This week, we’re helping a Louisiana elementary school get some National Geographic picture books, and a Mississippi high school get the tools geometry students need to succeed. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help 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 little Louisiana town sits midway between Lafayette and Lake Charles, along the Gulf coast. Their kids are back in school, for now at least, and they need engaging books. Mrs. Roberie has chosen some National Geographic picture books, with those vivid photographs that NatGeo is famous for.
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students informational books to help reach their reading goals.
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Evangeline Elementary School, Evangeline, Louisiana
Total: $181.66
Still Needed: $181.66 Completed — thank you! Please see next project.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Roberie:
My Students: My students are very excited to learn in the classroom. They are hard workers who try their best at anything they do. They are willing to help out each other. I am so proud of their hard work in my classroom. They are avid readers. I am always trying to find new books for them to enjoy reading at their own level. As a teacher, I want them to enjoy learning and get the best education possible.
My Project: Our school library really needs updating on our books. Our library only gets a small amount of money for books a year. Getting new books will help excite our students to read more. Our students need new books to help with their reading comprehension and to reach their Accelerated Reader goal. The students will be able to learn about different animals, science, and people in history. They will learn about water, meerkats, animal homes, Walt Disney, koalas, red pandas, etc.
Reading brings a whole new world to a child.
Our students have higher expectations in every subject with Common Core. Getting these books will help my students reach their Acceleration Reader goals that are set each year school-wide. The new Common Core standards have challenged everyone to step up more. Reading more books has really helped our students in their reading fluency and reading skills. I want them to learn to love reading and continue reading the rest of their lives.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Our long-term project made good progress last week! And Mrs. McCullough was surprised and excited by our interest, and asked all of us how was it we’d heard of her, again? It will be fun to go back and give this project another boost.
Katrina was 15 years ago now, but this small Gulf coast town is still struggling. The high school geometry teacher is trying to keep her students safe in the face of uncertainty.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students the geometric supplies that are needed to be successful in the classroom. Each student’s kit will contain a ruler, a protractor, a compass, colored pencils, glue and the bag to hold it all.
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Hancock High School, Kiln, Mississippi
Total: $683.19
Still Needed: $195.26 Completed! Yay! See you next week!!
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. McCullough:
My Students: Being in southern MS, we are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Our area was devastated by it. Many of my students and their families lost everything. Fast forward to now; we are dealing with COVID-19. As a teacher in a low-socioeconomic school, I see that my students are constantly faced with challenges both in and out of the classroom. When my students walk into my classroom, I do not want them to worry about whether or not they will have the supplies and if the supplies are virus free. So it is important I have supplies in our room that they do not share. About 70% of our students receive free or reduced lunch, and it is the only meal some of them get each day. Some of my students cannot afford the food they need to feed their growing bodies, and I can’t afford to supply all of their needs for school supplies to help them be successful and enjoy learning in Geometry. This is where you can make a difference in our future.
Most of my students have a desire to learn and love learning; they want to excel in their education.
My Project: With COVID-19, the future is uncertain. However, what is certain is the sharing of supplies is no longer something we can do. If each child has their own pack, they will not have to worry about someone else making them ill. This is just one more thing I can do to help them stay healthy.
These tools will help me bring their learning to life.
Most students excel at hands on learning. Great students are created when they do not only remember a theorem, but when they can demonstrate the theorem by using their “tool packs.”
Thank you in advance for believing in and supporting public education. You are appreciated!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Our main project from last week was completed, with a big assist from our readers!
Mrs. Masters must teach kindergarten both in person and remotely, in her Tennessee school this year. She needed the resources for science and social studies provided by Let’s Find Out scholastic magazine subscriptions, which include both print and digital issues as well as videos and games. We were able to help, thanks to the project Building Background Knowledge in Kindergarten!
She writes: Thank you so much for your generosity! I can't wait for my sweet kindergarteners to have these in their hands! They will enjoy the digital aspect, and I know they will love taking them home! It's such a blessing to not have to purchase these with personal money!
Our Dollars at Work
In November of last year, before everything got so weird, we helped Ms. Polo’s El Paso first grade. She wanted the clever learning tool Math VersaTiles, which turn skills practice into a game children can play on their own or collectively. The project was Hand2mind Versatiles for Math! (More photos at the link.)
Thank you again for picking and making this project come to life! I am extremely thankful for your generosity, kindness, and caring about education!
My students are starting to use these math workbooks that have been wonderful because it gives us another perspective and way in solving math problems! I enjoy using Hand2mind Versatiles for math because I feel like students are learning different ways as well as understand things in different ways that they didn't see before! Especially, because we are all different types of learners and with Hand2mind Versatiles give another perspective in concepts and skills that they might not had fully understood before!
So, thank you for this opportunity!
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science push in conservative America by funding science and math projects in 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 science or math projects, 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 846! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.