With these funds I will cover the cost of T-shirts that have been ordered to get the students pumped up and excited about taking the Math 6 STAAR Exam, which is the Texas standardized test. See below for full description:

If I learned anything in college it's that catchy T-Shirts have the uncanny ability of rallying a group of people together around a “cause”. They build camaraderie and excitement, and generate positive energy like nothing else. The "causes" in college varied in importance, of course. From Habitat for Humanity houses and Alternative Spring Break service trips to 80's themed parties and my personal favorite, the "Sid Rich Advisors <3 Your Mom" shirt. After college, I joined Teach for America and was assigned to teach 6th Grade Math at YES Prep Fifth Ward. From the very first day that I met my students, I was all in, 100% devoted to my new “cause”. For roughly 16 hours a day I am committed to ensuring that each student has access to an excellent education and is put on the path to graduate from college. To me, this is the most important cause in the world, and one that is definitely worthy enough of being on a T-Shirt.

My hope/dream/wish/request is simple - to open up the world of catchy T-Shirts to my adorable 6th Grade Math students.

On Tuesday April 21st, my students will take the Math 6 STAAR Exam, which is Texas' standardized test. My 90 students are all minority students living in or near the Fifth Ward, which is one of Houston's most impoverished neighborhoods. Together, I am in this fight with them to get them to and through college and prove society wrong. They have big dreams of one day being the first in their family to graduate from college. It is my job to keep them motivated towards this big goal, yet at the same time ground them in the realities of the here and now in 6th Grade. The reality is that if they do not pass the Math 6 STAAR Exam on April 21st, they are certainly not on the path to college. I am surely doing everything I can, and then some, to prepare them for the exam. They too are working their tails off. We are simply missing a catchy T-Shirt to keep us motivated and make us laugh when the going gets rough.

I constantly strive to make connections between my math classroom and their 11 year old world. Often times, this results in me making outdated or incorrect pop-culture references and the kids laughing in my face. In fact, I have mastered the art of having jokes crashing and burning in your face. If I had to estimate, I would say this happens about 93 times a day, which is almost a 1:1 joke failure: student ratio. However, the T-Shirt design you see here, is one that the students and I came up with together. It has the 6th grade student "Stamp of Approval", which is quite hard to obtain. For those “uncool” adults like myself, I’ll explain that the T-Shirt references the song "Tuesday" by Drake, incorporates a hashtag, and also uses the word "bae" which has a zillion definitions but in this context, the hashtag "Math is Bae" means "Math is Cool".

The students can't wait to wear their new shirts around to get pumped up about the Math 6 STAAR Exam. The purpose of the shirts is to build a positive culture around this difficult test, build adrenaline on the morning of the exam. Ideally, the shirt will make excelling in math "cool" in their eyes, because I certainly am not. The shirts have been ordered, so any donations would be much appreciated to cover the cost. A donation of about $10 will roughly cover the T-Shirt printing and shipping cost for 1 student. Until then, I will be on a hunger strike to save some money. Whatever it takes!

Thank you in advance!

Ms. Nunez & the PBA’s (precious baby angels, if you were wondering)

Back Up Plan