Our present & future (Children)

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Dear Inter-American Family and Friends,

In 1975, two young mothers imagined a world where children from varied backgrounds would be taught in English and Spanish in an atmosphere of cultural pride.

Nearly 35 years later, Inter-American is still advancing the cause of multilingual, multicultural education, but it is not easy! We start each school year with fewer resources and more challenges. In the past decade, due to budgetary constraints, we have lost six staff positions alone. This and other setbacks make it increasingly difficult to maintain small class sizes, address individual student needs, promote teacher collaboration, offer recess, arts and academic enrichment, and support social and emotional services for our students in need.

For the 2009-10 school year, Inter-American is suffering from a short-fall in funding. Income from some of our primary sources are in significant decline. For example, the school has lost $13,000 per month in revenue since the parking lot closed for construction last January. This is a total revenue loss of $156,000 over the past 12 months. Therefore, as parents whose children benefit from this very unique institution, we have a personal stake and responsibility to ensure that we make every effort to meet the needs of our children.

No amount is too small! Consider what your donation could support:
⋅ $3.00 buys a journal and pencil set for a writing workshop;
⋅ $16.00 purchases a book to build a classroom library of authentic Spanish literature;
⋅ $34.00 funds an hour of after school enrichment class for a group of students;
⋅ $63.00 facilitates two staff members to supervise daily recess;
⋅ $142.00 provides a day of teacher collaboration, research and curriculum development;
⋅ $1,500.00 supports professional development training for all teaching staff.

Consider this and give. Give what you can so that our school can be a model of equitable multilingual, multicultural education. Your time and talent is a tremendous support to Inter-American. If you have not already done so, please let your teacher or the office know you would like to volunteer. And, if you know someone else who would also like to give, please pass this letter on to them. Donating is easy. Please visit the school’s website at www.iamschicago.com to make a donation or write a check to IAMS, and send it to 851 W. Waveland, Chicago, IL 60613 attn: Year-End Fund. Contributions are tax deductible. And if your employer matches funds, let us know. It is a wonderful way to double, or even triple your generosity.

Another option for this fast approaching Holiday Season is to use one of the on-line malls for your holiday shopping at either www.goodsearch.com or www.escrip.com. To use Goodsearch, list “Inter American Magnet School” as your charity on the first page of the website, then hit the “shop now” button in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. To use Escrip, register your credit card on the website (the identification code for Inter-American is 500017570), then simply hit the line “At the Online Mall” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. With either of these websites, you can shop at national stores such as Target, Amazon, Eddie Bauer or LandsEnd and a percentage of your purchase, up to as much as 10%, will be contributed to our school. Last, but not least, if you have a Target credit card, you can register your card at www.target.com/tcoe (the school’s identification code is 45841) and Target will contribute money to our school with each of your future purchases.

We realize this is a difficult year to ask for help, but in all our history, this is the first time a year-end request for financial support has been made. Your participation and partnership are vital. Together, we can fulfill our promise to achieve academic bi-literacy in Spanish and English within a culturally rich learning environment of excellence. Support Inter-American Magnet School and allow it to become an even brighter beacon of great public education while continuing to enrich the lives of our children. Thank you.


Peace and Justice,
Dr. Vernita M. Vallez,
Principal