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Part 1:
The Star Advertiser has a section on their website for school teachers to request donations to help pay for items needed in their classrooms. This seems like a good way to get necessary items into our local schools, items that they might otherwise not be able to afford due to budget cuts or restraints. Here's the link for Pahoa schools:
http://supportmyclass.org/?s=pahoa&post_type=gb_deal
Part 2:
One of the requests on the website was for rubber slippers, and in the listing the teacher wrote:
"Over 93% of Pahoa Elementary School students come from a household receiving public assistance and therefore, the rubber slipper is their only foot covering."
Does anyone know whether this number is accurate? Can 93% of Pahoa Elementary students really receive some kind of government assistance?
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I would guess it is accurate, that figure usually comes from the list of kids eligible for free and reduced lunch. Working families with several children who are not poor enough for any other government assistance often are eligible for reduced lunches. Puna is the poorest district in the state, and even working families are eligible for the lunch program. One Puna school I taught at had 100% eligibility for free and reduced lunches, even though many of our families had at least one parent working one or more low wage jobs.
Pahoa probably loses a fair number of higher income (for Puna that is) families to Hilo schools, Kamehameha schools, Christian Liberty, homeschooling, and Charter Schools; even Keaau has a lot of students who transfer from Pahoa. A few years back I saw the numbers on the difference between the number of school age children in the Pahoa area and the number who attended Pahoa and it was a substantial difference. In fact, the report said that if all the kids whose neighborhood schools are the Pahoa schools attended, there would not be enough classrooms.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
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Shoes/Slippers & backpacks are at the top of items requested around the island for school donation that hubbies work does annually.... (the company chooses on elem. in one of the districts every year to sponsor....all of the schools they have sponsored have had very high public assistance percentages...90+% does not seem all that out of the "norm" for the schools really needing assistance)
soo much so that we have purchased case lots of these for our donation in the past few years
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This supportmyclass.org sounds like a great idea. Does anyone have any more details?
Does 100% of the money donated go to the school? How do you pay, with a credit card?
Thanks.
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I got a donation for my classroom through this program, I specified exactly what items I needed and then those items came in the mail within a week of being funded. I think the donors can go shopping on the website to find a class or project to support, but I am not sure how they handle payment, probably paypal or credit/debit card.
Donorschoose.org is another great site, but it is national not Hawaii. Our middle school language arts teacher got balance balls for her classroom to replace chairs through that site.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Carol & Carey -
Thanks for your comments. I drive to Pahoa twice a week, but have never had any contact with the schools there, so this is really an eye opener. I knew the amount of assistance for low income kids would be high, but had no idea how high.
PaulW -
Here's the About page for support my schools. Didn't see it mentioned what % of the donations goes directly to the schools:
http://supportmyclass.org/about-us/
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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From my experience you just fund a specific project and all the money goes to purchasing whatever is needed for that project. I think the overhead for the program is covered by HSTA, which is the Hawaii teachers' union.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
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quote:
Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge
"Over 93% of Pahoa Elementary School students come from a household receiving public assistance and therefore, the rubber slipper is their only foot covering."
This number does not surprise me AT ALL. I am student teaching at an elementary school that appears to be fairly affluent...and we have a 70% free-and-reduced-lunch student body.
