Mrs. Farrell's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 11

• Teachers Pay Teachers Rocks!

  Funded Jun 8, 2022

  Thank you so much for supporting my library program. Education has been so hard since the pandemic began. Students enjoyed being at home and we not nearly as engaged in their lessons and learning as they were when on campus. Last year students were so excited to get back to the social life of school and again their education was not as much of a priority as it should have been.

  Engaging lessons help to encourage learning and there are so many great ideas on Teachers pay Teachers. I think it is best to not always have to reinvent the wheel and I enjoy the activities I have gotten from TPT.

  Thanks again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

• I Survived!

  Funded Nov 23, 2021

  Thank you so much for supporting my "I Survived Series" project. The students are checking the titles out daily and are truly enjoying the stories. Any time I can provide them with material that they want to read is a win win for me.

  More than the fun of seeing the scholars read is their reaction when I tell them I wrote a grant for the titles. They are amazed that people they don't know are willing to donate money so they can have quality books to check out.

  The continued support of the Donors Choose community has made a tremendous impact on my collection and I continue to be so grateful for your contributions.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and 13 other donors.

• Have a Seat!

  Funded May 26, 2021

  Thank you so much for your generosity. The couch and chairs are a great addition to the media center. I became the full time Media Specialist at my school six weeks before the COVID shutdown and remained remote for 54 weeks. Needless to say the media center was basically untouched for over a year.

  This year my goal has been to make the media center a destination. To start the year I did an orientation session with every Language Arts class. For the first time in many years a regular circulation schedule has been set up. Students come in all the time and love having a cozy place to sit and read.

  Readers make leaders. Thank you for helping me make my students leaders.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 10 other donors.

• I Want to Welcome My Students Back in Style!

  Funded Jan 29, 2021

  Thank you once again for contributing to the project that allows me to convert the old wooden tables into very new looking whiteboard tables. I know my students will love using them when we return to in person learning.

  Updating these tables is just one part of a major overhaul in the works. We have painted the library and we are decorating using lighting, shelving and seating.

  I am always amazed at the generosity of people like you supporting education. As they say, it takes a village. Thanks for contributing to my village.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

• Putting Diversity and Equity First

  Funded Nov 4, 2020

  Thank you all so much for contributing to my grant request. With all that has happened in 2020, I want to provide my students with all the tools needed to decrease racism. These titles will definitely help me accomplish that goal.

  We have recently begun a program where virtual students can request a book, it gets check it out to them, and they drive by to pick it up.

  We also have in person learning starting next week. Approximately 200 students will be on campus every day rotating in 3 shifts. While students will be unable to check out books themselves, the media staff can deliver them to classrooms.

  Again, thank you for your support!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Equal Justice Initiative and 4 other donors.

• This Librarian Wants to Keep the School Library Safe!

  Funded Aug 5, 2020

  Thank you so much for contributing to my plexiglass project! Starting mid March, I rarely left my house and if I did it was to pick up something that was being delivered to my car.

  In May I began going back into stores donning a mask and gloves. In the eight weeks or so leading up to that adventure, many stores installed barriers between customers and employees. With a compromised immune system I immediately started thinking about what I could do to protect students and me in the Media Center.

  I tried to get creative thinking I could hang clear shower curtains on coat racks and totally enclose my area. It didn't take long for me to realize that wasn't the greatest idea. So, I turned to DonorsChoose for help.

  Once the project was funded, I got the email that what I had ordered was no longer available. Replacement panels were located and ordered taking several weeks to get to me. The panels have arrived, are assembled, and ready for us to start to welcome students to the media center when small numbers start back to school next Monday.

  Thanks again, your help is greatly appreciated!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 27 other donors.

• First EVER Back to School Drive for School Supplies

  Funded Jul 30, 2020

  Thank you so much for contributing to our first annual Back to School Bash. We are a school with 61% free and reduced lunch. Many students do not have money to purchase much needed school supplies. A total of over 400 students received school supplies. Twenty five students received new binders thanks to your generosity.

  The start of this school year will be unlike any other. For the foreseeable future students will work remotely. Having the Back to School Bash drive through event students were able to see teachers excited about the start of the school year. That helps us build community which is so needed right now!

  Again, thank you for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

• COVID Made Me Cancel Titles I Need to Finish Series

  Funded May 6, 2020

  Thank you so much for supporting my project. In late February I was given a budget of $2,500 from my school. Unexpected funding has never been provided to me before. I ordered many titles most of which were graphic novels or main characters with disabilities. Within days of school closing for COVID 19 in March all district spending was halted. At the time the book vendor was waiting to ship my material until they could get the remaining books in the order.

  I contacted the vendor and asked them to send what was already packaged and cancel the remaining titles on the order. Sadly many of the books that did not ship were books in series. It is difficult and disappointing when you turn a reader on to a series knowing THEY WILL miss a portion of the story because the books were not available.

  After the order was received I wrote this grant so I could have acquire the missing material. Thanks to your generosity I now have completed all the sets series that were impacted by the pandemic.

  In 2 weeks the next school year will begin. For the foreseeable future we will be operating remotely. As soon as possible one third of our students will be on campus for one week followed by 2 weeks remote. I look forward to providing them with quality reading material when they are on campus. Your support is greatly appreciated period”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 7 other donors.

• Banned Books or Freedom to Read, You Read!

  Funded Dec 3, 2019

  As a school librarian I want to have as many quality books as possible for my students to read. I also want to do anything I can to encourage them to select reading material that will pique their interest. I teach a lesson about censorship and banned books. I love the controversy that arises during the lesson. Students start the class and identify topics that should not be allowed in a middle school media center. By the end of the class they cannot wait to pick a book that someone said they should not be able to look at. Oftentimes this is the trigger to convert a student from a non reader to a somewhat interested reader. That gives me the ability to encourage other books.

  I appreciate you donating to the acquisition of many books that people have challenged. My students read the books, identified the topic that might be controversial, explained who might see it as controversial and then figured out how to defend keeping the book on the shelves. The lesson was rich, the students engaged, and it started a conversation that won't end anything soon.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell

  This classroom project was brought to life by CRUNCH and 7 other donors.

• Young Adult Novels Highlighting African Americans

  Funded Mar 22, 2019

  Thank you so much for your contribution to the collection of books for our students. We are a high poverty school with the majority of our students being African American or Hispanic.

  This year a major focus on the learning in this school is based on equity. The entire staff was in a professional development course prior to students returning this past fall. The presentation was put together by the county's Office of Equity Affairs. Going into the learning, the presenters prepared us to feel uncomfortable about the activities because they revolved around a topic we don't normally discuss or know how to discuss.

  There was quite a bit of talk about how the general population views schools. The perception is that a school with high discipline and high number of failing grades must be a school with a majority of the populace being African American or Hispanic. To quote the Office of Equity Affairs, "We teach, empower, and expect our school leaders to establish a culture that demands equity and improved student achievement for every student by replacing the undermining beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions about students with the expectation that all students can and should achieve at high levels."

  This training led to a more open table for communicating about diversity. It also made us analyze what we were currently doing and what we could do to "level the playing field." The other Media Specialist and I analyzed our fiction titles and realized that we were doing a poor job representing minority students in literature.

  Due to low funding at the school level and no funding at the district or state level, we have to work hard to find resources for our students and methods of acquiring those resources. Your donation allowed us to begin the growth process. Additionally, it has allowed us to open communications with students about the equity of education. Children are very responsive to the new holdings.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Farrell