With these funds I will...

• A culturally relevant library will give my students an opportunity to learn each day at school through a lens that reflects themselves, their community, their family, and culture. It will increase engagement in the classroom, as well as get kids more excited to learn about things that more reflect their experience and who they are. This will also simultaneously increase their reading, writing, and math scores in class by making learning more engaging and more meaningful and purposeful to students in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Ultimately, this library will give them a chance to apply things they learn in the classroom to experiences they have outside of the classroom, 1st grade and beyond.
• Not only do my students deserve these resources and experiences, I believe every child in every school with students of color deserve a Culturally Relevant Library. We constantly ask why our kids are failing, however, we should be asking why our schools are failing our kids. If our curriculum, if our books, if our assignments, do not relate to our kids because they are designed with white students in mind, how can we expect our students to engage let alone excel in school? School became meaningful to me my freshman year in college when I had a teacher that gave me readings that I could relate to, because I had experiences or knew people who had experiences about the things I was reading about. It made reading exciting for me and gave me a purpose to focus on learning more through reading about the social justice issues we face in the United States and beyond. Books that kids can relate to, get excited about, are engaged in, will help them understand the importance of education. It will challenge them to think more critically, and also help them understand the potential and power each and every one of them possesses. My students are like many Black and Brown kids all over South LA, they come to school and work hard every single day. They, like all kids of color, deserve a library that reflects who they are, and where they come from.
•  I have a list of books that I will be purchasing, find the list attached. Also the books from this link: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/33585.The_Culturally_Relevant_Bookshelf

Back Up Plan