With these funds I will... purchase custom t-shirts and sunglasses to build the sense of community and camaraderie amongst the 8th graders on my campus.

My students are from a neighborhood in which very few individuals have a college degree, but all of them have chosen to attend a school where the focus is on 100% of students attending college. In order to help keep our students motivated, the 8th grade teachers at my school have been working hard to build up a strong grade level identity. Since the current class of 8th graders will graduate in 2020, they are The Vision. We have been working with them to think about what their vision is for their future and having them envision the journey that is going to take them there.

Our student know that the class of 20/20 has a vision for their future and a vision for how they are going to get there. They understand that only through hard work, strong academic performance, good behavior, and having a grade level community that celebrates each other successes and supports them through their struggles can they achieve the future vision they have for themselves.

My team would like to provide each student with a custom t-shirt that celebrates this vision by having on the front a specially designed image that represents The Vision and the class slogan, "20/20 Has a Vision and a Plan" on the back. In addition, to keep with the vision theme we would also like to provide them with custom sunglasses that say The Class of 20/20 has Vision on the sides.

We believe that these items will help to give our 8th grade class an even stronger sense of identity and further build the sense of community they have with each other which will help them to gain the skills they will need to be successful as they move into first high school and then college.

Back Up Plan