This week, we're helping a Missouri 4th grade study insects and “bugs” in general, and butterflies in particular. Then, we hop back to Milwaukee, where a special-needs 4th grade has so little district support that the teacher is seeking pencils, erasers, glue sticks, and other basic classroom supplies. 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 Missouri project takes advantage of matching funds: Donations to this project are now being matched, thanks to support from Orkin. Orkin is proud to encourage students' curiosity about insects and entomology through this Start with Science Innovation Challenge. At Orkin, everything we do is based in science. We learn constantly, and we’re committed to cultivating curiosity and a love of learning in the next generation of scientists.
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: My students need caterpillars and butterfly habitats to witness life cycles and study BUGS!
Economic need: More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: Kingston Elementary School, Cadet, Missouri
Total: $280.00 (Matching funds from Orkin)
Still Needed: $280.00 Completed! Thank you! Please see project below.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Swaringim:
My Students: My group of fourth graders is extremely bright, witty, and ready to explore each and every day! We live in a very rural community surrounded by woods and farmland, but we would not change it for anything.
Even at 100% free or reduced-price lunch rates, we have been ranked first in our conference for student achievement.
We are proud of where we live and how we have grown to overcome many challenges. Low-income does not equal low expectations for our students!
My Project: With these materials, students will be able to plan an experiment, gather necessary materials, research life cycles, and witness the life cycle of butterflies. We will watch first hand caterpillars turning into beautiful butterflies. Bugs, or insects, often get a bad reputation, and kids often do not realize the magnificence of them. Students will be able to record their observations each day, all while experiencing a creature they have never taken notice of until now! Development is more than just a vocabulary word-it is something to discover! These kits will bring life to our science class and will make the terms in our book come to life. The STEM possibilities are numerous, including having students design and "build" a "new" bug with the necessary defenses, body armor, camouflage, etc. The discovery kits also make it possible for students to investigate caterpillars and other insects under a microscope, allowing them to experience the parts of bugs right in front of their very eyes.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
This long-term project isn’t exactly a science/math project, and it really will likely be long-term for us. It turned up last week when I was looking for Wisconsin projects. It just kind of stuck with me, the teacher pleading that her 4th-grade special-needs kids deserve things like pencils and erasers, but because of their special-ed status, they don’t always get what they need. Sometimes, we just need to step back and buy some damn pencils, so say I.
LONG TERM PROJECT
Resources: My students need school supplies to help them learn while in my classroom.
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Samuel Clemens School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Total: $375.18
Still Needed: $375.18 Completed!!! Yay! See you next Sunday!
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Krafczyk:
My Students: My students are from various backgrounds and have various educational abilities. My students deserve the best education and opportunities, and as special education students, they do not always receive this. My students deserve classroom supplies that they can use to help them complete their work, and a classroom that has supplies for them to use. My students are wonderful and have made so many gains over this past year so far. I am so proud of them and all they have accomplished. They are my heart and soul, why I do what I do.
My Project: My students often come to school without school supplies and I have been given a classroom that I would love to have the supplies my students need such as pencils, a pencil sharpener, colored pencils, and a place to store them such as the caddies. They deserve materials to use in my classroom that can help them with their learning. The clipboards will be used when the students use different seating options in the room, they can write on their laps.
My students love to read and need a place to store books, such as the book bins.
My students deserve the best and I want to give them the best.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Last week, we picked out three projects (because two weren’t enough!) in Wisconsin, in honor of our dear Puddytat, who is very ill.
First up was a rural middle school in far-northern Hayward, where Mrs. Wilson wanted some weather instruments to allow her students to make their own measurements. The project was What's the Weather?
Mrs. Wilson writes: Thank you for your generosity and interest in supporting my class project focusing on weather and climate exploration. I can't wait to get these resources in my students' hands! The world of science is vast and welcomes curiosity. Thanks again for giving my students the opportunity to experience weather in a hands-on way!
Next, Mrs. DeWindt’s Title I pre-kindergarteners in inner-city Milwaukee needed some counting games, to help them learn number skills as they also learned to work together. Her project was Building Number Sense in K4.
Mrs. DeWindt writes: My goodness I have never had a project funded so quickly. This is my fifth project that has been funded because there is such a need in my district for modern equipment and supplies. As our public school budget continues to be scrutinized and cut down smaller and smaller I rely on Donors Choose to fill the gaps in my classroom. Thank you, all of the Daily Kos supporters. Your selfless act will affect the lives of many four-year-olds to come. I am truly humbled by the selection of my project as the Project of the Week. Please continue to support other public educators trying to do the best they can with the little they have!
And, in early afternoon when both these projects had been completed, we gave a hand to Mrs. R’s Madison kindergarten. She had in mind to use a Botley coding robot to help the students learn the kind of logic used in programming computers. The project was Kindergartners, Coding, Robots, Oh My!
Mrs. R. writes: Oh my goodness...I am so excited that this project was fully funded. Thank you SO much for your generous donations and kindness! My students will absolutely love being able to use their coding skills to control the robots! We are so thankful for the donations which will bring coding to life in our kindergarten classroom! Thank you again!
Our Dollars at Work
Two weeks ago, we helped with the project Science and Literature, hoping to bring a library of age-appropriate science-themed fiction and non-fiction to Mrs. Robinson‘s sixth graders. This project got completed two days later by the giant #BestSchoolDay 2018 donation of the cryptocurrency company Ripple, funding all open projects then on DonorsChoose. (More photos at the link.)
Wow! I can't believe how quickly this project funded! Thank you to all of the donors who contributed.
My students saw the boxes arriving and were a bit upset with me that I wouldn't let them tear into each immediately. I made them wait for an "after school unboxing." As soon as I gave them the okay, they yanked each box open with ferocity.
Each book was turned over so carefully in their hands. They took turns reading the backs to one another and then turned to me to ask when they could start reading. I obliged by setting the beanbags out and letting them indulge in these new reads.
Again, dear donors, thank you. The joy you brought to my classroom is immense!
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 656! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.