Pepin Academies Foundation has launched its inaugural “Adopt-a-Classroom” campaign to help equip teachers and students with needed school supplies for the 2020-2021 school year. Individuals and businesses are invited to participate by sponsoring or “adopting” a classroom, with the option to donate to a specific Pepin Academies campus or support all three of its Tampa Bay-area campuses.
Adopt-a-Classroom funds will provide teachers with needed academic enrichment materials. Teachers will have the opportunity to identify their individual classroom needs, a crucial step in granting schools the flexibility needed to adapt their teaching practices to suit the individual needs of their students.
“Especially during this time of ongoing uncertainty, it’s reassuring to know there are community partners who care about us and the needs of our students,” said James Jacobelli, a 6th grade reading and language arts teacher at Pepin Academies. “If my classroom were to be adopted, I would use the money to bring to life the books that I read with my students. Previously, for example, we read ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’ and had a sorting ceremony. We also read ‘Hoot’ and made papier-mâché owls, and ‘The City of Ember’ and painted what the underground city might look like.”
“This campaign will help build confidence in our students who don’t have the supplies needed for the upcoming school year as a result of their socioeconomic situation,” said Lea Lewis, life management skills teacher for high school access at Pepin Academies. “For students, raising their hand to borrow something from a teacher can sometimes be embarrassing. If we had these funds designated, we could instead build their self-confidence which enables them to thrive in the classroom.”
Pepin Academies Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports all of Pepin Academies’ campuses. Pepin Academies are public, tuition-free charter schools located in Tampa, Riverview, and New Port Richey that serve students with learning disabilities in grades 3-12.
For more information about Pepin Academies Foundation, visit pepinacademiesfoundation.org.
ABOUT THE PEPIN ACADEMIES FOUNDATION
The Pepin Academies Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization created in 2008 to support the Pepin Academies schools. Established in 1999, Pepin Academies are 501(c)(3) non-profit, tuition-free, independent public charter schools serving over 1,100 students with learning and learning-related disabilities in 3rd-12th grades in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, and provides a transitional job training program for young adults ages 18-22 years-old. Qualified as Exceptional Student Education (ESE) center schools, Pepin Academies provides a positive therapeutic environment that focuses on improving academic success and social achievement. Pepin Academies’ three campuses are located in Tampa, Riverview and New Port Richey.