Alycia Changemaker New York City

Problem-solvers like DonorsChoose.org let me make the changes I need to see happen in my classroom and it cuts through the red tape. Receiving a shipment of books for my students – from someone they and I will never meet – is an incredible feeling.

I love teaching – particularly helping my students fall in love with reading. Some of my students enter third grade with negative feelings about reading, and with well-honed tactics to avoid picking up a book. Others assume reading isn’t for them because children’s fiction novels often don’t match their interests. I work hard to make sure that every student leaves my class with the understanding that reading – at least in some form – is indeed for them. With the right resources, I can unlock new worlds for my students by unlocking the power of words.

There is such a liveliness when a child accomplishes something for the first time. These breakthroughs have an energy that very few people get to enjoy. Teaching them to be effective readers can only work if they are constantly reading new and exciting books. It is really my hope that a lot of teachers go out and find books and other learning tools that their students will love and get those resources into their students’ hands.