Past projects 3
Now HEAR This!
Funded Sep 2, 2020At the Ignite Institute, many of our students are intrinsically motivated to earn college credit while in high school. Many of our students take several college courses every week. Ignite has built strong partnerships with the local colleges, and in a typical year, professors from each of these colleges come to Ignite to teach Ignite students in person. Students thrived in this environment last year when Ignite opened, but with COVID, college courses have been taught online, making them especially challenging.
As the Coordinator of the Dual Credit programs at Ignite, I was worried that students may forget their earbuds that would allow them to attend their synchronous college classes once they were invited back into the building. And we all know how important class attendance is when it comes to college classes!
Luckily, your wonderful generosity has made it possible for hundreds of students to join their college classes when they forget their own earbuds. Thank you, donors, for investing in our students' ambitious goals! They appreciate your donations!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Knapp-Lindsay
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.Mindfulness Project in a STEAM School
Funded Oct 10, 2019As you can see from the photo, delivery of the materials was an exciting day in our classroom. Students excitedly opened the boxes, their eyes bright as they dreamed of the possibilities at our STEAM school, where creativity is extremely important. Once we started the weekly mindfulness sessions, the word quickly spread about the benefits of a tech-free, quiet atmosphere where students could learn relaxation techniques. For the first several sessions, adult coloring books were offered to students as a way to focus their thinking. I shared the research about the benefits of coloring mandalas to alleviate anxiety. Next, we moved on to more interactive sessions, where students shared the duct tape and coloring supplies to create and decorate gratitude journals. I also shared the research about the power of gratitude to calm anxiety. At each session, I projected a list of positive affirmations, such as "I am worthy of love" and "I deserve to take care of myself," on the overhead projector and taught students the research-based importance of repeating affirming messages and naming our emotions as a way to manage anxiety. When we return from winter break, I will begin incorporating meditation sessions into our social-emotional learning time. Through my observations and students' comments, I am confident that students are learning to better deal with their academic and social-emotional struggles with these activities and techniques. We are so grateful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Knapp-Lindsay
Empathy Reading
Funded Sep 23, 2018Wow! This novel has touched my students in ways even I didn't expect. They wanted to send you a video, but I convinced them that they could express their feelings in letters. Morrison's ripping of the veil from the horrid events that slaves experienced definitely opened my students' eyes. Each and every time we had a Socratic seminar, they commented that even though they had read slave narratives and informational pieces in earlier years, they never knew nor understood how the horrors of slavery could make men and women believe they were less than human. Students themselves also made the giant leap from how whites inserted the jungle into Africans, as presented by Morrison in the novel, to how that still plays out today with racial profiling and police brutality against African Americans. As students wrote their journals, it was clear that this important connection gave my students the wherewithal to empathize in ways they had not before.
Equally as important, each of my students expressed during class discussions not only their understanding of the importance of diverse literature in educational settings but also the importance of living in ways that invite ethnic and cultural diversity into their adult lives. I know that the seed of understanding is planted, and I cannot wait to share this story and experience with more students. Your generous donation has helped my African American students feel more represented and all of my students learn how literature can move us to reach beyond ourselves. We thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Knapp-Lindsay