I am a Preschool teacher at a title V center in the mission district of San Francisco, which serves underprivileged communities. Aside from teaching full time, I am also attending classes at night, and on weekends, in order to pursue my bachelors in child and adolescent development, with a minor in special education, at San Francisco State University. I have been provided with an amazing opportunity to go to New Zealand in order to further my professional and educational growth. The trip is 3 weeks long, and within that time I will be taking a course for college credit, while also learning about the Te Whariki approach, which is the national standard for early education classrooms. New Zealand has produced an amazing approach to assessing children by viewing the child’s strengths and abilities through a subjective lens, which allows the children to be seen through a lens of respect, while seeing the child as a whole. This approach takes assessments past the focus of just filling in bubbles, by providing a platform where children are more adequately assessed based on the individual, as opposed to the collective. Each child is beautiful and unique in his/her own way, which means that as educators, we should assess their progress accordingly. We will also be learning approaches to incorporating and preserving home language and culture within the classroom.  I am hoping to gain valuable skills and approaches to bring back to San Francisco with me in order to provide my students and families with the best educational experience possible and to one day make a change in the way we, as a whole, view children and their abilities/educational growth. While being an educator is my life calling, I don’t get fairly compensated and I am putting myself through school; which means that I can’t make this happen without the support of my friends and family. I am asking for any help I can get in order to make this once in a lifetime opportunity a reality. The money raised will help cover airfare, my tuition fees, accommodations, required insurance, and other expenses. If you feel comfortable doing so, please share. I thank you in advance!