The money raised at the fall kids concert at Fitzgerald’s has been used to fund several projects for Berwyn teachers. Berwyn teachers were asked to submit proposals for mini-grants up to $500 via The Berwyn Challenge at Donorschoose.org and BerwynCARES chose favorites to fund. We hope that we are able to provide a little relief to teachers who face budget struggles on a daily basis. There are currently 31 proposals worth $13,395 on The Berwyn Challenge and 18 have been fully funded! In part, because of BerwynCARES promotion and solicitation of private donors like you, the $7,625 raised so far will impact 5770 Berwyn students.
In addition, we’d love to spread the word about DonorsChoose. We encourage teachers to continue to use the web site to promote future projects to their friends and families, as well as their students’ friends and families. Thank you again to our caring supporters who made this possible by generously giving us your precious time, incredible talents and, by sponsoring and attending the event.
The following 8 projects were fully or partially funded by BerwynCARES up to $500 per project totaling $2,982.13:
Bibliotherapy For At-Risk Students
I am a social worker in a school district where the students are about 70% Hispanic and 64% low-income. The students that I have are dealing with a variety of issues ranging from divorce and gangs to disabilities such as autism and mental retardation. I am starting some new bibliotherapy groups that would allow students to deal with their problems through the use of books. We will use books that discuss the same issues we are dealing with, and use ideas from the characters in the story to help ourselves cope. The problem I am faced with is not having any copies of the books I would like the students to read. I need multiple copies of several different books so that the students will be able to read the books along with me in group. We also need some art supplies that will be used to make self-reflection projects in relation to the bibliotherapy groups. Many of the students in my district do not have books in their homes. Many of them do not go home to households that most of us would condsider nurturing. They carry their own problems, as well as their family's, to school with them everyday and need an outlet or a way to cope. The bibliotherapy group is part of my solution to the problem. Please help me provide this opportunity to these kids. My students need 1-6 copies of 6 book titles, from "Esperanza Rising" to the "Kids Divorce Workbook", and 7 various arts and crafts supplies from markers to journaling books. The cost of this proposal is $432.
Give The Poor Kid A Chance!
I teach 7th grade math at a fabulous middle school. We are a low-income school with mostly minority students. Since the majority of our students come from low-income families, most of them do not own their own calculators. I think that being able to effectively use technology is necessary for my students to succeed. I believe that students in poverty deserve the same resources as students from wealthy families. A calculator is a small but significant resource. I wish that I could buy all of my 150 students their own calculators, but instead I am asking for a class set that I will be able to use for years to come. I chose this specific calculator because it has a two line display, so the students can see what they typed and the answer at the same time. This will help them (and me) to identify mistakes. It is also a solar calculator, so I will not have to replace them for many years! With your help my students can take advantage of a technology that wealthier students are already accustomed to using. Let's give these disadvantaged students a resource to help them succeed! My students need 28 TI-30XII Scientific Calculators. The cost of this proposal is $520.
A Visit to the 50 States
"Teacher, is Illinois the CITY we live in?"
Hi. I am a third grade teacher at an amazing school in a challenging community. We live and learn in a low-income neighborhood where resources are limited. Our school is 85% Latino and there is a language barrier amongst many of the students and their parents. Teaching students where they live in relation to their city, state, country, and the world is very difficult without a classroom map. I cannot count the number of times I would have loved to pull down a map and quickly show them places we've learned about. Third graders in my classroom are drawn to maps. They love the visual image. It creates such meaning, especially when ELL students learn best with a visual representation. A classroom pull-down map of the USA and the world would benefit my students and their learning on a day-to-day basis. At the beginning of the year, students become interested in the world when we start learning about planets and Earth. At the end of the year, I challenge my students to learn the location and spelling of all 50 states. Throughout the year, in all subject areas, places are named that my students need to know. But most of all, my third grade students have a difficult time locating their own state, let alone country. They think Chicago is a state! Wow...Can you believe that? Think back to when you were in school... Do you remember your classroom having a map? Isn't hard to believe that there are classrooms without maps? With your help, you will make it possible for my students to learn about their home. With your donation, you will help inspire students to learn about countries around the world. With this classroom map, you will help engage all 25 of my students in active and hands-on learning everyday. Our classroom needs a large USA/World Political Map. The cost of this proposal is $264.
