I.

Introduction
A. Good morning, my name is Madelyn Tyrrell and today I will be talking to you
about my graduation project involving our investment in the future.
B. My topic covers how financial stability effects students. I chose this topic because
it is related to the career I plan to pursue, education, and I am interested in the ways we
distribute and use capital in our educational system in the United States.

II. Junior year

A. When I first began researching my topic I focused on the effects a lack of funding
has on students only from the school side. As I furthered my research I discovered that in
order to accurately study the effects on students’ school performance I also had to look at
the students’ home environment. It would be unfair for me to make conclusions about the
school system without looking at the average student’s home life.
B. Through substantial research I have found that students’ home and school
environments greatly affect their performance in school. Today, I will be focusing on
discussing how low income households and schools often negatively impact a student,
whether it be the amount of money the family or the school has or it be factors often
correlated to lower income schools and homes.
1. Despite America's schools claiming to be equal, students from low income
households are negatively affected by both their broken home environment and by
a lack of funding in the schools.
C. A major household factor that effects students is the makeup of the family.
1. In a study by the United States Census Bureau in 2008, they found that
only about 5.3 percent of children grades six to eleven from a married two parent
household were suspended from school, while 13.8 percent of children from a
household run by a guardian were suspended from school. When two parents are
home there is more time to focus on the child because responsibilities are split
between the parents. (refer to graph)
D. In an interview with Melissa Hinchman, a teacher at a local underfunded schools
she explained how funding in our schools is not only an issue of how much there is, but
how the money is distributed.
1. The budgeting in the school is broken up into buckets. Each bucket is
designated for specific items and if the buckets run short you cannot pull from
another bucket; you are just out of luck.
2. When Hinchman was asked if money was no option she would purchase
an area for services for the student and the family including healthcare, therapist,
clothing, daycare, and nightly parenting and vocational classes. This shows the
great correlation between a child’s home and school environment.

III. SLE
A. In order to get experience in a low income school I decided to volunteer at a local
Title I school. I got into contact with the parent coordinator at the school and set up a
volunteer time.
 B. I served as a classroom aide by helping two teachers in first and second grade
including organizing the classroom, working in small groups of students, and setting up
science labs.

IV. Product
A. To create a physical representation of my project was difficult at first. I was not
sure what to create. I eventually realized I was overthinking the project and that I could
do something small and I could still make an impact.
B. I hosted a donation drive for Greenway Park Elementary.
C. After the drive I had teachers and faculty fill out surveys. This allowed me to see
that the small donation of items did help students. From the responses I received every
teacher said that the donation was helpful to both them and their students. One comment
that the teachers made that stood out to me was that the donated items were a great help
because it gave them a relief to not have to purchase the items for their students
themselves. It saved them both time and money.

V. Experience and Next Steps

A. Through the graduation project I learned how to intensely research a topic, not
procrastinate and I fell more in love with education and felt even better about my
decision to pursue a career as a teacher.
B. My hope is to attend Appalachian State University and be a part of the
Appalachian Community of Education Scholars (ACES) program.

VI. Conclusion
A. Thank you for listening to my presentation I hope you found my research and
understanding interesting.