Inclusive Classroom Fund Supports Hundreds of High-Needs Students

Inclusive Classroom Fund Supports Hundreds of High-Needs Students

25 educators across the nation received funding to purchase inclusive teaching materials and resources to benefit more than 600 students.

Thank you Inclusive Classroom Fund donors for supporting equity in education this year! Your gifts ensure hundreds of students nationwide will have access to tools and materials that support their individual learning needs. 

An inclusive classroom addresses inequity in the classroom on the basis of race, ethnicity, family background, sexual and gender identity, ability, or any personal or social circumstances. 

Now more than ever, teachers need support to meet the learning needs of all of their students, while adapting to distance learning.

Patrick, a high school music and theater teacher who received an Inclusive Classroom Grant plans to purchase inclusive teaching materials such as music, books, and theatre works written or composed by minority artists, to provide a more inclusive performing arts education experience for his students.

“I want to make a conscious effort to include and discuss work written or composed by minority artists. It is incredibly important that we expose students to minority artists at an early age because students of color do not often see themselves represented in the various art forms.” 

Patrick –  Music Teacher in Union, New Jersey

Brenda is an elementary school teacher who is committed to helping the students at her school reach their full potential. Her goal is to close the learning gap in reading at her school by 25% over the course of the next school year. 

With her Inclusive Classroom Grant, Brenda will purchase high-interest intervention materials, books, and activities to accomplish her goal, and help teachers at her school better engage their students in their learning.

“Many of my students are faced with challenges in and out of the classroom on a daily basis. I have had students who couldn’t do homework because of lack of supplies or lights to read by. There are students who are in the fifth grade that are struggling to read at a first grade level. Being able to read well is a way out of poverty and it opens opportunities otherwise not available to our students.“

Brenda – Elementary Teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Your gift to the Inclusive Classroom Fund is helping educators, like Patrick and Brenda, meet the needs of every single one of their students. 

Congratulations to the incredible educators who received an Inclusive Classroom Fund grant this year. 

We are thrilled to announce the following 2020 Inclusive Classroom Fund recipients:

  1. Yuvonka Avery – Main Street Charter Academy Elementary – College Park, Georgia
  2. Flavia Bahena – Boronda Meadows – Salinas, California
  3. Dorothy Barco – Walnut Creek Elementary School – Raleigh, North Carolina
  4. Emily Borgerding – Roosevelt Elementary School – Faribault, Minnesota
  5. Michael Costa – Ps 16 Leonard Dunkly School – Brooklyn, New York
  6. Alejandro De La Pena – Parkland Middle School – El Paso, Texas
  7. Brenda Depriest – Hawthorne Elementary School – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  8. Angela Draper – Virgin Valley Elementary School – Mesquite, Nevada
  9. Marcelina Edwards – Boston International High School – Boston, Massachusetts
  10. Sarah Griego – Sierra High School – Colorado Springs, Colorado
  11. Chelsea Haupert – Ps 56 Harry Eichler School – Richmond Hill, New York
  12. Joy Heath – Elmore Park Middle School – Memphis, Tennessee
  13. Farrah Hilton – East Forsyth High School – Kernersville, North Carolina
  14. Julia Kasper – South Plantation High School – Plantation, Florida
  15. Kristin Kolodziej – Scott Elementary School – Melrose Park, Illinois
  16. Rebekah Miller – Saluda Primary School – Saluda, South Carolina
  17. Marcia Neely-Hall – Hallandale High School – Hallandale Beach, Florida
  18. Lydia Oey – McKinley Elementary School – San Leandro, California
  19. Anna Owenby – Poplarville Lower Elementary School – Poplarville, Mississippi
  20. Patrick Phillips – Franklin Elementary School – Union, New Jersey
  21. Megan Shea – Belmont Street Community School – Worcester, Massachusetts
  22. Abby Sloan – Reed Elementary school – Tacoma, Washington
  23. Arsenia Tate – St Margaret Of Scotland School – Saint Louis, Missouri
  24. Camellia Termini – Belen Middle School – Belen, New Mexico
  25. Melissa Terrell – Grimshaw Elementary School – La Fayette, New York

If you would like to help equip high-needs classrooms with essential supplies to help educators meet the individual needs of each of their students, please consider a gift to the Inclusive Classroom Fund today. Or, donate to our Disaster Relief Fund to support teachers and schools impacted by COVID-19.