Help me give my students access to an ample supply of art materials for their own art and engineering projects. The mat cutter will allow for beautiful presentions of their art for public events and for family keepsakes.
$616 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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.
We are an inner-city school in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Over 80% of our families qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, and over 75% of our families are Spanish-speaking. Housing costs are outrageous and many of our families are living in substandard conditions. The apartments or studios are small, offering very little room for children to play or a quiet place for reading, art, or homework. For these reasons, we became a community school to provide opportunities for our students to participate in academic enrichment, arts, sports, and outdoor activities before and after school. Many of our students spend up to 10 hours a day at school.
Our students' parents often work two or more jobs, meaning that many students don't get the help they need with homework and have limited family time.
Teachers work together to develop new programs and strategies, and we write grants to support our students' needs. We strive to create the richest, most motivating environment where each student can experience success.
My Project
Our school is a very high needs school which necessitates the great bulk of our budget being spent on academic interventions as well as social and emotional supports for our students and families. This leaves a minuscule amount of funds for classroom art supplies. My young kindergarten students love to do art projects but, unfortunately, I have scant resources to support their inspirations. I provide a constant supply of recycled materials like cardboard scraps and tubes, craft sticks, paper scraps, string, ribbon, and tape. We have an art easel but a dwindling supply of paint and paper. This project will support the creativity of my students for guided and self-directed art and engineering projects. Free exploration time is such an energized time in my classroom. During this time students are focused, cooperative and motivated to create and execute their personal, creative ideas. The materials from this project will help the children feel like they are supported in their endeavors. The mat cutter will allow me to publically displaying their art, framed and beautifully presented. This will make my students feel proud of their creative efforts and motivate them to continue to explore their own creativity. I also hope that their work will be proudly displayed in their homes. The mat cutter will also be used to display students' illustrated products from our poetry and songwriting unit.
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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. Oppelt-Perez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
