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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. McDowell from Spartanburg, SC is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. McDowell is requesting

Winning Books Make Winning Readers

Help me give my students high-quality fiction! These South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominees including Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, Harbor Me, and I Am Still Alive will make my students fall in love with reading!

  • $300 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mrs. McDowell for her next project!

Help Mrs. McDowell

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mrs. McDowell for her next project!

My Students

As you walk our halls, you see how our diverse school celebrates the beauty of differences while recognizing what holds us together. Photographs and artwork reflect the joy of connection and the creative spirit that unites us. The diverse cultures that come together in our school make each of us richer. When you visit our classrooms, you hear our students' energy as they read aloud, share their ideas, and learn together.

Each student in my school is working to find his or her place in a student body of 900 middle schoolers.

They choose books based on their interests, their strengths, their cultures, and their questions. Many of them enjoy the safety and stability of school because their home lives are less comfortable; over 70% of them live in poverty. At school, they find validity and encouragement...and books!

Our students have big dreams. We've told them that they can change the world, and they believe us. I believe us. The compassion and intelligence I see in them encourages me to believe even more.

My Project

Research shows that the best way to improve students' vocabulary, reading comprehension, and lifelong learning skills is to give them time and resources to read high-quality books that they have chosen.

These books are on the SC Junior Book Award Nominee list because they are well-written and middle school students find them exciting.

Students love to read when they have the opportunity to select books that reflect their own cultures and interests!

As they read and share their enthusiasm with their classmates, the books become classroom treasures that promote a climate of reading for pleasure--a skill that will help students for many years to come.

Mrs. McDowell Fairforest Middle School Grades 6-8

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 Mrs. McDowell

Spartanburg, SC 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

300 students impacted 4donors

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

See our finances

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Harbor Me • Amazon Business $8.99 2 $17.98
Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish • Amazon Business $8.99 2 $17.98
Lifeboat 12 • Amazon Business $8.59 2 $17.18
Shouting at the Rain • Amazon Business $7.99 2 $15.98
The Benefits of Being an Octopus • Amazon Business $11.99 1 $11.99
Not If I Save You First • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
I Am Still Alive • Amazon Business $9.84 1 $9.84
Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
Genesis Begins Again • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
Small Spaces • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
The Unteachables • Amazon Business $4.41 2 $8.82
Endling #1: The Last • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
A Good Kind of Trouble • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Deep Water • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Everything Else in the Universe • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Deep Water • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Every Shiny Thing • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Front Desk (Scholastic Gold) • Amazon Business $7.69 1 $7.69
The Night Diary • Amazon Business $6.49 1 $6.49

Materials cost

$206.84

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $14.58

3rd party payment processing fee

$3.10

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$254.52

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$44.92

Total project goal

$299.44

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $299.44

3 Donors

-$169.21

Donations toward project cost

-$153.19

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$16.02

match offer

-$119.21

Match offer toward project cost

-$101.33

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$17.88

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$11.01

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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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 Mrs. McDowell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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