Let's Table the Issue in Berwyn
Safety and six year olds are first in my first grade classroom that is tucked away in a small school in a low income community. We currently have desks with heavy lids that cause many unsafe situations in our room. Fingers get "smooshed" as the desks move and/or the tops fall down. It is also not unusual for a desk to tip over as a student pushes too hard on the top. Tables would completely erase these problems in our class and it would alleviate some of the district's need for desks in the upper grades. Unfortunately budget constraints make it a low priority right now. Your help will ensure the safety of our students and it will allow us to focus on the ever important job of learning to read. My students need 5 tables to accommodate all 20+ children at one time. The cost of this proposal is $1,006.
South Berwyn First Graders are Floored!
My first graders in this low income community deserve the best and we want them to have it! With the focus on reading in a test driven school system, the children need so much authentic material to connect them to their world and to give reasons for reading. My first graders love maps and love knowing where the postcards and leaves from our exchanges are coming from. I want to take advantage of that love and use it to help my students become the most they can. We sit on the floor everyday to have our class meetings, read stories, play games, etc. The rug we sit on is a cheap one that I buy and have to replace every two years. I would like to take advantage of the opportunity to use that rug we sit on to do more than just cover the floor. I want it to enhance the children's learning. You will make it possible for my students, who rarely get to experience the world outside of their home, to travel the country and learn about the world around them. They will walk from one state to another as they describe their trip, the changes in weather, the direction of travel, etc. They will know their world. My project needs a United States carpet for class. The cost of this proposal is $548.
I'm Ready to Act...Where's the Script?
I teach middle school drama/speech grades 6 - 8. We are a title I school district in a high-risk community where most of students are minority and low-income. Our new drama / speech program was created to promote public speaking skills in a community where many students are English language learners. Our students do not have daily access to formal speech skills. They learn to speak in slang, but learn to speak very little formal language. Our students need to develop the speaking skills the need to succeed after school in interviews, in college, or in the workplace. I need to create a library of age appropriate performance materials that students can use to improve their public speaking. Students will learn to perform monologues, perform short plays, and participate in reader's theater. You can make it possible for these children to become better public speakers and create a brighter future for themselves. My students need 15 book titles including titles on monologues, readers theatre, short plays, scenes, and other topics. The cost of this proposal is $348.
Batteries For Roll-Up Keyboards
I teach Middle School music in a Chicago area school with high gang activity and mostly low-income households. Our students get excited about music class and we love offering positive experiences. The roll-up keyboards are one of their favorite activities. Our keyboards need AAA batteries that have to be replaced often. Each set of roll-up keyboards is shared between two teachers and used all year long for different students each quarter. These students LOVE learning the keyboard and this is a great experience for them to have in school. It really helps them feel accomplished and successful. Hopefully, that transfers to their other classes. My students need a large supply of AAA batteries for roll-up keyboards that are shared among two music teachers in our school. The cost of this proposal is $252.
Read It Like You Talk It!
High poverty, but high motivation! My third grad regular education students are primarily from Hispanic families, and most are the only English-speaking family member. Our ESL program is flooded, and many students don't get the focused assistance they need to learn English. Listening to books on tape increases student fluency - their ability to read smoothly, with expression, and with proper pacing and volume. Like one little boy in my class said, "Fluency is reading it like you talk it!" In our classroom listening/recording station, students get the chance to listen to a book on tape, and then make their own. After listening to the book read by a "professional", the students give it a shot on their own, by recording themselves reading a book out loud into the tape player/recorder. Then they listen to themselves, and can hear their personal areas of strength and weakness. This is by far the most popular activity in our room, and the students LOVE to hear themselves reading out loud! It has really helped to improve their oral reading abilities! The problem is that we only have one tape player/recorder, so the students have to wait long periods of time, usually three weeks, before their next turn. By having multiple tape players/recorders in the room, each student would be able to use the listening and recording station at least once a week. This would really increase the fluency of my eager readers! My students are carrying the weight of generations before them on their backs. Most of them are the first ones to learn to speak English in their families, and must translate and read for everyone else, despite their limited reading ability. This project helps them improve their reading skills, which is a life-long gift! My students need 5 Califone Cassette Player Recorders. The cost of this proposal is $449.
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