Ms. Batiste-Gilmore's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 3

• Social Justice and the Caribbean: the Virtual Workshop

  Funded Apr 8, 2023

  The students in the New York: Global Connections Trip had the opportunity to meet with a New York city Professor that used the seminar to convey the role, impact, and struggles of Queer, Caribbean folx. Through this hands-on activity, students were able to converse with a college professor and engage with their peers in small group discussions and class readings to delve deeper into the historic-cultural experience of LQBTQIA+ individuals that also identify as Caribbean.

  This program prepared students for the trip to New York City. This will specifically be done through personal narratives, readings, videos, cultural demonstrations, and more. Some topics to be covered in the seminar include guest speakers sharing their personal stories of immigrating to and adjusting to life in the U.S. as Black Caribbean people, reading about Caribbean immigrant patterns in the 1980s, food, Black Caribbeans' impact on popular culture, and social justice issues such as housing, income equality, anti-Black racism, and LGBTQIA+ rights. The trip to New York City will allow students to tangibly connect what they have learned in seminar. Activities in New York City include a visit to the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, time spent with the Caribbean Equality Project, a food tour of Little Caribbean, a workshop and conversation with Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, and a visit the Black Spectrum Theatre. After the trip, students will explore connections to the Black Caribbean populations in New York City to local Black Caribbean populations in Chicago. A local trip will then take place to the Haitian American Museum of Chicago.

  Students have been able to expand their knowledge about the New York Caribbean experience, and this seminar allowed for the inclusion of the queer identifying members of that community to add to our understanding of the diversity within this community.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Batiste-Gilmore

• Carpe Itinerem: Journey from Chicago to Rome

  Funded Mar 22, 2019

  The 2019 Rome Trip had a huge impact on student achievement. By going on the cultural immersion trip, students were able to gain a true understanding of the magnitude of the buildings from the Ancient Republic and Empire. Students visited impacting and important landmarks such as the Temple of Jupiter Stator, the Temple to Saturn, the Roman Senate House, the Baths of Caracalla, the Flavian Amphitheater, the Forum Romanum, the Circus Maximus, the Capitoline Hill, the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel. The students traveled outside of Rome as well. We took the train to Ostia, an ancient seaport town and traveled to the most well preserved archaeological areas in the world, Pompeii and Cuma. Pompeii was a city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Cuma is the site of a cave that was mentioned many times in Classical Literature, including in the description of the descent to the Underworld in the Aeneid. We were able to experience the sights, sounds, and essence of Rome and could better picture what it was like during the time of the Republic and Empire. As teachers, we can only help them visualize Rome in its heyday so much in class. They have read about the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum, and the Circus Maximus many times in the target language. Thanks to this trip, the students brought together all their prior cultural knowledge from four years of Latin, and they were able to step foot in the area where the gladiators fought, the meeting place where Cicero spoke, and the race track where the horseracing entertainment occurred. It is a priceless experience, and the students took every opportunity to connect the activities we did and sites we visited to their own prior learning. This impact has lasted long after we returned to Chicago. The students have raved to their other teachers about how many everlasting memories they made while abroad in Italy. The students were also able to apply their language skills while in Rome.

  Although Latin is technically dead, there are ancient inscriptions on nearly every building in Rome and Pompeii. The students were able to walk by a plaque and could read the purpose of the the building, to whom it was dedicated, for whom or when it was built. Latin is also the root of all modern Romance languages. Therefore, students could interpret some Italian derivatives of Latin root words. For example, "Grazie!" in Italian is similar to "Gratias!" in Latin. The trip truly gave students a way to connect their world language skills in the classroom to real life, culturally relevant experiences. It was very exciting for them to try speaking to others in simple Italian phrases and to try to interpret Latin inscriptions on buildings, signs, monuments, and gravestones. We even saw Latin phrases on the ground. The motto of the Roman Republic was "Senatus Populusque Romanus," which translates to the "Senate and the People of Rome." This phrase is still inscribed all over the city, including on modern sewer covers.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Batiste-Gilmore

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 18 other donors.

• Ecological Research and Educational Journey in Costa Rica

  Funded Jan 26, 2018

  Thank you for contributing to academic learning that is invaluable in AP Biology! Our students were exposed to the exceptional biodiversity found in Costa Rica! From the lectures provided by the scientists and volunteers at the Monteverde Institute to the night walks in the Bajo del Tigre section of the Children's Eternal Rainforest, our students had the opportunity to gain hands-on knowledge and experience that reinforced the academic learning from class. We learned about how integral the Cloud Forest is in the conservation of Three-wattled Bellbird and visited La Paz Animal Sanctuary to see three of the six endangered jungle cats of Central America.

  Our visit to the Doka Coffee Plantation merged the biological diversity and economic diversity of the country. Here, we learned about seed germination, the development process through the point of recollection, and the traditional way of cultivating the grain. This tour ended in the Roasting Room, where we tasted the myriad varieties of coffee produced on the plantation. Particularly, the Peaberry coffee that is native to Costa Rica. Costa Rica only exports under 2% of the coffee produced in the region due to the preference to only export quality coffee over the neighboring counties that prefer to export in quantity.

  The students have been enriched as well by engaging with Costa Rican culture through experiencing the cuisine, and using their Spanish learned in world language classes. This experience has even resulted in students gathering information on summer programs for juniors and seniors in Costa Rica with the Monteverde Institute to aid in reforestation efforts. Students will be able to use the knowledge gained on this ecological trip to deepen their studies of conservation efforts, removal of carbon footprints, extend their academic study of endangered, animal populations, and clarify collegiate majors. This experience has greatly contributed to the academic curiosity that drives my students and will propel them into greater understanding and acts of conservation for the planet we all share.

  Thank you for helping to create experiences that will change the future of my students, and hopefully, our world.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Batiste-Gilmore

  This classroom project was brought to life by The First Million Fund and 16 other donors.