DonorsChoose.org Impact Report    Chicago Public Schools                                           Kirk Smiley  Principal Director, Advocacy and Public Partnerships, DonorsChoose.org  134 W. 37th St., Floor 11 New York, NY 10018  317-403-9233 kirk@donorschoose.org                Supporting America’s public schools,   one classroom at a time.    Who We Are    “DonorsChoose.org   is an ​accountable,  transparent ​way for  teachers to get funding  for classroom needs and  for projects that bring  learning to life.”  —Arne Duncan,​ Former  U.S. Secretary of Education    “DonorsChoose.org is the  crowdfunding platform of  choice for Atlanta Public  Schools — ​it combines  the generosity of   our community with  education enthusiasts  across the country​ to  ensure all our students  are college and career  ready.”  —Dr. Meria J.  Carstarphen,  Superintendent,   Atlanta Public Schools  DonorsChoose.org is the leading platform for giving   to public schools. Teachers request the exact  materials and experiences they know will bring  learning to life for their students. For some teachers,  that means some extra paper and pencils. Others  want to expand their classroom libraries, sports  teams, or student orchestras. Many teachers dream  even bigger, proposing to equip their students to  build robots, or to outfit their classrooms with flexible  seating.    Our Impact  To date, more than ​11,000 public school districts   in the United States and 80% of public schools have  used our site. Over ​three million donors​ have given   $700 million​ towards classroom materials and  experiences, often to teachers they’ve never met.     Integrity & Transparency  As the largest crowdfunding site dedicated to public  schools, DonorsChoose.org meets a singularly high  standard of transparency, accountability, and security.  This has earned us the highest possible rating from  Charity Navigator, America's largest independent  charity evaluator, for 12 years straight. This  achievement is held by fewer than 1% of nonprofits.    We invite you to visit  www.donorschoose.org/superintendents​ to learn  more about what makes us unique.      Chicago Public Schools Impact Report            How DonorsChoose.org Works                          Only educators at verified​ U.S. public schools who work with students at  least 75% of the time are eligible to submit projects to our site. When  creating classroom project requests, teachers specify the exact items their  classrooms need.      We vet every project that teachers create,​ verifying the cost of those  items and that the project descriptions explain how the materials benefit  student learning.      Foundations, corporate partners, and individual donors ​identify projects  they’d like to support, and donate directly to those projects that inspire  them.      Once a project has been funded, we order the teacher's requested items  and ship them to the school. ​We verify every school address, and we  never send cash.       We alert the principal​ and other registered teachers at that school in  advance of every shipment via fax and email, so they know when to expect  the materials.       The resources are considered​ ​property of the public school classroom​.  Only with the permission of their principal can a teacher bring those  resources with them when they move to a new public school.                Chicago Public Schools Impact Report          Nationwide fundraising, ​local impact   445,247 classrooms have   had projects funded  $700 million given to support   classroom projects  29,100,000 students benefiting from  DonorsChoose.org projects  Unlike any other crowdfunding platform, ​75% of  the dollars given to classrooms each year  come from people and organizations outside  of teachers’ personal networks,​ which makes  our site especially useful for teachers in  low-income communities.   Our corporate and foundation partners alone  have given more than ​$300 million​ to support  classrooms. And by engaging a community of  donors passionate about supporting classrooms,  we connect teachers with individuals they would  never otherwise meet through traditional  fundraising efforts.    80% of America’s public schools  have at least one teacher   who has created a project                                    Chicago Public Schools Impact Report        Chicago Public Schools Impact 9,850,286 92,466 to classroom projects iri the distriCt citizen COWOFS d'strict teacoers 32,992 9,039 classroom projects funded teachers Funding from Out of State 51% 42,439 05 project Iond?ng came frorn out of state cit'zen donors from out of state $10,112,390 oI project rLindrg from out-of?state comoacies, foundations, and c'tized donors (cooy 5} Funding by School Year Dorations to assroorrs, By Year in in in N. m. $3,000.000.00 $2,600,690.77 $2,500,000.00 $2,210,402.16 3139934232 $2,000,000.00 $1,332,318.15 $1,500,000.00 $1,135,11 2.79 $1,149,385.24 Payment Total Amount $365,035.52 $302 574 95 $795,253.43 $709,427.53 $1,000.000.00 A 94,: QB ?55 KN $639,528.DonorsChoose.org Schools Participating Top Schools (Cumulative) (copy 4) school Teachers Registered Projects Funded Toni Iulsed 1 Lane Technical College Prep High School 97 533 $362,590.84 2 Dawn Eernentary School 86 1,?86 $691,943.13? 