More Gratitude

Hi all,

A parent recently received a donation of 9 laptops from a company he's affiliated with.  They are a bit old, a bit large (17" i3 laptops) but they are such an upgrade to our school.  For instance, the teacher machines in our building run windows 7 and haven't been replaced or upgraded since 2005.  Every year, the budget gets reduced in public schools, and it's always a choice between keeping staff and getting functioning technology.  The teacher machine in my room is a dual core pentium, with 2 gigs of ram.  The machines that were donated were i3s, which are significantly faster and newer, and they are portable, which is a big deal for many of our staff members who have to attend meetings and can't bring their desktop computers to meeting rooms.  I kept a few for my room, but I also donated some to staffers who I know need them.  The social worker attends meetings most days, so she needs a laptop to take notes.  Another colleague teaches English but has 3 ELL students in one class, who require computers to translate.  Another staff member is giving online assessments, but his teacher machine isn't fast enough to handle the software. 

As I upgrade the school building, I'm also sending computers home to students.  Some of these students have financial need, as diagnosed by the counseling staff, the school social workers, or teachers who know them well.  Some of them just want technology and are willing to help me fix it for others.  I'm hoping to build in the ethic in many of my students that they should help others in need.  Sometimes I think it's working - for instance, I have a former student who saw my pleas on facebook for my donorschoose project to get a laptop, and decided to donate his old laptop instead! 

At any rate, the feeling I want to convey is gratitude.  I am humbled by the generosity of others, and I am staggered by the amount of difference that even a small upgrade like this can make.  I'm excited to see what a full upgrade to our school would look like, and this keeps me committed to writing grants, getting estimates, and ensuring that our school gets upgraded, by hook or by crook.

Have a great day all!

Mark @gr8fullyfeclub