I'm a Special Education teacher and literacy coach supporting teachers and students in kindergarten, first, and second grade in two different elementary schools in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Both schools are Title I schools, and the majority of the students I support receive free breakfast and lunch.
Due to staff shortages created by the hybrid model New York City has adopted during the pandemic, this year I am working primarily in one of my schools supporting the first graders who are learning both at-home and in person some days.
The neighborhood my schools are located in contains one of New York City's largest public housing developments, and most of my students reside there. Due to the geographic location of the neighborhood, there are few trains and bus routes servicing the community, so my students are very isolated from all of the bells and whistles of New York City.
My Project
There's no doubt about it, hybrid learning is tough! For students, parents, and teachers alike. At the moment, all students in New York City are fully-remote due to a recent surge in Covid-19 positivity rates. However, we are hopeful that we will return to the hybrid model soon. Regardless of whether school is fully remote or not though, all students receive at least part of their instruction on a weekly basis remotely.
My first graders are doing a great job of learning from home and are truly excited to see each other on Zoom every day.
One of my goals is to build their independence as readers, writers, and mathematicians this year by providing them with remote resources they can TRULY complete on their own, without assistance from grown-ups at home. This will not only build their independence in academic skills but also boost their self-confidence!
My first grade team of colleagues and I are doing an amazing job of providing our students will content, but we could definitely use some support. Teachers Pay Teachers is a phenomenal resource for educators. Instead of having to produce absolutely every digital resource from scratch, you can download materials created by other talented educators across the country. If my students need more help with identifying digraphs, there's a digital download for that! If a handful of students need more support using a number line to add and subtract, there's a digital download for that! Short on digital guided reading books to assign to students working asynchronously? You guessed it, there's a digital download for that!
Your support will help the first graders at my school by providing them with "just right" digital resources to boost their academic skills while learning from home!
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 Ms. Konarski and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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