Past projects 11
We Need Eyeglasses to See Our Schoolwork
Funded May 19, 2023The students and I want to thank you for supporting their ability to see both near and far in the classroom.
As we went around the school and delivered the glasses to the students, some were very shy to put them on, but others were very excited to try them out. One student put them on and shouted in an excited voice, "This is what the classroom looks like? I can see everything!" He went out into the hallway to see what else he had been missing for the first three years of high school.
We cannot thank you enough. Hopefully, the ability to see things more clearly will help all of these students to be super excited and motivated.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and one other donor.Give Our Teens Books to Read to Younger Family Members
Funded Jan 5, 2023We cannot thank you enough for funding our project aimed at getting our teenagers to read books to their younger siblings and neighbors. We have gotten off to a rocky start, with many of our students too nervous about their own reading to be willing to read aloud to others.
Unaware that their fear of reading aloud may have prevented them from participating in our program this year, we will work at the start of the next school year to develop a program to help our students become confident at their skills to read aloud. Hopefully, this will encourage them to find pride in reading to those younger than them.
I will not give up on this project. I want all of our students to want to read to younger people. When they do, they will not only bond with the younger people, but will also continue to improve their own reading and interpersonal skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
We Cannot Sit Still in These Chairs
Funded Sep 29, 2022Thank you so very much for purchasing the more appropriate chairs for our classroom. The older chairs were too small for many of the high school students. The discomfort in the old chairs resulted in many students unable to focus on the daily activities. They would spend a lot of the class time trying to get comfortable instead of on learning the class material.
Now that we have the chairs you purchased for them, the students can be comfortable from the start to the end of class each day. This is especially important because my 9th graders have global history for 90 minute blocks each day. They are grateful for your donation that makes these long class sessions much more comfortable for them.
And a special thanks from me as well. The chairs you purchased are the two school colors, so not only are they comfortable, but they look amazing in the classroom. I hope you understand how wonderful your donation is for my current students and for the students who will be in my classes for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Classroom Supporter.Maps and Globes for Our Ninth Grade Global History Classroom
Funded Nov 7, 2022We cannot thank you enough for purchasing the maps and globes for our classroom. I opened the globes and set them up around the classroom. Your funding gave us 9 different globes - one for each table in the classroom, as well as 30 laminated maps - one for each student's desk. These both allow the students to help each other become familiar with the world they live in.
Each day of class is started with a geography activity. Some days we start by looking at the globes to locate the various nations and bodies of water around the world. Other days we travel to a specific region of the world and identify nations the students have never heard of before or about the locations of the nations we will study that day.
I assure you that students will continue to benefit from your donations for the rest of this year and well into the future. Giving geography to high school students is a fantastic addition to the academic setting and to the learning environment. For this truth we are truly grateful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
Novels about Black, Latinx, Asian, and Middle Eastern Teens
Funded Dec 1, 2020I am just so thankful for your contributions to help fund this library. We are planning to hang clear book sleeves throughout the school's hallways so that everywhere the students look, they will see books by people, and about people, who look like them. Anytime a student is interested in a book hanging on the walls, they will be encouraged to take the book, to read it, to discuss it with their peers and adults, and to return it back to an empty sleeve so another student can enjoy the book.
Covid has made the last year and a half of school quite difficult in all ways. I cannot wait to see their faces when they return to their high school and see all of the wonderful books you have bought for them on every wall.
I promise you that your contribution to this project will not only impact our current students, but it will continue to impact our high school learners for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 10 other donors.Racism Does Not Belong Here
Funded Jun 22, 2020We welcomed some of our students back to the classrooms today and greeted them with the great new books you all donated to them! They were so excited! Even though, due to Covid-19, they had to sit far away from each other and could not pass the books back and forth, each of them was provided with a book from this project.
