My students need a pencil sharpener that actually sharpens pencils, and staple removers to use on interactive Science boards in the hallway and to separate lab packets.
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
"Wwwrarrara! Wwwrarrara!" The sound of an electric pencil sharpener is enough to give any teacher a migraine, but it hurts doubly when accompanied by a screaming student announcing that his or her pencil is broken or not sharp. Please support our Science Lab by providing a sharpener that works!
Aside from being pencil vampires, my students are classified as "high-risk" as more than 80% of our students receive free lunch at our Pre-K - 4th public elementary school in a Texas urban center.
Resources like pencils can be hard to come by and therefore it is critical that we use what we have to the fullest, especially pencils. I am the campus Science/Technology specialist and a Teach for America alum who has been serving our nearly 900 elementary school students for the past 6 years.
My Project
My students are not novice pencil sharpeners. It is almost as if they see each new sharpener that I've brought into the lab as a challenge to conquer, and conquer they do. My students have chewed-up and spit-out everything from the high rated X-Acto SchoolPro Heavy-Duty Electric Sharpener (neither "heavy duty" or a "pro") to the Westcott KleenEarth iPoint Battery Pencil Sharpener. The latter example lived longer in my room, making me do my research and come up with a better idea. I am asking for the Westcott IPoint School Electronic Sharpener. I do not ask for a $75 pencil sharpener lightly; I have seen it in action and it is amazing! This resource is critical for my lab because broken/unsharpened pencils equal lost instruction time. Each time I need to sharpen a pencil for my students is time that I lose teaching, and every minute of instruction is precious. Working staple removers will also be a blessing as they save time on interactive Science display boards.
A working pencil sharpener - such a simple request, right?
This simple thing would make instruction more seamlessly flow in my lab, and make sure that students are using their pencils more than worrying about getting them sharp. Any help you could offer with this project would be wonderfully appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read my little proposal, and moreover thank you for supporting the fabulous organization that is Donorschoose.org!
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 Mrs. Milianta-Laffin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
