Poetry Workshop Series With Teaching Artist Gabriel Ramirez
My students need the opportunity to write and perform their own poetry, guided by a teaching artist and poet who is an alum of our school!
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Frank's classroom raised $991
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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 Students
As a transfer high school, my school's mission is to serve 17-21 year old students who have struggled to find success in traditional high schools in New York City. Most of our students are African American and Latino, hailing from low-income neighborhoods all over New York City. Some of them travel over an hour each way to attend our school.
Our students are some of the most resilient young people you will ever meet.
They persevere through challenges outside of school and refuse to give up on their education, even when their schools give up on them. This perseverance is messy: attendance is inconsistent, life often gets in the way of students arriving really ready to learn, and many students feel turned off by what happens in a traditional classroom.
As a special education teacher, I work with many students whose academic struggles have been significant. Many of them have repeatedly failed classes and standardized tests required for graduation. Some of them re-take these tests ten, eleven, twelve times, over years, until they pass. School doesn't always allow them to showcase their strengths, but they still show up. My students are determined, creative, hilarious, beautiful people. They are awesome.
My Project
I would like to bring in Gabriel Ramirez, a poet and teaching artist, to facilitate a poetry workshop series with my students. Gabriel is an alumnus of our school, and many of my students are likely to find that Gabriel's story resonates with their own. He is a gifted, nationally-recognized spoken-word artist and has developed a series of four hour-long workshops to guide students through the creation, revision, and sharing of their own original poetry. This series of four workshops will be conducted with two different classes each day and will culminate with a open mic performance that includes both my students and Gabriel performing.
I want my students to be able to write their truth, to be empowered to give voice to their most important feelings.
Self-expression is one of the most important reasons to become a better writer. It is far more compelling than essay prompts, standardized tests, or grades. The opportunity to work with Gabriel in this poetry workshop series will be an incredibly meaningful way to work on self-expression through poetry. I hope that it will engage my students more deeply in both writing and reading as they become more comfortable with the genre of poetry and with their own voice as writers.
Nearly all 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 Ms. Frank and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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