You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
Donate
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

See this teacher's page

This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Snider from Sonoma, CA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Snider is requesting

Help My Students See Themselves (Succeed) in Books

Help me give my students high-interest books featuring characters who look like them.

  • $533 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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

Help Ms. Snider

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

My students are passionate and readily engage with the themes that we focus on sophomore year: when and how an individual should stand up to society and the development of personal identity.

Though they embrace difficult topics, many struggle with the reading level of the core novels we teach in class.

The majority of our students read below grade-level, with many reading several grade levels below 10th. In addition, many of them say they dislike reading. Yet over and over, I have seen them become engaged when my colleagues and I put good books in their hands.

At my school, our English department invests heavily in an independent reading program to foster a love of (or at least enjoyment of) reading in students. At the sophomore level, we help students discover (and stick with) engaging books and set aside class time for discussions about those books. We believe that if you give students books that they can get excited about and inspired by, then give them an opportunity to share their excitement with other students, it creates a virtuous circle. All of a sudden, we have ten former non-readers excitedly talking about a book. It's kind of amazing to witness.

My Project

To help them get excited about reading, 10th grade English students need books that reflect who they are. Our curriculum is excellent, the books are challenging and engaging and address many issues that are top of mind to our students, but few of the authors and characters look like our student body, which is 54% Latino, 41% white, and 5% other ethnicities. All but one is written by a man.

Through these (and other) books, I want to show my students that the stories of women and men who look like them are important to read.

Forming book clubs of 3-4, students will agree on a timeframe for reading these books, then regularly meet and discuss them, talking about the characters and their conflicts, working together to resolve any confusion, and holding each other accountable for the reading.

The themes of personal development, success after struggle, and individual vs. society all tie in with the major themes we focus on in our class and speak to the population of our school, 49% of whom are on free or reduced-priced lunch. These books show the protagonist persevering in the face of challenge. Many of these books are popular independent reading books in my class, titles I frequently recommend to students, or titles chosen by programs who work to get engaging, high-quality, culturally diverse books in teens' hands. These copies will enable more students to enjoy -- and, I hope, learn from -- them.

Ms. Snider Sonoma Valley High School Grades 9-12

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Ms. Snider

Sonoma, CA View local requests

More than half of 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

70 students impacted 10donors

Boost your odds

Add a profile photo in addition to your classroom photo. If you add a photo, it'll show up right here on your project page.

You are more likely to receive funding if you put a face to your name.

Upload a photo

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

You donate directly to the teacher or project you care about and see where every dollar you give goes.

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

See our finances

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Long Way Down • Amazon Business $8.79 8 $70.32
The Afterlife • Amazon Business $5.78 8 $46.24
With the Fire on High • Amazon Business $11.39 4 $45.56
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces • Amazon Business $10.97 4 $43.88
Barely Missing Everything • Amazon Business $10.28 4 $41.12
Eleanor & Park • Amazon Business $10.25 4 $41.00
They Both Die at the End • Amazon Business $8.56 4 $34.24
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter • Amazon Business $7.68 4 $30.72
When I Was the Greatest • Amazon Business $7.23 4 $28.92

Materials cost

$382.00

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $34.95

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.73

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$452.68

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$79.88

Total project goal

$532.56

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $532.56

6 Donors

-$380.00

Donations toward project cost

-$323.00

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$57.00

Matching donations from our partners

-$152.56

Match offers toward project cost

-$129.68

Match offers to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$22.88

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

View complete list Show less

Give the most requested basic supplies

See teacher requests

Give back to your community

Find opportunities to impact local needs by exploring a map of classroom projects near you.

See local area

Project Activity

Project Activity
Back to top

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Snider and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

See how DonorsChoose works
{"pmaHash":"","showProjectRecommendations":true,"leadGenEnabled":true,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"CA","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":4,"name":"High School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/help-my-students-see-themselves-succeed/4214806/","mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":70,"isEquityFocusV1":true,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. Snider","isEquityFocus":true,"proposalHash":"-232311022","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"photosPublished":true,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"shouldTrackEquityFocusV2":true,"schoolCity":"Sonoma","teachersOnPage":[4600867],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"minimizedLeadGenEnabled":true,"proposalId":4214806,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"authorIds":{"4600867":{"owner":"Ms. Snider","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[4214806],"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4600867_272x272.png?width=136&height=136&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1516834028053","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":20968703,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":["NjU4MjMyNg==","NjU5NzcyOQ==","Njc3MDg4","NjQwNDA1Mw==","NjUxMzU3OA==","NjQ1NTIzOQ==","NjU4MjE4Nw==","NDYwMDg2Nw=="],"teacherId":4600867,"schoolCounty":"Sonoma","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"CA","name":"California"}}