Help Aya Make Her Classroom Welcoming

Update: THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY!! In less than 5 hours, you all not only reached but completely surpassed my goal of $1,500. My support system is outrageous and I am feeling all of the love. I have decided that I will continue to leave this page open for a while longer and any extra funds will be used to help out other teachers in my school. I have teacher friends that also need help giving their students everything they need and I am excited to be able to pass on the love and support. If you did donate or share, please keep an eye out in your messages from me! 

Much love,

Aya 

ORIGINAL POST: Hi everybody! For those of you that don't know me, my name is Aya. I began my first year of teaching in January, but I spent all of it online -- which meant I didn't need any supplies outside of my laptop. This year, we are back in-person full time and I am at a loss as to how I'm going to provide for my students when all I have in my room are desks, chairs, an empty bookshelf, and a box of supplies my department chair gave me in May. I'm usually not very good at asking for help, especially for monetary help, but I've conceded to the fact that I will not be able to finance this myself. This is where you come in.

My goal for this GoFundMe is $1,500. With this money, I will be able to:

• Provide each student with a composition book
• Have a seemingly endless supply of pencils that I'm sure will run out by December
• Decorate my room with posters that reflect my BIPOC students
• Provide sanitary products and hygiene products for my students
• Keep a stash of snacks for my students that are hungry
• Possibly buy a class set of books that the school does not carry (this can be anywhere from $200-$500)
• Buy regular YA books for my students to enjoy (Right now all I have a textbooks, blech!)
• Maybe an extra bookshelf from Craigslist or OfferUp?
• Possibly a microwave and fridge? You know all the best teachers had one.
• And so much more!

This year, I am teaching 10th and 11th grade English. For some of you, English may have been your favorite subject in school. Or maybe it was the bane of your existence. I don't know. For my classroom, my intent is to create a space where my students feel comfortable being who they are while they figure out where they fit in this existence. This includes making sure their basic needs are cared for, the content connects to their personal lives (no more dead white authors), and that they see that we care. Teachers care, parents care, strangers care. We care.

I appreciate each and every one of you that have taken your time to read, donate, share, and even send me a message just to telling me to have great year. I am both excited and nervous for this upcoming year and I am looking forward to seeing my students' faces. At least I have windows this year!

All the best,

Aya