Hello, thank you for considering helping our classroom. I teach 6th grade general math to 150 amazing students, who are faced with challenges in their lives which would be hard for most adults to deal with. Yet, despite their tough situations, my students show up to class each day, dressed in their uniforms, ready to learn. Unfortunately, our school budget has been slashed again, and even the basics (pencils, working pencil sharpeners, erasers, calculators, etc.) are hard to come by. Our school demographic is made up of students,almost 99% of whom are eligible for our district free and reduced lunch" program. These are great kids, with huge hearts, but they desperately need adults who believe in them. For most of my students, school is their "happy place" and is often the best/most nurturing/safest place for them to be. In fact, most of my students actually complain about having to be home for a long time during our breaks. My students are thankful for even the simplest of gifts, pencils, erasers, items from the dollar store.
As a new teacher to 6th grade math (but an 8 year veteran to teaching), I am desperate for math supplies to help these students get the best education possible to help them be successful in their future endeavors. Our classroom is very limited in supplies. Im always desperate for even the most basic needs: notebook and graph paper, pencils, a sharpener that actually works, erasers, calculators (I only have two that work), spiral notebooks for math journals, etc. At my prior school, I had 4 computers in my classroom where the students could work on amazing math programs to help them learn concepts in exciting ways, while teaching them programs such as Excel, which will make them more marketable when they go to apply for jobs in the future. When I came to my new home at La Cima, I was shocked to learn that the two computers in my room were basically just "for show" - they are so old, they cant even run the programs I need to help my students be competetive in the world they must learn to navigate. Most of my students do not have access to a computer at home, so the things so many students from more affluent schools take for granted, my students are eager and excited to get the chance to spend even a few minutes on! I get so frustrated when I cant provide them with the same opportunities given to so many students in other schools.
Our school is an AVID school, which is a program encouraging and preparing students to be college-ready and get them excited about the chance to go to college. But I need the tools to help them get there! Can you help my students? Whether its through a small donation which will help pay for the simplest needs like pencils, calculators, paper, etc., or a larger donation (in my dreams) to help put towards new computers or technology to help my students become more competetive in our global/technological society, ANY donation big or small will be GREATLY appreciated. Please help me help my students to have the same chance as their peers in other areas. They deserve the same chances to follow their dreams by being given the best education possible. Math is a subject which our children will need througout their lives, and mandatory to help them become self-sufficient members of society. Thank you for helping my students become the best they can be! :)
