Send Students in Need to Costa Rica

Shorewood Schools is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Crystal Reed.

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Hello! My name is Sara Kitzinger Anton, and I am proud to teach 7th and 8th grade Spanish at Shorewood Intermediate School in Shorewood, Wisconsin. For decades, our district has traveled with students to Spanish-speaking countries for a biannual trip with my predecessor, Lisa Bane.

I took my first student group to Costa Rica in August of 2015 with a group of incredible young adults. The kids lived with Costa Rican families, took small-group Spanish lessons, and got to travel around the country. We saw the rainforest and how coffee and chocolate are made. We volunteered in a day care. The students and I were also special guests at a Costa Rican school, where we participated in their English Festival. The trip was an incredible success. Especially when students are 13 or 14 years old, the ability for them to learn within the culture is especially impactful. Authentic learning experiences like these shape our kids into global citizens throughout their whole lives.

We have our 2017 trip to Costa Rica scheduled, but we need your help to make this experience a reality for some of our kids. We are a diverse district, including in terms of socio-economic status. Currently, 23% of the student body at our school is defined as "economically disadvantaged" by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction. This means that this Costa Rica trip, and many others like it, are out of reach for nearly a quarter of our student body. As an educator who values social justice, I proposed this fundraiser to assist students who demonstrate financial need to make this trip a reality for them.

Our 9-day trip will cost $2400 per student and includes everything except optional spending money. We would like to award 50% to 75% of the trip cost to students in financial need, based on individual level of need. Any funds raised beyond our goal will be used to establish a permanent scholarship fund for the same purpose: to help low-income students travel to Costa Rica in future years.