TLDR; I’m a teacher who wants to help her students publish real books and build amazing experiences. Buy a chocolate if you know me in person or donate to the cause here through Buy me a Coffee or CashApp (this method has a no-fee option, so more of your donation goes toward the kids!)
Our first book: The Adventures of Lanie: Lanie goes to the State Park
There are many more books to come, but we need your help.
Full story: I’m an 8th grade ELA teacher and the owner/operator of School Boost Online, LLC. Most of what I do is provide excellent one-on-one tutoring in multiple subjects.
I’m licensed in English Language Arts (6-9), English to Speakers of Other Languages (K-12), and Spanish (K-12). I am a native Spanish speaker. I currently tutor three students: one in English Language Learning, another in Spanish Language Learning, and I also provide homework support for my third student. All have vastly different learning needs; it is rewarding to be able to make a difference, and I enjoy it very much.
From my place in the classroom, I often see glimpses of exceptional talent and potential in my students. Some are amazing writers – far better than I was at their age. Others love to doodle and draw and are genuinely awesome at it, producing better quality images than some of my art school colleagues. Still others can do voices and come up with the most creative and wonderful ideas that make me laugh.
My biggest frustration in a world of standardized testing and instruction is that these gifts often get lost in the wind. Worse still, we become complacent and let them slip away with a vague notion of maybe someday. I love to do project-based learning in the classroom with adaptations for those who are creative and those who are not (which is okay, too!)
However, I know that most of “the usual stuff” we do in class will be forgotten as soon as they begin the next school year and make all new memories. I say this because I personally remember precious few outstanding classes/teachers in middle school, and only glancing flashes of everything else. Only the things which I truly enjoyed (or actually meant something) are what stayed.
One day in late 2021, a fellow teacher shared with me that he had been wanting to publish a book for a long time based on his daughter, Lanie – he showed me sketches of his concepts and an idea was born.
My degree is in Media Arts and Animation, but as a teacher, my time and energy are both stretched extremely thin during the school year. I needed help to even have a prayer at completing this project.
That’s when I noticed one of my students’ unbelievable sketchbooks, filled with vibrant Barnes-and-Noble-quality illustrations. I realized I could ask her to help me, and another extremely smart student quickly caught on, adding herself to the project quite matter-of-factly (which I welcomed: they’re way more talented than me, anyway!) The kids were beyond excited, so I picked up the phone and got in contact with the parents of these students. They were extremely supportive of the idea, and something really cool began.
By working together, this project provided real-world book publishing experience to my talented students. I was able to help them achieve what almost no one else does: become published illustrators before even reaching high school.
As an entrepreneur, I see a way to provide so many more of these talented kids with an opportunity to create a memory they’ll always remember fondly and provide them with two extremely valuable things: real-world paid experience and a strong portfolio piece they can take with them well into their careers.
That’s where I need help. I am a public school teacher and my budget only stretches so far, which is why I began tutoring in the first place. I want to use my company not just to supplement my income, but to create real opportunities for kids who could otherwise never realize their incredible potential because they don’t know how or have a team to help them. I want them to feel empowered to continue to use their creative gifts long after they’ve graduated.
The word can’t is an insult to me both in my classroom and at home, so we’re not going to go there. Some of the greatest people in history started with nothing and were able to do amazing things with the right team, a ton of hard work, and persistence. That’s where my hard-headedness comes in handy.
I prefer to pay the team up front for their time and talent rather than trickle nickels and dimes at them from royalties. If the book does take off, I’ll share that with them, too, because they would have earned it. (I’m an artist who knows how it feels to be used and never see a penny for months of hard work, and that’s not the kind of real world experience I’m aiming for.)
Our startup goal is: $1,152.99
Proceeds from this fundraiser will go toward the following:
⁃ Total for 10 ISBNs through Bowker is $295 (This is the best value on Bowker – otherwise, it’s $125 for one, and I really want for us to be able to do more of these.)
⁃ Cost of talent/time ($100/student via parents but will definitely pay more if we raise more. With 7 or 8 students total, it adds up very quickly. If we end up with less students, I’ll spread that out accordingly.)
-Cost of lunches ($150-200) (I will provide lunch/snacks during our Summer meetings and a their own copy of the book, plus list them as official authors/illustrators.)
⁃ Publishing/shipping costs (Amazon is free to publish, but incurs nominal fees for author copies.)
⁃ Book Bolt (software) costs ($7.99/mo)
⁃ Application fee for book awards as applicable (I’d like to aim for the Geisel, which is free, but if the team decides to write a young adult novel, we can definitely aim for another award for this category.)
⁃ Audiobook/SoundCloud version with sound effects (Details TBD by team)
⁃ Everyone will be protected with written contracts and fair terms everyone agrees to.
Questions? Send us a message using our contact form.
Thanks for your support!
Natalie
School Boost Online 