My students are amazing, resilient, and motivated. They speak many languages and come from diverse backgrounds. They are creative and have unique stories to share. They help each other and put a smile on my face every day. They cheer when their friends learn a new skill and their faces scrunch up as they write and illustrate their own stories. Their eyes light up as they realize they can solve a math problem all by themselves. They skip, hop, and run around the playground, getting their wiggles out so they can go back into the classroom and read their new favorite book.
I teach at a Title I school in Portland, Oregon where 100 percent of our students receive free breakfast and lunch.
My first graders come to school and try their best every day! They overcome challenges such as homelessness, trauma, poverty, neglect, and discrimination. They know that school is a safe place and that the teachers at our school will do anything for them. They have unique learning needs that I work to meet everyday.
My Project
All students need to feel like they are seen by their teachers and their school. One of the most important ways to do this is to make sure that students see themselves reflected in the classroom. I aim to do this by providing a space where they can find a piece of paper that is the same color as their skin, pick up a book that has a character that speaks the same language that they do, and mix paint colors to recreate the quilt their grandmother made them or match the exact color of their hair. This feeling of belonging will last past a book being read or paint drying. It will create an environment where all my students feel at home and ready to take risks like solving a hard math problem or tackling a new book.
I want my students to look around the classroom that we share and see themselves.
Paint cups, drying racks, and stamp pads provide needed materials for my students to express themselves through mixed media art that reflects their lived experience. When they come into the classroom they will see themselves and their creations as an important part of the learning space. The books will help to build a classroom library where students can read books about characters that look like them, their community, or like no one they have ever met before. Reading about a range of characters provides them with the opportunity to meet and learn about many different kinds of people and communities.
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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. Whitney and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