Once school life goes back to normal, and there is not the fear of germ spreading, the books will be placed in clear book sleeves throughout the school hallways. The students will be able to look at the covers of all of the books through the clear sleeves and will be able to reach in and pull out of the sleeve any book(s) they want to borrow! As sleeves become empty in the hallways, I will take other books from this project and put them into the empty sleeves. When the students bring the books back to school, they can hand them off to a peer, put them back in an empty sleeve, or put them on the book shelf in our classroom where they will stay until another hallway sleeve is empty.
We are so excited to be able to have hallways full of books about characters who look like our students and about social issues they can relate to. Thank you so very much for helping this dream come true!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
I Want Books About People Who Look Like Me!
Funded Jun 1, 2020Even though their smiles are hidden under their Covid-19 masks, I can tell you that the students were so excited about the books donated to our high school library by this DonorsChoose project. With the characters on the covers looking more like them than most of the books previously available to them in our library, the students were happy to select a couple of books and pose for a photo before heading home.
Once schools return to normal, the books will be made available to all of the students throughout the school day. The students will be able to select the book they wish to read, take it home, and bring it back when they are ready to trade it in for another book.
One of the best parts of being a teacher is seeing students talk about what they are learning and reading. How wonderful it will be when our students can take off of their masks and sit in small groups to share their reactions to these books. Thank you so much for making this project possible for my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
Empowering Teachers to Identify and Challenge Racism and Implicit Bias
Funded May 31, 2020I am so grateful for this new library. Although we are off to an out of the ordinary start to the school year, many of the teachers have already come by to view the resources and to select some of the books to take home to read.
I look forward to the teachers gaining a better understanding of how common implicit bias and racism are in the classroom. The resources will hopefully inspire them to evaluate the ways they interact with the students and might even inspire them to become anti-racists.
As we try to create a better learning space for our high school students, the greatest part of this project will be when the students return to school and notice a difference in the comments and behaviors of their teachers toward them.
Thank you so very much for the impact that your support of this project will have on our students now and well into the future.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
Help Teens Challenge Racism and the School to Prison Pipeline
Funded Aug 26, 2020My students and I are so grateful for your generosity to support our library. All of the books will be used for years to come as we work to challenge the school to prison pipeline.
Although this year is off to a remote start, the students will use some of the books from home as they study racism and its impact on the criminal justice system in the United States. It was wonderful to see the excitement in their eyes as they were introduced to the books as we met outside of the school.
Once the students return to in school learning, all of the books will be available to all of them in the classroom. The students will learn how to pull evidence from the texts in order to develop and discuss intellectual challenges to the racist system.
They will be encouraged to take the books they are reading home with them. I hope this will help them to begin conversations with their family members about ways to challenge the racism and capitalism that continue to impact the imprisonment of so many black and brown people in the United States.
Thank you again for supporting this library. Maybe one day, one of the students who learns from these books will be the attorney who legally challenges (and wins) cases against the school to prison pipeline.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
Yoga Ball Motion Can Help High School Students to Focus!
Funded Feb 25, 2020Thank you so very much for funding the yoga balls for the 9th grade students. On the afternoon they arrived in the classroom, many of the students sprung into action to get them inflated and ready to be used the following day. It was great to see them all taking part in the creation of our 9th grade flexible seating project.
The following morning, as my second period students arrived, their faces lit up as they realized there were enough yoga balls for each of them to use one! (Up until that day, we had to share a few among a class of 30 students.) As they got a feel of the yoga balls, we reviewed the rules: no kicking, no throwing, and no decorating with any form of writing implement. The expressions on their faces were priceless. It was almost as if they were shocked that I would even suggest such an outrageous act that would damage their new prized possessions.
After only two days of use, I am already seeing a better level of focus during our afternoon classes. Before the afternoon classes begin, I allow the students 3 minutes of "bounce it out" time during which time they are able release any pent up energy and anxiety that had been held in since lunch time.
Thank you again for helping to create a classroom where my students can be more focused and more successful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa