My students are used to using rather old equipment. Quite honestly, we feel lucky to have a music program in light of the state of music and arts education across our country. We try to make do with what we have but sometimes we do need to replace broken equipment.
My students are wonderful.
I know I am biased, I know most teachers feel this way, but I am truly lucky to get to work with them each day. (It's summer, can you tell I am missing them?) My students walk into band and there is an atmosphere that is hard to describe unless you have been fortunate to belong to a music program. The students walk in and there is a sense that they belong there. I love watching them interact. I love watching how much they support each other. Life can be difficult but these kids know they have a place to belong.
My Project
I am requesting six music stands to replace some of our old stands that are beyond repair. I have taught at my school since 2004 and we have never replaced stands. Add to that the fact the the bands have grown from three little bands with fewer than 100 kids to five bands with close to 200 kids, and you can see we are short on equipment. While my students support each other very well, they often find themselves sharing three to four students to a stand. This is not an ideal learning environment, even if it does "encourage" cooperation.
I have put off writing a grant for stands for so long.
I feel that we are lucky to have a growing music program and we have other needs that may be greater than stands. The reality is though that it is time to ask. It never hurts to ask and the donors here have been so great to us all along. We appreciate all that you have done so far for our program. We would not be where we are today without your help.
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. Batdorf and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
