Past projects 9
3D Our Students' Dreams
Funded Jun 16, 2015Thank you again for your kind donation to our 3D printer. Students have been actively engaged in producing 3D print outs of their housing designs and building designs. They are excited to see their work come to reality and it has helped many of them become more aware of the use of technology to help others. They want to design more parks, affordable housing that are less dangerous and schools with football fields which is rare in our neighborhood.
Many of our students are not aware that their creativity can be printed into and model and displayed for a market. They are getting a better understanding of the architecture and engineering fields.
Thank you again for believing in our students and making our classroom a little more interactive.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
Partner UP Mentoring Program
Funded May 6, 2014Thank you! We received your generous donation of movie cards in time for our end of the year school celebration, and it means the world to us. Because of you, we can continue to serve at-risk students, and provide them with a mentoring program that will impact their future.
Students in our mentoring program loved the opportunity to not only receive a movie card for their commitment to the mentoring program but also to have the honor to give their teacher mentor a small token of appreciation. In addition, our teacher mentors were able to use the incentive of movie cards to keep students focused and willing to sit down and meet one on one.
We are so lucky to have you as a donor. Thank you for investing in our school and in the students we serve. Your generous gift have gone to good use.
Thank you again for your investment in AUP, and your belief that our students deserve a great education and a hands on mentoring program.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
Inspirational Tech Teacher Needs Upgrade
Funded Nov 18, 2013Thank you SO much for your contribution to the new Dell laptop for my classroom! I've been using this laptop with success for the last few months and it has enhanced the quality of my instruction immeasurably. I teach primarily graphic design at the Academy of Urban Planning, an elective where students have the opportunity to express themselves using Photoshop, an image editing program. I recently created a documentary that captures the lives and graphic design projects from this past semester:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_arE9l2AXI
Students created posters for various organizations within our school and beyond. These learning experiences would not have been possible without your help. Here's why: I create video tutorials for every lesson I teach; this new Dell laptop makes it easier and faster for me to provide students with this personalized media. Interested in what students learned just yesterday? We tackled advanced Brush techniques to create marketing posters for our school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs9r4tTmyac
To see additional videos I've created to provide my students with the highest quality of education possible: visit here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mrdrozdaup I presently have over 300 videos but I'm committed to refining my practice and plan on augmenting my library exponentially over the course of my career. I really can't do this without the proper hardware and your donation is truly opening doors for my students.
Interested in seeing additional work my students have produced since the arrival of this laptop? Check out their amazing graphic design here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106428703810499795655/albums/5964782435339169793
Again, thank you for your support! If my students can share their expertise with you, please don't hesitate to let me know!
Sincerely,
Andrew Drozd (via Jorge Sandoval)”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 6 other donors.Exploring Latin American Studies in an Urban School
Funded Dec 11, 2010I cannot express enough my gratitude to you for helping our new Latin American Studies course launch in the Spring 2011. With your donations, my students are now exposed to rich resources on the study of Latin American indigenous, political and social histories. The donated books used in our class has not only given my students an opportunity to learn their own history but also advance their reading comprehension, college preparation and writing skills.
The goals to provide a rigorous and relevant curriculum has been met thanks to this list of current books and thought provoking writers such as Chasteen, Neruda, Galeano and Marti. Most of our students are of Latin American descent, second generation and share an Afro-Latino history. These books has helped them connect to their history and therefore increase the high influx of reaction and action research papers.
These books are cherished and well respected by my students. They really appreciate the support and I am very happy with the turn out so far with the class and blog discussions, research papers and presentations. Thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
This classroom project was brought to life by Barclays Capital and 15 other donors.Need a Platform for Student Speeches
Funded Feb 11, 2010This is just a small token of appreciation. The podiums changed my classroom environment from just a room of desks and books to a room of lectures and debate. The students used the podiums to defend their opinions on historical matters. They were able to present their case studies on the impact the Arizona anti-immigrant law will have on Latino immigrants. The presentations were amazing and I was able to have an actual immigration lawyer present to hear their opening remarks. These podiums empowered them and many students expressed how important it felt being in command of an audience.
About 50% of my students (out of 105) used the podiums to read speeches from Zinn's Voices. They acted out the speech and more importantly explained the importance of the speech to their peers.
In NYC, budget cuts are making headlines but knowing that there are donors like you out there willing to help teachers in the classroom is a blessing. I am confident that these podiums will be used for many years to come. It has been not only used in the classroom but also used by our debate team's practices. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
This classroom project was brought to life by The Pershing Square Foundation and 2 other donors.People's Voice Project
Funded Feb 11, 2010Thank you so much for your donation of the Zinn Voices book. As a Zinn reader and a US History teacher it was a great experience introducing students to speeches, letters, songs and poems about US History from the perspectives of Americans facing racism, economic hardship, slavery, genocide and more. My students have developed a great appreciation of our American history and has even built a strong opinion on how history should be reported so far that we developed new classroom goals when studying historical changes in American history.
Our graduating seniors used this book heavily in hopes of preparing for the rigors of college. They felt empowered knowing that history can be written by anyone. They were also able to master new vocabulary and ideas.
In NYC, teachers are facing cuts and even jobs but with the help of donors like you I feel very confident that we will provide an excellent education especially in civic duty and history in years to come. Donors like you make a difference in our students' lives and education.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
This classroom project was brought to life by The Pershing Square Foundation and 2 other donors.Each 1 Teach 1 Using Portable Video Projector
Funded Oct 14, 2009Our Day of Dialogue was a success! Thanks to the pico projector many of our students used the projector to display photos and power points on their research. Our day of dialogue kids were able to show video on their stereotypes allowing participants to see how the media portrays stereotypes today including Hollywood movies and commercials.
Having the ability to connect the pico projector to our other donated IPOD touches our students can plug in and out to present their work. Not only is the technology great for projecting images but it also made the workshops run smoothly through standard agendas and more.
Our school is facing many school budget cuts and next year we may not have the same funding for our day of dialogue so the pico projector will help us project student work for the next couple of fundraiser events for next fiscal year. Some teachers are already using it for their fundraising activities easily connecting to their IPODS presenting students' work at community centers and more.
Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.People's History of the US - More Zinn Books Needed
Funded Nov 23, 2008Thank you so much for the generous gift. I can finally begin our Socratic Seminar method with my students using Zinn's book which is filled with many primary and secondary sources. I have one student who loves the book and I can finally lend it to her so she may start her "deconstructing" project on the Civil Rights Movement: Hidden History. This gift brings more excitement in the class now that we finally have enough for each student”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval
Howard Zinn - People's History of the U.S.
Funded Mar 28, 2008What a life saver! I just read to my students an pg. 290 about the The Empire and the People on US imperialism and they wanted more. I thank you very much and look forward to getting our Deconstructing Stereotypes Project up and running.
More to come”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sandoval