most of the families work in agriculture. Over 80% of our school children are of Hispanic descent, and many of them are English Language Learners.
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
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 Mrs. Carlson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
