This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Our students and families are ready to learn and ready to succeed, supported by strong community involvement and pride in their families, heritage and school. Our school population is 95% Hispanic, with nearly 41% learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Families and teachers prepare students for the pathway to college and career, which is key for our students: the average income for residents within the school's zip code is significantly less than the state's average.
Despite, and often because of such challenges, our students eagerly participate in both bilingual and monolingual curricula, along with many other opportunities for student growth including technology and engineering projects, ballroom dance, and after school wrap-around programs.
Our attendance is excellent because our students come here to learn and succeed.
My Project
I absolutely love the book, “One Crazy Summer”, feeling connected to the characters and appreciating the lens it provides for a slice of American History- African American History. Students can learn history from a history text book...but quickly forget the lesson. Historical Fiction is the most effective tool I can use with them.
Rita Williams-Garcia characters are the kind of children who come alive on the page; so much so that her story is hard to put down.
I admire her talent for weaving a serious aspect of the Civil Rights Movement into a story for middle schoolers in a way that invites the reader to learn more. I admire her ability to teach a heavy topic with an age-appropriate plot.
My first thought when I finished “One Crazy Summer”? “What else has Williams-Garcia written? I don’t want to say goodbye to these characters.” My students need to meet these characters who will remain with them, along with the history lesson about the real people they represent.
Nearly all 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. Frankowiak and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
