Mr. Hitch's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 9

• Positivity, Joy, and Encouragement With Love and Sports

  Funded May 3, 2021

  These last two years in education have certainly been unprecedented, to say the least. As I reflect on all of the challenges faced, and what is still to come, I am deeply appreciative of the support provided for this project from you! This project came at a time when students were still entirely isolated and at home on zoom. Its core idea was simple: provide students with sporting equipment (and books) to ensure they felt connected and cared for at a time when so many felt alone. It was also meant to encourage health and fitness while still staying safe and taking care of yourself.

  These were, of course, small gestures but in the times we face I know they meant a great deal for the students they reached. Additionally, this project supported a colleague at school who is building a movement of this kind of support. Therefore, your support not only connected students to basketballs and books but spurred on the work a dear friend is doing with these ideas. He is building mentorship programs in our school, and throughout the city. He is taking practical steps to give students opportunities and create anti-violence programs.

  Small gestures built momentum which can turn into movements. I believe in the work, big and small, we're doing at my school for educaiton. While this project may have seemed like an isolated project, I cannot express the joy on the face of my colleague when we had more equipment to contribute to his cause. Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

  This classroom project was brought to life by Ford Drive 4 UR School and 5 other donors.

• Concrete Tools for Distance Learning to Develop Soft Skills

  Funded Dec 1, 2020

  This may seem like a small project but I'm excited to offer it to my students and give them a concrete item they can use both this school year and after they graduate and prepare for whatever comes next. As students are in front of screens so much more these days, this offers a small tool to organize that they can set next to their computer and carry with them away from screens to visualize, prioritize, and plan out their daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.

  This shipment was misplaced for many months. I asked staff who were in our building and then showed up myself but I could not find it at first (the idea was to offer it at the end of December to hit the ground running with the New Year). It wasn't until last week that the boxes were found. So my students haven't actually accessed the material yet. However, when I told them on Zoom that the material was found they were certainly excited! I went into the school today to prepare the care packages with notes to every student. I wish I could deliver these in person but they will be sitting in the office for students to pick-up with social distancing near their senior portraits.

  For our class, students are working through the novel "Born a Crime" and writing their own memoir excerpts. Afterward, they will work on a cross-curricular assignment with Civics to finish out the year. Motivation, pacing, and time management will be essential to work through this final project and these planners will be a nice little boost to help students navigate their own schedules with the high-quality expectations for this final project. After that, it's on to whatever their post-secondary plans are and I hope they'll continue to use this concrete tool to help them as they move on to bigger and better challenges and opportunities. Thank you for your support to provide students with this organizational tool!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

  This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 4 other donors.

• College Bound Graduates Who Have Lost Access to Laptops

  Funded Jul 3, 2020

  I am still overwhelmed with gratitude at the kindness donors offered through these projects all of these months later! This was a special group of seniors and COVID is especially challenging for high school seniors and education. This was actually the group that I taught when I first started teaching at my school. I had envisioned a very different ending to helping them transition onto bigger and better things before this pandemic came along, but I know how much it meant to my students to gain access back to technology while they continued on to college even with the pandemic still here.

  Thanks to your kindness and support, 18 graduates now have access to technology to springboard into their college careers -- (including our valedictorian who is such an amazing and hard-working individual!).

  With distance learning occurring throughout classrooms still, this technology access has been crucial for their success and made possible with your support! Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for being so caring and making a difference!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

  This classroom project was brought to life by #GraduateTogether and 9 other donors.

• College Ready Graduates Who Have Lost Acess to Laptops

  Funded Jun 27, 2020

  I am still overwhelmed with gratitude at the kindness donors offered through these projects all of these months later! This was a special group of seniors and COVID is especially challenging for high school seniors and education. This was actually the group that I taught when I first started teaching at my school. I had envisioned a very different ending to helping them transition onto bigger and better things before this pandemic came along, but I know how much it meant to my students to gain access back to technology while they continued on to college even with the pandemic still here.

  Thanks to your kindness and support, 18 graduates now have access to technology to springboard into their college careers -- (including our valedictorian who is such an amazing and hard-working individual!).

  With distance learning occurring throughout classrooms still, this technology access has been crucial for their success and made possible with your support! Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for being so caring and making a difference!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

  This classroom project was brought to life by #GraduateTogether and 9 other donors.

• College Ready Graduates Who've Lost Acess to Laptops

  Funded Jun 17, 2020

  I am still overwhelmed with gratitude at the kindness donors offered through these projects all of these months later! This was a special group of seniors and COVID is especially challenging for high school seniors and education. This was actually the group that I taught when I first started teaching at my school. I had envisioned a very different ending to helping them transition onto bigger and better things before this pandemic came along, but I know how much it meant to my students to gain access back to technology while they continued on to college even with the pandemic still here.

  Thanks to your kindness and support, 18 graduates now have access to technology to springboard into their college careers -- (including our valedictorian who is such an amazing and hard-working individual!).

  Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for being so caring and making a difference!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

  This classroom project was brought to life by #GraduateTogether and 4 other donors.

