This week, we're taking advantage of a rare 5X match offer to help to provide hands-on materials, including a Dot and Dash Robot to use during Family STEM Night at an elementary school in Alamo, Texas and Early Learner Math Kits for Detroit elementary school students to take home and practice with their families. We’re also still working on a project that will provide games and activities for a Learning Commons in an elementary school library in North Carolina.
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.
H/T to GrowingMindsinSC for alerting me to a fabulous 5X match offer (my emphasis): The Overdeck Family Foundation and Simons Foundation believe the skills young people develop doing math and sciences – critical thinking, problem solving, experimentation, and more – are incredibly valuable in all aspects of life.
Since students spend 80 percent of their time outside of school, these critical subjects should be part of their daily lives. We aim to change the way people think about math and sciences by helping teachers everywhere provide high-quality, hands-on, and fun materials for students to use beyond school walls. And we believe teachers have the best ideas for engaging students - every Science Everywhere project this school year was inspired by a fellow teacher's great idea.
5X MATCH PROJECT #1
Resources: My students need STEM/ tech games and a Dot and Dash Robot to use during Family STEM Night in order to boost creativity and critical thinking skills.
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Marcia R Garza Elementary School, Alamo, Texas
Total: $580.11 (5x match offer!)
Still Needed: $569.75 Completed! Thank you. Please consider projects below.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Marquez:
My Students: Our library is an exciting place where students can explore, discover, and become passionate learners. Each day I see students from Pre-K through 5th grade. Students come in to learn coding, research, story time, lessons, to check out books, and try new things. The majority of the students I serve are learning English as a second language. My students are very excited about our new makerspace and learning how to code at the library this school year.
Our school library serves more than 500 students along the US - Mexico border.
My Project: My students love science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and through this project we would involve our families in regular after school "Get Techy at Family STEM Night" events. Stations will be set up for students to work together with their family to complete STEM challenges.
Robotics, coding, STEM games, building/ engineering challenges with legos and KEVA blocks will entice our students to build critical thinking skills while having fun learning STEM concepts.
Students in Pre-K-5th grade will have a chance to use Dot and Dash to learn robotics and coding. They will complete challenges at a variety of difficulty levels with the help of their families. Our area is very low income and the majority of our students do not have access to robotics or coding at home. Students and their families are excited and eager to try STEM games and participate in these fun, educational events.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
It was difficult to choose just two from so many great 5X match offer projects...
5X MATCH PROJECT #2
Resources: My students need one early learners math kit, two shape and color sorters, two number puzzle boards/pegs, two number express games and two platform scales.
Economic need: More than three-quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: Henderson Academy, Detroit, Michigan
Total: $531.15 (5x match offer!)
Still Needed: $531.15 Completed! Thank you. Please consider projects below.
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. B.:
My Students: My students reside in a low income poverty stricken neighborhood where their families face many challenges daily. For many of them, my class is their first experience in school and I want to expose them to many different STEM experiences. They are low-income students who mostly come from one parent families. Some of the parents do not have a high school diploma and at times, do not have the time or skills to assist their child daily.
I want to promote STEM, focusing on Mathematical skills for the little learners to ensure academic success, so that the students will be able to gain the necessary skills to soar in their future using Mathematics.
My students are kind, lovable and very special because they are excited about learning and they love to learn. They love to participate in small groups which consists of language arts, fine and gross motor, cognitive, social/emotional, adaptive and moral developmental activities.
My Project: The students will use the Early Learner Math Kit, shape/color sorter, number puzzle /pegs, number express game and two platform scales to learn how to count, identify shapes/colors, measure and to gain a connection to the world of Mathematics. They will be able to enhance their mathematical skills in the classroom as well as when they take the material home to utilize the tools with their families.
These materials will change their lives and assist them in being able to count any objects that they come in contact with in their school and home environment, as well as the world.
Your donations will improve their mathematical skills because they will have a variety of tangible objects to work with. They will also become familiar with mathematical terminology and be able to use it in their everyday LIFE! The project that motivated me was the one with the take home math pouches. This hit home because my students need lots of help at home with counting and identifying numbers. I believe that this hands-on approach will allow my students to soar in the world of mathematics.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Detroit Public Schools School of the Week: Henderson Academy February 23, 2015 from DPS Community District on Vimeo.
Updated to add another 5X match project!
5X MATCH PROJECT #3
Resources: My students need math readiness backpacks to prepare them for common core math.
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Wilkinson County Elementary School, Woodville, Mississippi
Total: $847.78 (match offer now expired)
Still Needed: $847.78 $522.84
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. R.:
My Students: I have a lively group of first grade students! Our county is classified as high poverty on every google search. We are a Title I school. There isn't any industry in the area. Access to academic resources outside of the school are very limited.
Most of our students come to us with very little exposure to real life experiences due to the fact that the county resources are so limited.
We are required to expose them to so much, but without technology, that can be impossible. These kids are eager to learn but do not have the necessary tools.
My Project: My students need math readiness backpacks to help them prepare for the common core math standards. We have so much access to lots and lots of books to send home and in the community- from the library, to book drives, to the parents center, but math resources at the house are extremely limited. I would love to be able to send these backpacks home that are filled with basic math prep resources and manipulatives, so the parents have something at their fingertips to help them prepare for this new math the students are learning at school. Common Core Math Standards are new for most of these parents. It's a new way of learning math, and I am asked constantly for advice on how to help. Having manipulatives and flash cards at home is a perfect solution. I was so inspired by the Marvelous Math Take Home Bags project that I decided it was necessary that I create my own take home bags.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
We’re also still working on our long-term project, for which a never-before-funded librarian requests games and activities for a library Learning Commons area that is used by a range of classes. (This project was posted before the 5x match offer became available, so it is not eligible for a matching donation.)
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: My students need hands-on activities and games that require skills to create strategies, problem solve, be artistic, but most important have fun while learning!
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Old Fort Elementary School, Old Fort, North Carolina
Total: $393.88
Still Needed: $283.09 $115.45
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. McKinney:
My Students: The Learning Commons is located in the School Library Media Center. It is a hive of activity in which students come to research, tinker, explore, read and relax. Throughout the day one will see collaborative lessons taught by the Media Coordinator, Classroom Teachers, Special Area Teachers, and Instructional Assistants. Students also visit the Learning Commons before school, during lunch and when released from class to use the materials independently. With open and versatile scheduling, information and materials are provided to students at their "point of need. We are a community of learners that is "Growing Today for Tomorrow."
My Project: Elementary students need social skills that help learn how to share, work with a partner and deal with success vs failure situations. Simple games, such as Pick Up Sticks, Dominoes, and Marble Runs are great ways for them to learn through play. Sometimes plans don't always work the first time. We want our students to not give up when things don't go as planned. They need to ask themselves, "What can I do differently the next time to be successful?".
We need materials to use in our Makerspace area that will provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to collaboratively design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and tinkering.
By starting with simple games, they will improve social skills that allow them to more effectively collaborate with others in the future.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
With a huge assist from our donors, last week’s main project was completed! A San Antonio elementary school class will receive Global Challenges Project-Based STEM Kits to study oil spills and solar energy-based projects.
We want to thank you for your generous & thoughtful donations that will impact every students' learning experience. We are anxiously waiting for their arrival so that we can begin to test our ideas. I cannot wait to share with you what my students create with these Global STEM Challenge kits!
With gratitude,
Ms. Duarte
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 616! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.