This week, our projects will help a start-up chicken and rabbit farm at a rural Louisiana school, and a start-up vegetable greenhouse at an inner-city Detroit school. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help these teachers and students by sharing or supporting our featured projects.
The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort to crowdfund science and math projects for red-state public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
This never-before-funded teacher is working with middle-school grades in a pre-K-12 school in rural Louisiana. She started out with matching funds for her large project, but apparently the funds ran out before the project was completed.
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: My students need a facility to raise farm animals, beginning with chickens and rabbits. Most important items needed are the hutches and 13 ft x 7.5 ft chain link pen to ensure animal safety and care.
Economic need: More than three-quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: Mt Hermon School, Mount Hermon, Louisiana
Total: $897.76
Still Needed: $187.54 Completed, thank you! Please see long-term project.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Kerbow:
My Students: Our school is unique in that it is one of the few Public schools that service all grades, Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. We are located in a rural area; however, we have many students that have relocated to our area, due to Hurricane Katrina or being placed in foster care, that have no experience with farm life.
My Agriscience students are excited to learn about and have hands on experience with all kinds of farm animals and share their knowledge with all the students on our campus.
Most of our students come from low income families and have very limited resources. Our school has limited resources for the "extras" that would enhance their learning experiences. Therefore, there are no funds available to my students for this project.
My Project: The materials, the chicken coop, the hutch, and the fenced pen, will provide the students the opportunity to put into action their knowledge of animal science. The students will develop a plan for the location of the Mini Farm. They will build the structures and prepare them for the chickens and rabbits. Performing these tasks will not only enhance their knowledge of animal science but will also put into practical application many math skills. The project will involve utilizing existing incubators to hatch chicks that they will raise in the coops. They will be required to keep records. The bookkeeping will not only be required for expenses but for all phases of the project. They will be required to perform experiments on feed rations, etc. to provide for maximum growth and production. Since our school is a public PreKindergarten through 12th grade school, the students will not only enhance their own knowledge of animal science but that of others. They will teach other students about small animals and how to care for them. The Mini Farm will be open to all grades for tours and demonstrations. The chicks and chickens that are raised will be sold to pay for the expenses and any remaining will be donated to needy families.
Donation of the Coops, Hutch, Pen, etc will provide the students with the opportunity to not only to increase and enhance their knowledge but will teach them responsibility through taking care of something other than themselves.
The Mini Farm will provide educational opportunities for not only the students who are operating the farm and caring for the animals, but will aid in the continuing education of the dying but essential art of farming to all those students that attend the demonstrations and tours.
This project is only the beginning!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
The lady in this video lives in New Zealand, and I love listening to her speak!
Our new long-term project is another agriculture project in another small pre-K-12 school, at the opposite edge of the US from the main project, in location and on the rural-urban spectrum. Detroit International Academy for Young Women is an all-girls public school in Detroit with a STEM focus; it is not a charter. Their website is here.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: My students need supplies to clean-up their greenhouse as they prepare to grow fresh produce year-round!
Economic need: More than half of students from low‑income households
Location: Detroit International Academy for Young Women, Detroit, Michigan
Total: $244.01
Still Needed: $244.01 Completed, thank you! See you next week!
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Earl-Valentine:
My Students: Girls Rock! I know it and I'm sure that you do too! Now, I just need to convince my lovely, young ladies! I teach at a single gender public school school in the inner-city.
The population at my school is one hundred percent minority girls with approximately forty percent categorized as ESL or ELL.
All of my students are on the free lunch program and live in low-income neighborhoods. District issues with staffing and resources are causing my students to miss educational experiences that will help them find success in college and beyond. These are wonderful, young ladies with a thirst for knowledge and my mission is to provide them with the tools and knowledge they need to rise above their current circumstances.
My Project: We live in the the inner city and many of our students only eat unhealthy, processed foods. For years, we have had a beautiful greenhouse in our school which, due to budget cuts, has not been operable. We want to clean up our greenhouse to help students learn about nutrition and the importance of locally grown foods.
Perhaps the most important skill a student can learn is how to grow their own food.
This is not something traditionally taught in school, but is a great way to teach students patience, consistency, applied science, nutrition and pride for their work!
Right now our greenhouse is a mess and is used mostly for storage. The girls are ready to clean it up with the supplies from this project. The garbage bags and broom will help us clear out the clutter. The organic cleaning solution will be used to clean all of the surfaces including the glass.
The girls will use these cleaning supplies as the first step to restoring the greenhouse to grow fresh produce all year round. Please help us engage our students in a truly hands-on curriculum that will teach them lifelong skills! Thank you!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Last week, we again had an opportunity to get 3x matching funds for projects helping children from Puerto Rico who are now hurricane refugees on the mainland. With this matching in place, we were able to help complete three such projects.
Manipulating Math After Maria Mayhem will bring tools like fraction tiles and “ten frames” to some Orlando 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.
Ms. Castor writes: My heart is so full! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Our students are amazing little people and I cannot wait to get their hands on these supplies! Our math and science time will be enhanced by your generosity. You did not have to choose us, but you did and we appreciate it so very much.
Kindergarteners in another Orlando school will receive lab coats and safety goggles, to protect them and to help them believe in themselves as scientists, thanks to Looking like a Scientist after Hurricane Maria!
Mrs. Aponte writes: I am filled with tremendous gratitude on behalf of myself and my students. They will be so thrilled to use these new lab coats and goggles. These lab coats and goggles will not only keep us safe during experiments but make it more engaging and fun! Once again thank you and stay tuned for pictures of your dollars in action.
These two projects were finished so quickly that nomandates added a third one! This Miami school was itself hit by Hurricane Irma before accepting students displaced by Maria! The project Help Build Our 4th-Grade Geometrical Minds! will help these students get a grip on geometry concepts with magnetic shapes and other manipulatives.
Ms. Frazer writes: Thank you for helping our 4th-grade class by donating to this project! We desperately needed enhanced methods and approaches to teaching and introducing geometrical concepts. Now, thanks to you, my students can get the best in terms of resources, and exceed in math.
With their assessments right around the corner, we are confident that the enhancement provided by using these math tools, will significantly impact their performance.
Our Dollars at Work
Just a month ago, we completed one of our projects to help kids displaced by Maria. Looking Deeper After Hurricane Maria! Part 1 will help Ms. Peyovich’s elementary-school science students study the world of small creatures with a digital microscope, as well as adding a collection of new books to their science library. (More photos at the link.)
We are ever so thankful to you! Your generous contributions enabled us to receive full funding of our Donors Choose project: Looking Deeper After Hurricane Maria! This project is bringing us our first ever classroom microscope and we are beyond the moon excited in anticipation of its arrival. While we have not received it yet we didn't want to be remiss in thanking you and sharing with you of our excitement in the new reads for our classroom library as well.
Pond Life, Microbiology, Extreme Biology, Insects, Ladybugs, Butterflies and Moths are some of our newest additions and we thank you so much for them. Many of these books are either highly visual field guides, picture books and/or lower level reading books that are sure to engage our newest English Language Learners (ELLs) as they progress in my science classes while learning English. Thank you so much for helping me to make their transition more comprehensible. We wish you all the best!
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science push in conservative America by funding science and math projects in traditionally red-state classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding charity founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.
Every Sunday, we focus on helping to fund two science or math projects in red states, preferably in neighborhood public schools where the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income households. We welcome everyone who supports public school education — no money is required!
Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 643! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.