• Student-Centered Library

  Funded May 5, 2020

  Thank you so much for helping us continue to build momentum as we create a sustainable student-centered library. As I pointed out when I wrote the DonorsChoose request, there are only 7 paid librarians left in the entire School District of Philadelphia. This is my 11th year teaching high school English in Philadelphia and I have always tried to have a quality library in the back of my classroom (this includes frequent stops at thrift stores, book bank visits, used Amazon purchases, and scouring yard sales in the summer to build up what I have to offer). Nevertheless, this just doesn't come close to fulfilling the role an actual library in our school would have.

  So last year, I wanted to make that jump, and that just would not have been possible without the help you have provided! I did not realize just how much work it would take to get the library officially opened with all of its technical and logistical components. I know it would not have been possible without engaged students ready to help and lead. Your support has helped to spur us on and keep us going!

  Your donation has allowed us to access not just new books, but also helped to make the library a more inclusive and welcoming space. We have also been securing children's books to give to our students to take home and read with the young readers in their lives if they sign a pledge saying they will commit to reading with them. We still won't have an official librarian, and our little library has started off humble, but we have big plans in the coming years to make this a growing and impactful space. Your help has given us sustainable momentum that we look forward to using as we continue to push once we can safely return to school!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

• Fill Every Shelf!

  Funded Mar 8, 2020

  I continue to be amazed at your support! We're trying to build more and more momentum and make this student-centered library a sustainable space that is inclusive and helps to build up the culture and love of reading at our school.

  None of that would be possible without your generous support! With the quarantine now stretching to the rest of the school year, this space will be that much more important for students once they return in the fall.

  I am obviously missing my students but cannot wait to return and make this library that much better thanks to your support. In the short time we officially launched the "Young Readers pledge" before the closure happened, we had already received over 50 pledges of students and staff members who promised to read to a young person in their life with the book donation they received. We have also linked up with the Community Service Club to start planning a mural in the library space. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

• Student-Centered Library

  Funded Jan 27, 2020

  Thank you so much for helping us continue to build momentum as we create a sustainable student-centered library. As I pointed out when I wrote the DonorsChoose request, there are only 7 paid librarians left in the entire School District of Philadelphia. This is my 10th year teaching high school English in Philadelphia and I have always tried to have a quality library in the back of my classroom (this includes frequent stops at thrift stores, book bank visits, used Amazon purchases, and scouring yard sales in the summer to build up what I have to offer). Nevertheless, this just doesn't come close to fulfilling the role an actual library in our school would have.

  So last year, I wanted to make that jump, and that just would not have been possible without the help you have provided! I did not realize just how much work it would take to get the library officially opened with all of its technical and logistical components. I know it would not have been possible without engaged students ready to help and lead. Your support has helped to spur us on and keep us going!

  Your donation has allowed us to access not just new books, but also helped to make the library a more inclusive and welcoming space. The big focus for that included a number of Spanish books added to the shelves and books that teach braille and American Sign Language. The American Sign Language book is actually already checked out by a senior who is using it for her senior project! We have also been securing children's books to give to our students to take home and read with the young readers in their lives if they sign a pledge saying they will commit to reading with them. We still won't have an official librarian, and our little library has started off humble, but we have big plans in the coming years to make this a growing and impactful space. Your help has given us sustainable momentum that we look forward to using as we continue to push!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch

  This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 3 other donors.

• Student-Centered Library

  Funded Mar 27, 2019

  I wanted to take the time to sincerely thank all of the donors for helping us get off the ground with our library. As I pointed out when I wrote the DonorsChoose request, there are only 8 paid librarians left in the School District of Philadelphia (and most of those, to my knowledge, are in elementary schools to have an impact on younger readers). This is my 9th year teaching high school English in Philadelphia and I have always worked really hard to have a quality library in the back of my classroom (this includes frequent stops at thrift stores, used Amazon purchases, and scouring yard sales in the summer to build up what I have to offer). Nevertheless, this just doesn't come close to fulfilling the role an actual library in our school would have. So this year, I wanted to make that jump, and that just would not have been possible without the help you have provided!

  I did not realize just how much work it would be to get the library officially opened with all of its technical and logistical components. I tasked my creative writing class with helping me on this journey this year and many of them eagerly jumped right in! Students worked hard to sort and catalog books. They assembled bookshelves. They planned out procedures for hours we would be open and how check-out would work. Destiny is the student who polled her peers and conducted research to find new titles for our request, and I wouldn't have been able to find copies of some of those works otherwise. It's also just really exciting to be able to mix in some brand new books for our space! We will officially open our doors to the entire school in September, but we have had a "soft" opening where students could check out some of our titles before we had the proper infrastructure in place to handle the entire student body visiting regularly.

  As we've continued to plan and prepare, we've also asked ourselves how to make this a more welcoming and inclusive space. As the books fill up the walls, we're also planning to install student artwork. We're working to get more books available in Spanish and other languages. We're even researching books to teach students American Sign Language! We have also been securing children's books to give to our students to take home and read with the young readers in their lives if they sign a pledge saying they will commit to reading with them. We still won't have an official librarian, and our little library has started off humble, but we have big plans in the coming years to make this a growing and impactful space. Your help has given us sustainable momentum that we look forward to using as we continue to push!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Hitch