Cents in Action: Lights, Camera, Hollywood!
Cents in Action: Guest blog post by Mario Echeverria (KIPP Academy of Innovation - Los Angeles, CA)
Mario was able to raise over $1,000 in a few weeks for his 6th grade students! We want to highlight his experience on PledgeCents with his raw feedback in the form of a guest post.
Who am I?
My name is Mario Echeverria and I teach 6th grade Fiction Studies at KIPP Academy of Innovation in East Los Angeles. This is my 8th year teaching and 5th year with KIPPLA. Growing up reading was never an expectation for me in school. I had a big reality check entering high school and being given novels to read and discuss. I had so much to catch up on in such a limited time. When I began teaching, I did not want this to be the experience for my students in East Los Angeles. Also, I want to share the joy with my students in achieving new levels of reading that they never thought possible. Feeling good about working hard and persevering through a challenge needs to be celebrated in schools and I want to make sure I continue doing this for all our learners.
My Project
For my students, I try my best to incentivize reading. Being an ELA teacher, you see a wide spectrum of reading levels in your classroom and you need to meet the needs of all learners at every moment. I wanted to let students know that I know what level you are on and we will create goals together so that you are continuously growing and progressing to being able to tackle any form of literature. Every month my students are given word goals so that they can produce a certain output of reading that pertains to their individual levels. At the end of each month, we celebrate CRUSHING our goals by having a S.W.A.G. (Students Who Achieve Goals) party. This is only one form of incentives and I want to also reward our amazing readers who perform well all year long. We also have a goal of achieving 1,000,000 words every year because this will enhance the opportunities that are available to our students in their future. This year we will be taking our top ten readers in 6th grade to Harry Potter World and it would not have happened without PledgeCents.
Why PledgeCents?
PledgeCents came to my school and did a presentation on their organization. I enjoyed how enthusiastic they were about raising money for a cause but how they wanted us to get the most money raised rather than the competitors that take a larger percentage of funds. I liked the messaging but what stuck out most for me was how easy they made it to create an account and a cause. The interface of the site was simple to follow and they had great advice to give as you created the cause. Another thing I enjoyed was the support from their team throughout the timeline of fundraising the money. I received emails to check in and how to best support me through the process. I was able raise 75% of my goal and received the check immediately after. I was able to purchase the Harry Potter World tickets for our top ten and also incorporate more rewards for our amazing readers on campus.
I want to thank PledgeCents for this amazing opportunity for my students that they deserve. Our school has added more causes and has since completed 4 causes for all our students. Thank you for what you do to make new experiences possible for all our students and communities.
*Mario was not compensated for this post.
