Many teachers pay for classroom supplies out of their own pocket. But with Supporting Our Schools, an initiative by NBC6 and Telemundo 51, you can pitch in.
One teacher at Jose Marti’s MAST 6-12 Academy has a vision for his student bird watching group, but needs a little help when it comes to raising the big bucks for a new birding camera.
In the midst of all the concrete of the school’s campus lies an urban oasis in the middle of Hialeah.
The serene sounds of birds are there thanks to Andrew Kearns, an avid avian lover. The math and botany teacher has successfully raised funds in the past to create an arboretum, planting trees and bringing birds on campus.
“I brought my 9th grade research students out here and asked them to stand silent and observe for 10 minutes and I was shocked that they were so engaged,” said Kearns. “It got to the point where they would come to class and say ‘Hey Mr. Kearns, are we going birding today?”
But Mr. Kearns isn’t done yet. He is feeding his students’ hunger for knowledge, but needs some help financially for a digital camera.
“Last year through a birding challenge from Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, my kids got surprisingly engaged with birding. They tried to take a lot of pictures with their cell phones but in taking pictures with their phones, they were disturbing the birds so if we get a digital camera with a telephoto lens, we’ll be able to take images of these birds that we’re researching from a greater distance without disturbing them,” said Kearns.
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For his goal, Kearns is using Donors Choose, a charity website that gives users easy access to help a classroom in need.
“We have limited funding with the school system and individually, teachers aren’t among the highest paid, so we try to creatively raise money to go ahead and find things that aren’t necessarily in the curriculum,” said Kearns.
Whether it’s mockingbirds or morning doves, the educator has his eyes on bringing his student’s dreams to life.
If you want to help Mr. Kearns and his students, you can click here.
