This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Our school is a free, independent, public charter school that specializes in education for urban youth, designated most at-risk for dropping out of school. A Title I school, over 90% of our families live near or below the poverty level. Most students come from female-headed households where the caregiver has not completed high school or attended college. Nearly 75% of students who enroll are 2-4 years below grade level in reading. When children start off disadvantaged, they are more likely to drop out of school because they fall so far behind.
Our school motto is "Accepting failure is NOT an option!" We are the best performing charter middle/high school in the city.
For 2017, our high school received an excellent score of 86.4% from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Not only do we want our students to achieve academically, we also provide them with wrap-around services that include social services, health and wellness and training for our staff in trauma-informed classrooms. We are preparing some of the city’s most disadvantaged children to have what every child deserves–a chance to achieve and successfully contribute to the community.
My Project
This project was inspired by Mrs. Mianowski's winning idea for "Marvelous Math Take Home Bags." I love her idea of sending students home with activities they can do with their families. My idea is to connect our state award nominated books to STEM activities that families can do at home after reading a book. Too often, when students get old enough to read on their own, parents stop reading with their children. But, studies have shown that family literacy time is beneficial beyond elementary. This project combines reading with STEM activities; therefore helping to strengthen our students' skills across the curriculum.
These take home kits students can check out from our school library will spark a love of reading and a love of Science, Technology and Engineering.
With the help of generous donors to our previous project, we were able to get almost everything we needed for these kits. However, we realized it would be easier to take home the kits if we had zippered tote bags.
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. Steimel and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
