Past projects 2
Positive Behavior Student Store
Funded Oct 6, 2017Thanks so much for donating to our student store. Many times, school discipline involves a depressing cycle, in which well-behaved kids get less attention. Positive Behavior Interactive Systems (PBIS) attempts to break that cycle by actively rewarding kids who follow the rules, and de-emphasizing correcting bad behavior. This tends to make classrooms and schools more pleasant and inviting, and a lot of the system depends on having good incentives for students to buy with their "scholar dollars". It's great to give kids money for an incentive, but the economy breaks down if there's nothing exciting to buy. Just look at Venezuela! So you are keeping our behavior economy afloat, and this is no small feat. It isn't just me and my class, we did this for the entire school, and it's making a difference. Kids are excited to get their money, and the behavior is improving. You guys are the best!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sherren
Justin and the Best Biscuits
Funded Jun 23, 2014Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom. It allowed us to spend 10 weeks this school year reading great literature; as well as providing a great starting point to our study of the exoduster movement and the history of Black cowboys in America. If you haven't been able to read it yet, "Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World" is a wonderful book. It won the Coretta Scott King award for finest contribution to African-American children's literature. It is the story of a boy (Justin) who has lost his father, and feels that no one can help him learn to be a man. This, unfortunately, resonates with a lot of the boys in my classroom. Justin finds help from his grandfather, a Black cowboy, who teaches him about his history and the manly side of life (including cooking, cleaning, and all those manly things). I get a real big kick out of this book, and the kids did also. I didn't edit their letters, because I thought they were kind of cute as they were. I hope you can decipher them. We finished the unit by inviting the Oakland Black Cowboy Association to speak at our barbecue... to talk about horses and the role of the Black cowboys in the West. That is why there are pictures of a horse and Black cowboys. Thank you again for the positive impact you had on our class!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sherren