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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Lavigna from Washington, DC is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Lavigna is requesting

Why Don't They Look Like Us?

My students need 15 books that feature African-American characters they can relate to.

  • $160 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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

Help Ms. Lavigna

My Students

"They don't look like me" is a phrase commonly heard in my classroom when my students are flipping through books. In an African-American girls classroom, my students have struggled to find role models in literature that look like them and that they can relate to culturally.

My students are four-year-old girls living in the most under-served area.

Our all-girls school is 98% African-American and over 90% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. My girls are bright, curious, sweet, and full of excitement for learning. At home, they may not have access to any books, much less stories that are culturally appropriate. When they are read to, or when they look at books themselves, they are enthralled and love to ask more. Because they do not have access to travel or extracurricular resources, books are a way to give them experiences about other cultures, languages, and people and more importantly, connect them with their own African-American role models.

My Project

I have chosen books that are 100% filled with African-American role models, by authors such as Ezra Jack Keats, Donald Crews, Faith Ringgold, and Vera Wang. These stories feature African-American protagonists and are rich stories filled with culture and heritage. My girls will be able to read these stories and recognize their faces, heritage, and culture.

I want my students to feel welcomed, integrated, and included in everything we do in our classroom, especially the literature we use which is so experiential and visual.

Having characters that look like them and share their culture is an important way to show them that they are valued, as well as teaching them deeply about their culture.

Ms. Lavigna Excel Academy Grades PreK-2

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. Lavigna

Washington, DC View local requests

More than three‑quarters 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

60 students impacted 5donors

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

See our finances

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Whistle for Willie Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Peter's Chair Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
A Letter to Amy Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Over in the Meadow: A Counting-out Rhythm Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Goggles! Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Keats's Neighborhood: An Ezra Jack Keats Treasury Ezra Jack Keats, Anita Silvey, Anita Silvey (Introduction) • Barnes and Noble $18.46 1 $18.46
Hi, Cat! Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $13.79 1 $13.79
Chicken Sunday Patricia Polacco, Edward Miller (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.83 1 $6.83
A Chair for My Mother Vera B. Williams, Vera B. Williams (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Flower Garden Eve Bunting, Kathryn Hewitt (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.98 1 $5.98
Freight Train Donald Crews • Barnes and Noble $8.50 1 $8.50
Tar Beach Faith Ringgold, Faith Riggold • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Shortcut Donald Crews, Donald Crews (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Bigmama's Donald Crews, Donald Crews (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97
Ten Black Dots Donald Crews, Donald Crews (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.97 1 $5.97

Materials cost

$113.26

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $6.51

3rd party payment processing fee

$1.70

Fulfillment labor & materials

$9.00

Total project cost

$130.47

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$28.64

Total project goal

$159.11

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $159.11

3 Donors

-$67.93

Donations toward project cost

-$65.23

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$2.70

match offer

-$79.56

Match offer toward project cost

-$65.24

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$14.32

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$11.62

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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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. Lavigna and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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