Books for Neg. Freshman English

I am blessed to be a teacher in a very supportive community, one that is focused on our kids and one that values our school system. As such, this is not a request to help fund a project due to a lack of concern for our students; rather, it is a request to fund a project because our school system is doing everything it can. I'm proud to say, ours is a District that not only maintains, but invests in Art, Music, Industrial Education and various other "non-academic" programs. Negaunee Schools is student-focused and puts its money where it's needed to provide a complete and balanced education. However, there is only so much money to go around, and sometimes, very worthwhile programs need to find alternate sources of funding. I've written many grants and done everything I can to bring new and innovative technologies and techniques into my classroom, but this request is for something much more traditional, and as a result, much more difficult to find funding for.  There is a lot of talk about the importance of literacy but critical to the development of that is having our kids read material that is interesting and relevant. My classroom is in dire need of some updates in the novels my students will read. I am saddened and shocked to see the lack of funding available through grant providers for the traditional book that a student can take with him/her to read. Everyone wants to fund the latest and greatest, and trust me, I use a lot of that in class, but it must be balanced with purpose and content. I want to introduce my students to the passion of reading. I can't do that without titles that motivate them to read. The novel I've chosen is No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin. This is a moving, relevant and thought-provoking non-fiction that I am confident would make many of my students discover their inner readers. You can read more on the book here  My goal is to purchase set of 120 books so each student can have a copy to use. Please consider sponsoring even one student's book.