3 Kenwood Academy 69 181 $172,450.25 4 Cameron 69 391 $211,904.42 5 Swill EiemenLawI Specialty School 65 395 $1 49.669419 6 undhlom Math and Science Academy 65 24 $229,700.13 7 Goethe Elementary School 62 280 $167,599.91 Hurley 60 380 $267,969.65 9 Newton Bateman 55 383 $146,213.05 19 Languagencademy 54 231 $117,115.46 11 Lincoln Park High School 54 11? $91,293.50 12 Deneen Elementary School 53 159 $1 00264.30 13 Pulaski International School 52 254 $143,737.23 14 OgdenlnbemaoonalSchool ofmcago-EeszCampus 52 182 $190,726.41 15 Kllmer Elementary School 52 221 16 Howe S1 133 $102,333.93 17 Schurz High School 50 211 ?39.40929 16 ?ra?vell 53ml of Excellence 50 99 57.42639 19 Dvorak School oi Btcellence SD 183 $119,396.92 20 Nenelhom. as 144 $91,645.90 Resources Requested Within the District Food. Clothing I: Hygiene 2% Sport! Exercise Equipment 396 FI-zible Seating 3% Lab Equipment 4% Buck: 32% Art Supplies 6'31: Raiding Noolu. D?k! I: Storage 6% Classroom 3% Computers Tablets instructional ?I'ocllnuiogy 14% Educational Kit: I: Elmo: 10% lg DonorsChoose.org Chicago Public Schools Impact Report Project Examples Advocating for Social Change: A Music Video Project My students need opportunities to develop a sense of agency and advocatefor change by working with Street Level Youth Media to create meaningful music videos about issues that impact their lives. My Students My students are a divetse group of highly motivated exceptional learners. High School. the school in which they attend. is a unitaue M5 Fischer learning family with over EDD students, from ages 14 to 22. many of Grades Ci-?ii' whom arrive by special transportation each day from around the city. Students who attend in". OHS have a primary diagnosis of an intellectual 'v?aoghn CIccupati-onal High E-chc-c- disability. Individuals with intellectual disabilities have "significant I . . More than ., ode-tits ,trc-i'ri limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior. law . . . chi-vim ?i which covers many everyday social and practical skills." {The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities] Despite their physical and intellectual disabilities, each student diligently pur5ues their educational goals and envisions a future filled with possibilities. They are truly an inspiring group of young people! t'c-io' - have on-?cn to this proi'ch Prolect This project reach 24 students. My students have been working with Street Level "i'outh Media to create music videos about social issues that impact their lives since 2009. Our .. . Cl'icsgoJL E-?aocs 9-12 first project came to fruuion as part of a student-led Issues to Action" project about combating stereotypes. Each year students work together 'vlo'c tt'ari Iron" to create their own unique projects. Students develop new skills "C'Lf'm'jij: Including storyboarding. researching social issues. filming and directing augmr?mggm Spam, videos, writing music and scripts, acting, and performing. Along the way students build strong connections. develop key leadership skills. and a sense of self-advocacy. SHARE res. FRGJECT Over the years our partnership has inspired students to 0 create music video projects about a variety of issues such as disability pride. cyberbullying. gun violence. and income inequality. Students who have participated in this project have gone on to participate in paid internships with their non-disabled peers. They have performed at Daley Plaza during the Disability Pride Parade. and they have performed during the i'u'iikva Challenge Civics Fair. All of the past participants have taken pride in sharing their music videos with their classmates and adults in their lives. We need yout support to continue this unique and powerful work. DonorsChoose.org Our Native Plant and Butterfly Gardens My students need a soiar birdoath, video wifi cameras, many gardening items, and seeds, to continue their native piant/outterfiy garden. My Students Last spring my ?th-grade students and Ijoined up with Earth Force to create a native plant garden with a circular walking path and a plum tree in the middle. I have honestly never seen children work so hard to help lessen the carbon footprint in our-community. These students were MH- Cloney grouped in committees and planned every step of their native plant Grades 5'3 garden together. A group from this class. along with a iew of their I'assell Elementary School family members. continued to take care oi this garden throughout the Chicagijl IL heat of the summer. Because of this garden. many of the students from this 6th-grade class and others from my junior high class would like to continue to work on the garden, learn more about all the plants in the garden. and share their information with all other grade levels in our . . . school. hey want to me and start a garden club. mm, guw ?m Bron-u. Our school is a smaii school of 400 students in a close- iznit communityI on the southwest side of Chicago. This proj's'c! .35 Our school embraces and cares for all students who enter. Ch cage. I- oracles II- . Er' My Prtnect . . . . lt IV. 5' ol My junior high science students would like to form a native plant and '1 in? IL a'L? 1F 1-: butter?y gatden club. The students would like to add to our present native plant garden and create an addition to the garden-a butterfly SH-HE HMS cLossr's 900 garden. The materials will help us continue to add to our