Every day at my school in Queens, New York is a celebration of multiculturalism. Like the surrounding neighborhood, the student-body is a microcosm of the world. Students speak a multitude of languages including English, Spanish, Hindi, Montenegrin, Bengali, Tibetan and Arabic. Although the students are ethnically and culturally diverse, their passion and commitment to learning is uniformly strong and steadfast.
Established in 2006, my school is a single sex New York City public school that approaches learning in a dynamic, participatory fashion, encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning.
Students fully embrace this self-directed learning mentality both inside and outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, students are at the center of their learning experience, as they design and complete projects structured around complex, authentic questions. Outside the classroom, students are engaged in a multitude of extracurricular activities. They see and experience the surrounding community as an extension of their school's main building. Each year, students, in all grade levels, develop community service projects that range from maintaining a community garden to reading and tutoring at students at a local elementary school.
My Project
I am a strong believer that productive, thoughtful citizens are avid readers. In reading about diverse worlds and characters, students not only develop literacy skills but also, if not more importantly, gain empathy and compassion for others. Regardless of the subject matter, purposeful reading and writing should happen in every classroom. Unfortunately, my classroom library does not contain the amount of texts to meet the demands and passion of my young readers.
These books will not only turn my current, sad "three-shelf-library" into a real classroom library, but will also reinvigorate my students' love of reading.
Many of these book titles have been on my students "Someday Reading" lists for years - energized by the prospect of "someday" reading about Annes adventures in Avonlea and Huckleberry Finn's journey down the Mississippi. These books would allow them to enter new worlds and in doing so, feel less alone, more aware and better equipped to face the challenges and obstacles that may come their way.
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 Teacher Zimdahl and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
