This article focuses on one particular school that had a need and a parent, among with many others that stepped in to fulfill the need with countless hours and fundraising efforts. I feel that this may be one of many stories that show what some people may be willing to do in light of continued budget cuts. How do we tap into these resources at our schools to get help with all the shortfalls we are facing, if education continues to be underfunded? Parents Pitch In
Budget cuts are a serious situation that affect everyone. Our school is bursting at the seams currently and we can't seem to get the money to add on classroom space. Our art room doubles as the music room. Our gym is also our lunchroom. Our computer lab is also a hallway to get to three of our classrooms and it is also our tornado shelter area. Our speech room is in a storage closet. Every space at our school is being used, which creates a scheduling nightmare. For the first time since I have been teaching, I do not have a classroom aide to help during math time, science time or social studies. Things will look different in my room this year because of it and it is unfortunate. Projects will need to be things I can manage on my own with my kindergarten students. Trying to figure out how to give my students everything they need, in a fun and engaging (and hands-on, project-based) way, knowing I need to manage it alone will be a task I will work on constantly this year.
This is a great article that really speaks about the generosity of people. I feel that at our school we are also bursting at the seems. We are lucky to have a separate pe and music room but our lunchroom is our gym which does cause for scheduling conflicts. I have never had a classroom aid available during a time when we would work on projects. Our aids are provided during our reading and math time. This is so we can break into smaller groups. I am thankful for this but I would love to have support during other times of the day to bring in more project based learning. I guess we will never know if people are willing to help unless we ask.
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