Would you like to make starting school a little easier for teachers and students in 2021? In the middle of a year that promises to be far from normal, the average person can fund a teacher’s wish list, especially one that focuses on building an inclusive, high-performing classroom library.
Thanks to Bill Gates and his partnership with DonorsChoose, every project that receives a grant today is rewarded 50%. In other words, if you donate $ 10 to a classroom, your impact is really $ 15. This is helping to accelerate projects that achieve fully funded status and a wave of classrooms across the US that are meeting new requirements.
Why DonorsChoose? The organization requires teachers to develop the project they would like to see realized and outline the items desired and the costs involved. DonorsChoose members make sure the projects are legitimate and ensure that once funding is in place, the materials end up in the hands of these project creators. This setup means that teachers get exactly what they want, at the lowest prices and through the safest of measures. As many think donating a stack of books to a classroom could help, it often results in more work for the already overworked classroom staff. Instead, DonorsChoose does the heavy lifting.
Open your wallet today and with the double effect of your donation help build some amazing classroom libraries. Here are a few great projects to get you started, and of course, any classroom project you deem worthy will benefit most from your generosity today.
The following information is current at the time of writing. All classrooms listed have at least 50% of the student body at or below the poverty line.
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My students
My classroom is in a Title I, City School and District. The students here are very eager and open-minded. They love to learn and while we don’t always have the resources, I love teaching them to be creative, resourceful and think outside the box!
My project
With everything in the world moving at such a fast, technologically advanced pace, students have started to lose their love of reading. It is difficult to get students to sit still and actually read a physical book on their own. However, if our classroom library presents them with books that are fun, entertaining, and relatable, I hope they find their love for reading again. I am sure that my students would enjoy this selection of books and we are very grateful for your donation for our classroom.
My students
The majority of our students are Latinx and Black high school students attending public high school in Denver, Colorado. Students are motivated and committed to preparing for the realities of university and the world of work by offering high quality education and student loans.
My project
We will start the school year this August by reading “The Hate You Give” together as a class in our 11th grade ELA classroom. Students also have the option to take their hardcover books home to read after school and on the weekends.
My students
My 7th grade students are brilliant, hardworking, and creative. Many of them come from socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds that sometimes pose barriers to learning; However, if they are given challenging and meaningful tasks, they are up to the situation.
My goal is to provide my students with as many tools as possible to increase their literacy and engagement in the educational process.
My project
Every year my seventh grade students spend the first two months of school engaging in a realistic fiction unit. For the coming school year, I hope to be able to present the students with a realistic fiction that depicts the realities of the society in which they are growing up. By creating a culture of critical awareness, students will be able to better understand the world they live in while learning how to use that understanding to counter oppression.
My students
“We sometimes think that poverty only means hunger, nudity and homelessness. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and unloved is the greatest poverty. We have to start within our own four walls to eradicate this kind of poverty. ”-Mother Teresa
Poverty can be incredible, and the stories can seem so unreal. Some of my students have never had classroom success and see no future because of their home environment. I tell my students that success starts with them. My students are excited to see what the world can offer them in the midst of the storm many of them face every day.
My project
My students need exciting novels to improve reading, understanding and vocabulary. When students refer to stories they read, they understand much better.
It is the joy of my day to watch my students read and not give up.
To see that my students want to know more about the topic they are reading is very special. This donation will take my students to another level academically, socially and emotionally.
My students are the ones who have been in doubt all of their lives. They are the ones who played in class because they didn’t want everyone to know they had reading challenges. They are the ones who didn’t do their homework because they were afraid to ask for help. These students were passed over for most of life. They all come to me with a deficit. My average reading level is 2nd grade. However, I love teaching this group and watching them grow. This challenge cannot be met with today’s outdated textbooks, with characters that they cannot relate to. I succeeded in bringing in outside resources to convey the same standards so that they could relate to themselves. My school is in one of the poorest and most criminal areas of Atlanta.
My students
Our students are creative and wonderful children! We are a rural school in Arizona. My students are great and often do not have access to the basic needs that go into school.
I’ve been using this program for years, trying to bring my students the articles that will help them become better readers, better athletes, and smarter students. Your donation is very welcome and the products will be well looked after for many years. Thank you again for your donation to us!
My project
My students are very interested in a new book that I bought for my classroom. There is a waiting list to read the book.
There are two versions of this book. I want several copies so that any student interested in the book can read it.
There is a novel he wrote and a graphic novel that are included in the project. New literature is needed in my class library. Your donation will bring these new books!
My students
My students are made up of many different boys and girls. Some of my classes are all boys or girls and some are mixed groups of boys and girls. They are spirited and fun, but many of them come from poor families. The students I teach enjoy coming to school and are excited about everything that is new. My students practice the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers and are inspired to find new ways to implement them. Please help them with materials to expand our classroom and learning opportunities!
My project
These materials will make a difference to so many of my students who hate reading because they have never been given a variety of books to choose from. The selection of books I buy for my classroom are fiction books. I hope that I can give my students a better appreciation of reading and maybe some of my students will actually end the year enjoying reading. The only way to reach them is to give them more choices until they pick up a book that appeals to them. Only then will her love for reading take hold. These materials will have a huge impact on my students’ lives. In this high-poverty area, my students have very limited access to books. Even if their parents can take them to the local library, it is an extremely small facility with few books. Many of my students don’t like reading because they never find a book that interests them. I believe that if my students could see a wider variety of literature, maybe they would enjoy reading a lot more. It only takes one book to teach a child that reading is a fun lifelong learning activity.
