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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Stemmer from Brooklyn, NY is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Stemmer is requesting

Bringing Black Authors to Life: Jacqueline Woodson

My students need their own copies of these novels to annotate, study, reflect, and love.

  • $279 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Stemmer for her next project!

Help Ms. Stemmer

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Stemmer for her next project!

My Students

My students represent the nations of the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East, but they live in the heart of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Some are second or third generation immigrants, while others are brand new to the country and just learning English. All of them are bright and eager to learn.

My school is devoted to providing our students with the resources they deserve, but we are a struggling Title I school.

We are always in need of books for our students, who have limited access to books and as a result have a hard time both with decoding and with comprehension. For this reason, students need to be able to carefully annotate their novels and develop a love reading.

Earlier this year, I was able to purchase one complete class set of From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson because of the generous support of others. Now, I need to purchase one additional class set of the novel for my other seventh grade class.

My Project

Students need to see their own lives reflected in the literature they read in order to become lifelong book lovers. To that end, I’ll be teaching Jacqueline Woodson’s From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun.

Seventh graders will be able to read, annotate, dog ear, and love each copy because it will be theirs to keep.

Students will not only learn about the power of acceptance, but also relate to the struggle of growing up in Brooklyn, with a single mother, and a world that feels utterly against them. By reading about Mel’s challenges in coping with his mother’s new relationship and his own budding romance, students will learn how to adapt to difficult situations within their own lives.

Ms. Stemmer Elijah Stroud Middle School Grades 6-8

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

Equity Focus

At this school, more than 50% of students are Black, Latino, and/or Native American, and more than 50% come from low-income households. Learn how your donation to this school supports a more equitable education.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Ms. Stemmer

Brooklyn, NY View local requests

Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

30 students impacted 7donors

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Stemmer is requesting.

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun • Amazon Business $6.79 30 $203.70

Materials cost

$203.70

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$3.06

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$236.76

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$41.78

Total project goal

$278.54

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$278.54

5 Donors

-$188.00

Donations toward project cost

-$159.80

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$28.20

match offer

-$90.54

Match offer toward project cost

-$76.96

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$13.58

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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