I am a special education teacher who works with young children. My students are truly eager and excited to learn. They are anxious to come to school and sad to leave at the end of the day.
Many of my students have a difficult time focusing and are hyperactive.
These students come from a very depressed community and the majority of them live in a housing project close by. They come to me from single family homes and are often times being raised by a grandparent. Sometimes I hear of a father being incarcerated and I witness the sadness in the child's appearance.
Many of my students live in foster homes and some in homeless shelters. Close to ninety-seven percent of our student body participates in the free lunch school program. We are a Title I school and our population is predominantly African American.
In spite of the adversity facing the children, they are incredibly optimistic and excited about their futures. They are eager and anxious to come to school daily and love being with their friends and teachers.
My Project
Children's literature plays an essential role in the literacy development of children.Every student should be able to see themselves in the books they read Currently we do not have books to read that are a true representation of our African American and Hispanic students. Classroom books should promote diverse intersectional experiences. "Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books." (Rudine Sims Bishop, 1990, p. ix). My students deserve to have a diverse library collections that take into account numerous factors, such as race, class, disability, and religion.
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
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. Miller and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.