Building The Foundation: Startup Classroom Supplies
$686
$540 goal
The Description
After completing Teach for America’s - 2017 Phoenix Institute I will be responsible for my very own classroom! I can't wait to decorate and meet my students and their families. One of the biggest hurdles that students in high need schools face is a lack of the necessary materials that are needed daily. It makes it infinitely more difficult for students to take part in activities and classwork when they do not have basic supplies.
To get the year started off right, I will use the funds that I raise to purchase the startup supplies needed to welcome my students to a classroom that is clean and stocked full with materials. This will allow me to provide the required supplies to students that otherwise would not have them. I will also purchase copy paper to ensure that I can provide my students with high quality learning materials, whether that is exit tickets, independent activities, or homework. Thank you so much in advance for supporting me and my students at the beginning of this exciting journey.
PledgeCents allows me to keep whatever I raise, so anything you can contribute really will make a difference for my first year. I want to make a great impression and a lasting impact on my first group of students and letting them know that they have a community that supports them both near and far will definitely get us on the right track. Here is a complete list of the materials that your generous investment will help provide for the students of my very first classroom:
- 3 Boxes of Paper (15 Reams) - $75.00
- 2 Boxes of Pencils (288 Count) - $40.00
- Kleenex (18 Pack) - $36.00
- Anchor Chart Paper (2 Pack) - $30.00
- Scotch Thermal Laminator - $29.00
- Hand Sanitizer (Pack of 2) - $28.00
- 12 Quart Stackable Storage (6 Pack) - $26.00
- Paper Towels (12 Rolls) - $24.00
- 2 Packs of Dry Erase Markers (32 Count) - $22.00
- 2 Packs of Ball-Point Pens (48 Count) - $22.00
- 2 Packs of Grading Pens (24 Count) - $22.00
- Broom with Dust Pan - $20.00
- Pack of Highlighters (50 Count) - $17.00
- 3 Packs of Erasers (36 Count) - $16.00
- Scotch Laminator Sheets (100 Pack) - $14.00
- 3x5 Index Cards (10 Packs) - $12.00
- 2 Packs of Sharpie Chart Markers (16 Count) - $12.00
- Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (3 Pack) - $10.00
- Swingline 3-Hole Punch - $10.00
- Post-it Notes (18 Pads) - $8.00
- Sharpie Permanent Marker (12 Count) - $7.00
- Paper Clips (450 Count) - $6.00
- Swingline Stapler - $6.00
- Binder Clips (30 Count) - $5.00
- Swingline Staples (5000 Count) - $3.00
- Optional Tiggly Thinker Kit - $90.00
Tiggly offers physical manipulatives that interact with literacy, math, and creative thinking learning apps for students. This provides students with opportunity to engage in digital learning through developmentally appropriate technology. The Tiggly Thinker Kit combines one set of Tiggly Words and one set of Tiggly Digits.
Back Up Plan
Fundraiser Updates (1)
School Means Mobility
August 26, 2017
My dear friends,
You generously contributed, financially as much as morally, to my work. It's time I update you on things as they stand at East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy.
The students I teach range from ages fourteen to nineteen. One of my first observations in my students was an overwhelming tendency to leave backpacks on their person, even while sitting at their desks. The backpack seems to be an additional body part. I initially opposed this phenomenon, as the message I received from my students was that at any moment, they could flee. The backpack symbolizes transport, I concluded, much like the cell phone on the dinner table symbolizes greener grass awaiting upon receipt of a new iMessage. I asked some students why they didn't simply make themselves at home: "Doesn't your back hurt?" "No, Mister, it's just more comfortable." I remained confused, until one of my peers informed me. Between foster care, negligence, and instability at home, students may in fact see their backpacks as the one aspect of their lives that doesn't move around. They control where it is and what they carry inside it. It's a windy logical pathway, but no matter how I arrived at this point, I have loosened up. It doesn't bother me so much now to see my students sit with their backpacks, but they may not take them to the restroom.
The backpack is one of many novelties, complexities, and compromises that has faced me yet. I can begin to pat myself on the back for aligning student safety and comfort with constructive classroom policy around backpacks, but what about swearing? Cell phones? Believe me, it's a lot more complicated than just saying "nope." If you've got tips, I am ready for them!
You might wonder where your contributions have ended up. I have spent a total of $84.58 on the following supplies:
- "Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History" Poster
- Alfred Einstein Poster
- Avery Two-Pocket Folders, 25 (one for classwork, one for homework for each of my 13 students)
- Five Star Two-Pocket Folders, 6 (for me to transport student work for each of my classes)*
- PaperPro Stapler
- Scotch Precision Scissors
- College Ruled Notebook, in which to log student behaviors and phone calls home
- Hourly (actually, 15-minute increment) planner to organize teaching, co-teaching, and IEP** meetings
*My job, to some degree, reflects the mobility of a backpack. I teach my own 10th grade World History class, and co-teach 9th grade Geography, 10th grade World History, 11th grade American Literature, and 12th grade Expository Writing and Reading Comprehension. That's five different courses across four different grades. I've never been so excited to have two-pocket folders.
**An IEP, or Individualized Education Plan, is a lengthy document outlining a special education student's learning strengths, needs, and goals for the year. This student might be fully immersed in general education courses that include a Resource Specialist Teacher making accommodations and modifications to the GenEd curriculum, or this student might be fully immersed in a Special Day Program, sometimes known as a contained classroom for SpEd students. The student might also fall somewhere in between. IEP Meetings occur annually, and involve a SpEd teacher, a GenEd teacher, a counselor/administrator, parents, the student, and any other relevant specialists involved with the child (e.g. speech language pathologists or mental health providers). Again, I cannot contain my excitement over this planner.
TL; DR - I do not have my own classroom and therefore had very few initial supply costs, but will use your contributions towards projects and classwork as the school year progresses, with updates to follow!
Much love and gratitude to you all.
All my best,
Alan C. Swanson
About the Creator
Your Impact
25
The Quarter
75
Germaphobes
100
Making Paper
200
Do The Write Thing
Investments (16)
Katelyn Masket
6 years ago
Haley Rowland
6 years ago
Alana Osterling
6 years ago
Anonymous
6 years ago
Anonymous
6 years ago
Anna Silk
6 years ago
Chelsey Anderson
6 years ago
James Freymuth
6 years ago
Kathleen Swanson
6 years ago
Elaine Berg
6 years ago
Mark and Kirsten Larson
6 years ago
Thomas Swanson
6 years ago
Anonymous
6 years ago
Julie Cramer
6 years ago
Melanie Heyside
6 years ago
Anonymous
6 years ago
Comments (2)
James & Olivia July 2, 2017
Good luck at Institute and keep us updated on which school gets you!
Kate July 2, 2017
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