Whether from gererational poverty or from situational poverty, I have students born addicted to drugs, with fetal alcohol syndrome, or with other medical conditions caused by poor choices made during pregnancy. Our entire school population receives free breakfast and lunch, and we send food home every Friday; we have students who do not eat other than the meals provded them at school.
My 3rd grade students live in poverty and come to school to escape the realities of the world around them when they are at home.
At any given point, a handful of my students are homeless, and an unfortunate number of my students carry histories of abuse and have been in and out of foster care for years. Many bounce from school to school, district to dostrict, state to state as trying to survive inpoverty demands.
Originally, our school was the 'black' school when the panhandle of Florida was still segregated. Times may be different, and although no longer true, the poverty rate in which we operate has not changed. The socioeconomic status of our families has not changed. The love that our children so desperately need has not changed.
My Project
None of my students have books at home. Although we do visit our school library once a week as long as the library does not have a scheduling conflict, they may only check out one book at a time. Most of my students finish that one book with days left before our next library visit. I lost the books I had in my classroom library when my basement flooded.
These books in particular are characters that my students have fallen in love with and fight for during our library time.
I'd like to make my classroom a home for these dearly loved characters.
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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. S. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.