Students in our school district hail from an increasingly diverse background. More often than not, they are balancing the demands of school with the realities of poverty. With a total student population hovering near 10,500, as last reported to the Oregon Department of Education, over 11% of our students self-identify as homeless and are actively served by the district who distribute student necessities via federal assistance. Our neighborhood is identified both as the epicenter of poverty in Multnomah County and where the highest density of adjudicated adults reside in the State of Oregon.
We are 42% Hispanic and 37% White.
The remaining 21% are also students of color. Nearly 1 in 5 total students at our school were born outside of the United States. As a majority-minority district, our students' parents and guardians were often marginalized in education and the workforce, further compelling them to low-income status. With few exceptions, our graduating seniors accessing post-secondary education represent first-generation college attendees within their families.
My Project
We need to include voices of women in our high school English classes! Even though half of my students are female, we do not get to read novels written by females. In order for students to feel empowered and successful, they need to see images of themselves reflected in the world around them. In a Language Arts class, that means studying both male and female authors.
Out of the eighteen novels on the book list available for Senior English, only three authors are women.
All three of these novels are difficult, college-level texts. My students need at least one accessible novel written by a woman. Many of my students are learning English as their second, third, fourth or even fifth language. A lot of my students struggle with reading and have little experience being successful in Language Arts.
Presenting my students with an enthralling novel like "House of the Spirits," by an important female author, Isabelle Allende, will give them a new perspective on reading. Your donation will help my students become strong, confident readers and will impact their lives and their futures in an incredibly meaningful way.
More than half 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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