present native garden and create a new butter?y garden. The cameras are to help our schooi keep our beautiful gardens safe. The birdbath is to help the monarch butterflies and hummingbirds during dry spells. The students will need to grow their new plants tram seeds indoors and need gloves for their garden work. DonorsChoose.org High Tech DNA Electrophoresis Kit for Forensic Investigation My students need a hands?on DNA Electrophoresis classroom hit to learn how to process and use DNA evidence in an investigation. My Students Whoduniti? This is the central question behind everything that we do in Mr. Pinsori Grades 9-12 Forensic Science. Forensics is a very hands-on. lab-based class requiring specialized equipment and supplies for student investigation. Students analyze famous cases and learn how to collect and use evidence in . .. Roosevelt hchocll investigations. oil stu den-ts Ifrom low-Income households My school is an urban neighborhood school located within one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the United States. My students come from a wide range of ethnic. religious, and linguistic have given lo !r'ii's prugecr. backgrounds. We have a large immigrant and refugee population, and many students speak English as a 2nd. 3rd. or even 5th language. My Ti?. pray-5.? mm mm." 32 Swain? students are very passionate and dedicated to their education. but lack many basic resources and supplies. Ericago. E'ac?cs 9-13 MY Project ?dearly all students irorr' low income households DNi-?i evidence is probably the high-est profile. most effective torrn of evidence available to investigators today. II.i'i.I'ith this DNA Electrophoresis Applied Stirrues Co.2cgc is Career Dre-p hands-on classroom kit. students will perform authentic DNA '1 ag'ic?. er. c-c-i. processing techniqaes in order to create DNA "fingerprints" of several suspects in order to solve a simulated case. Students will learn how to perform DNi-?i Electrophoresis. and to analyze banding patterns in order MR. ilNE-Giv 5 DECIJEET to match a suspect's DNA to DNA found at a crime scene. a 0 Forensics is afun and engaging class when students are able to perform authentic crime-lat: techniques, butthese require specialized equipment and supplies. Imagine trying to do this when your school has no budget tor science! Your donations will help keep the class hands-on and allow my students to practice real-world forensic analysis techniques. This will help prepare them for possible careers in criminal justice and to show them how science can be applied to their lives. DonorsChoose.org STEM: Prototype Building for Design My students need corrugated sheets ofcardboard, tact-3y adhesive, and heavy duty scissors that can cut through multiple types of material to develop working prototypes. My Students "Ifyou're not prepared to be wrong you'll never come up with anything original." ?5ir Ken Robinson By the end of the schoolyearl want my students to take risks with their designs and realize there are not bad ideas but always way to improve them. Clur students are lucky enough to have an engineering design class this year. Many of the students love creating their own designs. especially those that relate to their own interest. The students will be even more excited to see their sketches come to life. Allowing the students to see their drawings turn into working prototypes will bring a whole new dimension to their learning. It will allow for them to test their designs and continue to improve them. The school is a Title1 school where most students are of low income. My Project My students will be using these materials to create prototypes of the designs they create in their engineering design notebooks. After making the prototype, the students will be able to determine where they can make improvements to make their design even better. These materials will also allow the students to become more engaged and invested in their designs. Students will do everything from creating furniture for where they live, or developing solutions for making their classroom a better learning space. They will get to create a design and create a prototype tor a real world problem of their choice. They will have the opportunity to create and design something that has a practical purpose, but is unique to their culture and heritage. I Design is part of everything we use in life. My students have the opportunity to understand what goes into the design process and why that is relevant to their lives. One day these students will be the next generation of inventors and innovators for the world. This class and these materials can help jumpstart a possible career in design andi'or engineering which is such a high-need area of society. DonorsChoose.org Mr. l'.llsi'.'iri Grades E--E iv" oos Ell: rn enta ry 5 ol IL Nearly all students from ic-w-IrIcoiT-e .eh bids 6? 3 rislis': have given ru rhis project. This project reach EDD Mud-ems. Cn:cagc-, Grades ?dearly all students irorn low-income households Applied ?nances Head Start School S-IE-RE MR. ERCIJECT 800   Contact Us   Kirk Smiley  Principal Director, Advocacy and Public Partnerships,  DonorsChoose.org  134 W. 37th St., Floor 11 New York, NY 10018  317-403-9233 kirk@donorschoose.org                                                        Chicago Public Schools Impact Report