This week, we’re helping a North Carolina elementary school that needs books and materials for related projects, and an Arizona high school class that needs lab equipment. 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, math, and literacy projects for public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
Mrs. Ward is teaching forensic science in a Yuma, Arizona high school, and she needs some supplies to allow her students to perform experiments and, in particular, to see things through a microscope. We have help for BOTH our new projects this week from the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation: Donations to this project are now being matched, thanks to support from Young Sheldon on CBS. In celebration of seven years of Young Sheldon on CBS, The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation is thrilled to support STEM projects this Teacher Appreciation Week.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students memorable experiences in the laboratory setting. Students learn better with hands-on learning. These laboratory supplies will go a long way as they can be used for multiple years.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; more than half of students from low‑income households.
Location: Kofa High School, Yuma, Arizona
Total: $685.13 (2x matching funds from The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation)
Still Needed: $374.25 $149.84 ($75 from us)
Project description by Mrs. Andrea Ward: Students have an exciting opportunity to be part of a newer class at my school. They are gaining real world experience as well as developing a better understanding of the science around them. They are gaining knowledge by doing in the laboratory as well as in the classroom.
Hands-on experience improves motivation, confidence, and problem-solving abilities for my students.
This is necessary, not just in classroom, but also when students are are out in society working jobs, creating lasting memories with their families, and doing service projects for their community.
I'd love to have more hands-on laboratory experiences for my students to learn from more than just a piece of paper. This laboratory equipment will help to bring their learning from the text alive and allow them to put their Forensic Science learning to use with practical experience.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
One of the requested supplies is prepared microscope slides of mushroom spore-distributing structures. Here’s a good video of the mushroom life cycle, from a guy who runs a small mushroom company.
Mrs. G’s elementary school, in a small city in eastern North Carolina, needs books, and also materials for activities related to the stories. This project, too, is receiving matching funds from the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students engaging activities and award-winning stories to help spark their love of reading and to teach them the social and emotional skills they need to love themselves and each other.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Contentnea-Savannah School, Kinston, North Carolina
Total: $968.45 (2x matching funds from The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation)
Still Needed: $968.45 $744.04 ($373 from us)
Project description by Mrs. G: The books and materials will be used to develop Read Aloud lessons for students in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 3-5 grades. BIG is a book about a little girl who must learn to love herself. That story will be combined with heart stickers and pocket mirrors so students can learn to love themself and be proud of who they are. The book CAPE is about a little black boy who must learn to be courageous. This story is paired with capes and masks for students to dress like superheroes and use courage when times are scary.
STEM is a major part of our school culture.
The books called I'M GOING TO BUILD A SNOWMAN, SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY, and THE SCIENCE BEHIND SNOW will be used with students to identify common themes in literature, learn about the first person to capture individual photos of snow, and how to use determination to complete a task. These stories will be paired with a STEM activity in class where students will make fake snow to take home.
The students at our school come from low economic households and have limited background knowledge. COVID-19 has also affected their social and emotional skills. They are in desperate need of engaging activities that will spark their love of reading and help them learn how to love others and themselves to make this world a better place to be.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Well, of all the books being requested, how could I not pick the one called Snowflake Bentley? It’s a beautiful picture book, a Caldecott winner [read aloud here], and it tells the story of a fascinating man, Wilson Bentley, who, in the dawn of photography, figured out a way to capture detailed images of snowflakes.
Both our projects from last week were completed! Thanks to all our readers, who keep this effort marching forward, even when our individual steps seem small.
Project #1, Baking a Chemistry Cake: Mrs. Sinquefield King teaches elementary school in a tiny town in Mississippi, but that didn’t stop her from thinking up a great hands-on lab to help her students understand chemistry!
She writes: Wow! I'm so excited to have this project funded. Thank you for your support and donations. My students are going to LOVE conducting this experiment. We are so thankful for donors like you and your support. We thank each donor for choosing our project to support. We can't wait to share with you our findings from our experiment! THANK YOU!
Project #2, Libraries are More Than Just Books!: Mrs. Reaves is the librarian at an Arkansas elementary school, and she wanted to improve her “makerspace” so that kids who learn to code there are not left without any robots to code for!
She writes: We did it!! Thank you so much for your contribution toward our Library/STEM program! I cannot wait to show my students the new robots we get to add to our makerspace! This is my first fully-funded donors choose project, and I owe it all to you and your kindness. Thank you.
DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet two criteria: at least 50% of students are Black, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial, and at least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, the standard measure for school economic need. You can read more at the link about their efforts to address the longstanding inequity in education. |
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project seeks to fund science, math, and literacy projects in public school classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose, 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 projects 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 1103! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.