Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
We wanted to share an email from Dr. Andres Alonso, the Chief Executive Officer of the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS), encouraging the Baltimore community to visit www.DonorsChoose.org, learn about public education needs, and appreciate local teachers by supporting their projects.
And WE appreciate Dr. Alonso and his staff for helping us get the word out about the ways we’re trying to support Baltimore classrooms! Thanks, Baltimore!
You can learn more about the Baltimore City Public School System here, and you can find Baltimore City classroom projects to support here.
Here is the text of Dr. Alonso’s email to BCPSS community partners:
May 6, 2008
Dear Friends of City Schools.
Great teachers make great schools. Please join me this week, during Teacher Appreciation Week, as we celebrate all of our teachers throughout city schools.
Letting teachers know how much they mean to us is important. This year, I am going to ask you to go beyond what you normally do to show your appreciation, and financially support the work of one of our many great teachers in Baltimore City. (Click here to learn more about how you can do this at DonorsChoose.org.)
I’d like to tell you about one great teacher in particular, Kristin Covaleskie, a fourth-grade teacher at Northwood Elementary School. Today, Ms. Covaleskie was named Baltimore City’s 2008 Teacher of the Year, because every day she is contributing mightily to our effort to build an entire system of great schools.
An elementary teacher in the city since 1996, Ms. Covaleskie pushes her students to excel academically. She also develops in them the desire and skills to advocate for their communities. You’ve heard me say this before: at great schools students don’t just read, write, do math and perform well on tests; they also develop a broad body of knowledge that will carry them through life, and the skills to make the most of that knowledge. They learn to think, discover, question. For more than a decade, Ms. Covaleskie has pushed her students to do just that. She has used her classroom to provide a solid foundation for her students to be successful in school and in their communities. She cultivates in them respect for one another, and instills in them the importance of contributing to, and participating in a greater good. Day in and day out she helps shape the lives of her students and we are proud to claim her as our own.
I am asking you to go a little out of your way this week to let Ms. Covaleskie and all of our teachers know how very much we value their daily contributions to the education and lives of our students. Through Baltimore City schools’ partnership with DonorsChoose.org (www.DonorsChoose.org), people who care about our schools have funded 370 classroom projects so far this year. Another 266 projects are still waiting for help.
Here’s how it works: Teachers request specific materials and/or experiences their students need to learn. You choose to fund one of these classroom projects—any amount helps. A teacher feels supported and valued, and our students benefit and succeed.
Your support today is one way you can help our great kids get the great schools they deserve right now.
Sincerely,
Andrés A. Alonso, Ed. D
Chief Executive Officer
Baltimore City Public School System
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