My students need a heavy duty electric pencil sharpener and 144 sets of starter pencils.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Dalpe's classroom raised $225
This project is fully funded
The gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" could not be wider than between the affluent communities in our country and the urban poor that I teach every day. I teach 7th grade social studies to a highly cultural and racially diverse student body who share economic poverty as a common denominator.
My students need a heavy duty electric pencil sharpener and set of starter pencils per student (141 students). Our project is called "Straight to the Point" because students recognize that their number one job is to learn, and the number one disruption to learning is missing or broken materials, which can begin to be corrected by having a sharpened pencil for each student. Social Studies students learn by doing, discussing and drawing. This project focuses on the "drawing" aspect. Students, particularly those with learning disabilities and English language limitations which are widespread in our classes, learn best by drawing concepts in graphic organizers and by creating maps and illustrations. Since ours is a high poverty school, many students are not able to come to class prepared with adequate writing instruments. They often view the school, and our class in particular, as the only source of help. Since I work with over 75 students daily and approximately 150 students enrolled in my classes, I seek help in providing our students with the basic tool of a sharpened pencil.
If you were to ask my students what their job is, in unison they would sing out, "to learn!" Yet, these students are lacking the basic necessities. How remarkable it is that simply putting a sharpened pencil in the hand of a 7th grader unlocks the world of possibilities in expressing ideas, hopes and ambitions.
I work hard every day to bring caring, kindness, and stimulating lessons to our students. I am asking for help: please bring us a heavy duty sharpener and pencils. Please help us be prepared to go straight to the point of learning.
More than three‑quarters of 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
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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. Dalpe and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.