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 (in grades 9-11) are enrolled in a four year elective course that uses law and legal issues to help them develop skills in reading, writing, math, oral presentation, and conflict resolution... Basically, EVERYTHING! The long term goal is to take students who are labeled "at-risk" due to financial, social, and academic troubles, and provide them with a structured, rigorous and fun program that helps them develop the skills and desire to attend and graduate from college. Students from the law program are already winning scholarships, attending law related camps and training programs, and attending college classes at local universities--and they haven't even made it to senior year yet!
With no art program in our school, these kids welcome any opportunity to incorporate artistic flair into class projects and presentations. The law program encourages students to use their strengths in areas such as art, oral presentations, and critical thinking to increase their capabilities in reading and analyzing difficult legal texts and then applying that ability to work in other academic areas. Although many of my students have a natural talent for art and design, the limited budget in our school and their own financial situations mean that, more often than not, their "posters" for class are done in colored pencil on construction paper.
We need poster boards in a variety of colors to give the kids a larger, more colorful way to display their thoughts and ideas. The professional quality of these poster boards will help the students see the value of their ideas--the clothes DO make the man! Students will be able to show off their work with pride, and the quality of these poster boards ensures that we will be able to display their projects around the school without worrying about them falling apart.
Your help will give my students an added boost of confidence when they stand before their peers, school staff, and honored guests to present their work on the legal struggles of the Civil Rights movement, new school-based initiatives to deter students from gang violence, and the relevance of the Constitution to their own personal lives. My students have great things to show us all--help us do it big and bright and bold!
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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. Fitzgerald and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.