I work as the librarian at West Ridge Elementary School in Chicago. We are a neighborhood CPS school (not a charter).

Each day I see students from Kindergarten through 8th grade, with class sizes sometimes exceeding 40 students. My job includes not just managing and circulating the book collection, but also providing instruction in research and media/information literacy skills.  This instruction requires that students have access to information databases, catalogs, and a variety of online information resources. I also provide web design and programming instruction, requiring access to a combination of open source applications.

Ours is not a school that can offer 1-1 iPads or Chromebooks. Out of the 12 library computers provided by CPS, only seven have worked for the last two or three years. Neither CPS nor our school technology coordinator has been able to provide support for repair or replacements.

I am hoping to raise $1,000 in order to purchase 10 refurbished desktop computers from FreeGeek, a nonprofit that restores donated computers and sells them at a low cost. I plan to install the Linux operating system and a combination of open source applications that I will maintain and update on my own.

I'm very passionate about my role in providing information literacy and programming instruction. I can't overstate how important it is that each student have access to the tools and resources needed to nurture and exercise the skills so essential to achieving success in school and beyond.

Please help!

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