Laptops for Literary Mag

Funded Oct 25, 2018

I want to take this opportunity to convey my sincere thanks in your support for my project, Laptops for Literary Mag. Like I wrote in the project description, we are a big urban high school in a district that gets more negative publicity than any praise. Yet, within our outdated building and test-driven curriculum, each year my students create a literary magazine that competes with those from the fully funded private schools that surround us. My students are so creative and brilliant in the fearless way they tackle their writing and art. They are also energetic about fundraising to be able to publish our magazine. We get zero money from our school and district, so we are on our own.

The laptops and software that I was able to procure thanks to your support has changed the vibe this year. My students came back from the break ready to jump into the collaborative phase of judging pieces to go into our magazine and designing the layout. Before we were operating with one laptop and one outdated, hand-me- down (though appreciated) version of Adobe. We were having trouble working with our publishers, because the laptop and software were so out of date. Now, we have everything we need to work together to create this year's Pleiades. The students have downloaded the new software onto each laptop and have already started creating an overall theme for the magazine's layout and design. Because we have two laptops and the newest Adobe software, we can have multiple students working on editing pieces and finalizing design, instead of the burden falling on just one editor.

My students have been coming daily to check out a laptop to work on organizing the pieces. It means the world to us that you recognize the power and value, not only in public education, but in the validity of students' voices. Having their work published in this magazine is our way of speaking to our community. The Pleiades, our magazine, shines a bright light on my students and helps them see their own power and significance. Now you are a part of this process as well.

Again, we are so very thankful for your generosity.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Ballard