DALLAS — At the far end of Richard Lagow Elementary in Dallas is a relatively quiet classroom with a loud reputation.
“When that light bulb goes off, I make sure everybody knows,” said teacher Amber Brown-Wright. “The school’s going to hear us.”
Brown-Wright teaches three-year-old students with special needs, many who come to her classroom full of unknowns.
“You find out your 2-year-old baby has a disability and you don’t know where to turn then I want to be that shoulder for the parents and let them know everything is going to be ok,” Brown-Wright said.
Brown-Wright focuses on developing fundamental life skills, which is why every minor achievement deserves a major celebration.
Although, Brown-Wright says she owes much of the success to people she’s never even met. Many of the tools and supplies in her classroom were paid for by total strangers.
The help came from DonorsChoose, a website where teachers can get funding for their classrooms, sometimes providing what these kids desperately need.
“A lot of times the kids don’t have jackets,” Brown-Wright said. “They’re coming wrapped in blankets and I don’t want to see that. Everyone should have a jacket.”
Brown-Wright couldn’t afford to get jackets on her own, but through DonorsChoose, she raised enough money to buy one for all 26 students.
For her efforts as a teacher, DonorsChoose and the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary are donating $1,000 to Brown-Wright to use in her classroom.
Over the years, people have donated thousands to make her classroom a place where every small gift leads to a big reward; a place that’s exactly where Brown-Wright wants to be.
“I think my career path led me here and now that I’m here I wouldn’t change anything,” Brown Wright said. “I would continue to work in this classroom. Definitely.”
Like the people who’ve donated so much, she’s on a mission to give.
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