Local Teacher Crowdfunding School Supplies

A dance teacher in Concord is using a crowdfunding website to fill a gap in the funding from the district and keep her students safe while they learn new moves. 

Kelly Cooper teaches a course at Ygnacio Valley High School that shows students classical, swing and break dancing techniques. Problematically, the school does not provide her with mats to line the floor.

“Dance class straddles P-E and Art, so it doesn’t get funding from ether department,” Cooper told Patch.

She teaches four dance classes that average about 45 students each in the school’s cafeteria. The floor is made of concrete. She said they have a few ancient mats to soften any falls. “But they’re pretty cruddy,” she said. So, she innovated to fill the funding gap.

Cooper first used Donors Choose.org to raise money to buy supplies for her science classes. The site is a crowd-funding platform similar to Kickstarter that focuses on helping public school teachers raise money for projects. Teachers outline the project and set a deadline for raising the money to fuel it. When the goal is met, the items are sent to the school. If the goal is not met, the money is sent back to the donors.

Cooper’s dance mat project needs $456 dollars to meet goal. 

While some may write off the class as an elective course, she says the benefits to the students are perceptible.

“I’ve see a lot of these kids gain confidence and find new awareness of self through dance," she said. “They work in groups and put their work out in public for all to judge, which is not what happens with a math test...It’s both terrifying and rewarding.” 

One of her project’s contributors, Jeff Rader, shared the reasons he supported her project. "I truly believe that performance and performing arts brings out the most creative in us,” Rader writes in the notes by his donation. “Ms. Cooper has been inspiring kids for years and deserves our support."

Cooper says it’s all in a days work.

“It’s incumbent of us as educators to stay current and engaged.  A lot of these kids are acrobatic and fit. I want them to stay that way. And keep them safe." 

For more information about her project visit her Donor’s Choose project page.