This week, we’re helping a Florida preschool class get some tools to learn math at home. We’re also working on something unusual for us: a bid to help a college-bound graduating senior who can’t afford a computer. 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.
Here is DonorsChoose.org’s message about the current situation:
Coronavirus Update: Thank you for your continued support of teachers; they need us right now! We are working closely with teachers and will fulfill all funded projects on the timeline that is best for their school.
This is quite a different kind of project from what we ordinarily work on, and if it’s not your cup of tea, I understand and we have a more conventional one below.
This Houston high school science teacher has a specific, very promising graduating senior who hopes to attend college in the fall, but his family has no money for the computer he’ll need to do his work, whether from home or on campus. She has stepped up to try and fund a modest computer and printer for him.
To make it easier, she’s managed to get 3X matching funds from #GraduateTogether: As COVID-19 forces school closures nationwide, students are adjusting to new ways of learning and connecting. That’s why XQ and the philanthropic and corporate partners contributing to the #GraduateTogether campaign are proud to support the teachers of high school seniors in getting what they need to keep growing.
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students who are graduating an Acer Chromebook 14 and HP OfficeJet Pro 8035 All-in-One Wireless Printer to use in college.
Economic need: More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: Hastings High School, Houston, Texas
Total: $632.21 (3x matching funds from #GraduateTogether)
Still Needed: $482.21 Completed! Thank you!!! Please see next project.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Bradley:
My Students: My wonderful students come from all over the world to live in the International District in Houston. Some have every imaginable resource available to them 24/7.
Others move frequently and have few materials to work with when they are not in school.
Basic things like sharpened pencils, pens, notebook paper, and reliable internet can be things most of us take for granted but aren't options when you aren't sure where the rent money is coming from when you are quarantined at home.
Personal computers and printers are often shared with the whole family, so when a bright, young man is ready to graduate and leave home for college it puts extra stress on the family to provide additional technology for the graduate.
My Project: One of my top graduating seniors needs a laptop and wireless printer to take to college this fall.
He will be prepared for either distance learning or traditional in-classroom learning depending upon what his school chooses to offer this fall.
A laptop and printer were at the top of his dream sheet for what he needs to successfully leave home and go away to college this fall. He has been accepted to several universities and plans to pursue a pre-med undergrad degree with plans to become a cancer research scientist.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Okay, back to our regularly-scheduled program! The preschool students of this Florida teacher are at a disadvantage compared with older kids, since learning at their level is much harder to facilitate online. She’s hoping to get them some materials for math-centered “play”.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students hands-on math materials (counting bears, counting interlocking cubes, dice and play dough) to help reinforce math while distance learning!
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Caloosa Elementary School, Cape Coral, Florida
Total: $454.07
Still Needed: $454.07 $279.66
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Clark:
My Students: Currently my Pre-K ESE classroom is being run online through distance learning while the state of Florida has closed schools indefinitely. We know that the remainder of the school year will be based online through Zoom circle times, 1:1 sessions with families and therapists, and providing hands-on learning materials so we do not miss a step from where we left off before COVID-19 took control. The last date the students were in school was March 12, 2020.
I have been making up learning packets for two weeks at a time of worksheets, activity materials, crafts, and books to help give the students materials in their hands.
I personally am funding this and hand-delivering (all with families' consent and practicing social distancing guidelines - dropping at doorsteps/mailboxes). The use of Google Classroom is more for the parents and has been a struggle for the students who are used to hands-on materials and not able to navigate a laptop/Chromebook.
My Project: My students and I are continuing to participate in learning activities together through google classroom and Zoom circle times during this time of COVID-19 distance learning. My students have shown a tremendous amount of resilience through this scary time in history. These materials will help be able to reinforce the activities I show them and they will be able to do with me and also when they are working independently at home.
Learning with hands-on materials is crucial for younger learners, which is why play is essential for learning math concepts.
When students are using bear counters and unifix cubes to practice number, color, quantity, and patterning concepts, these lessons will stick in their memory and be activities they want to continue pursuing so that when they learn addition and subtraction, they are ready with a core foundation of math. Playdough is essential for learning math concepts as well since it can be used in endless ways to make shapes, counters, measurement, weight, and size.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
DonorsChoose.org has set up a special coronavirus relief effort to help teachers in highest poverty areas send educational materials to students who are trying to learn from home. This effort isn’t limited to math and science projects, but we thought our readers might be interested in hearing about it. The fund has raised over $11.7 million so far. (See this update, kept fairly current, about how the funds are being used — nice photos of teachers and kids getting their packages!)
Urgent Coronavirus Response: Help teachers get key resources to students at home.
Coronavirus has closed schools across the country. Right now, teachers need to get supplies in the hands of students at home to keep them learning, especially in our country’s highest-need communities. We surveyed over 3,000 teachers, and 97% of them are worried that school closings are going to hurt their students’ learning.
Teachers need your help now to get the technology, basic supplies, and hands-on activities they need to keep kids learning at home.
Here’s how it will work:
- You make a donation of any amount to Keep Kids Learning.
- All donations go to teachers at schools serving low-income communities where most students are eligible for free and reduced lunch.
- Teachers select the materials they need and distribute them to students at home.
DonorsChoose, the classroom funding site for public school teachers, is committed to getting teachers what they need to give every student a great education. Usually, funded supplies are shipped directly to classrooms in need. With schools closed, this new pilot program for delivering on our mission empowers teachers to get supplies directly to students at home.
We’ve automatically waived our 15% optional donation for this program, so 100% of your gift will go to supplies for teachers and their students.
DonorsChoose.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with Charity Navigator's highest 4-star rating. Visit our help center for details on how Keep Kids Learning works, or for more information on how we're responding to teachers impacted by coronavirus.
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We’re compiling quite a record here (with help from other donors and matching funds, certainly, but still). Both of our projects from last week were completed, and it couldn’t have happened without our readers!
Mrs. Williams wished her North Carolina second-grade students had supplies like small whiteboards, paper and crayons, to help them follow along at home with their lessons and have an easier time showing her their work. Now she’ll be able to hand out backpacks of supplies at the drive-through distribution center for meals and schoolwork. The project was Materials to Make Distance Learning More Engaging!
She writes: Thank you so much for funding this project. It was only up for 2 days and the angels made sure that is was funded quickly so I am able to get these things to my class as soon as possible. Thank you for your generous donations and my students are going to be so thrilled to get these supplies at their homes. I am so excited to get them to them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Meanwhile, in the southeastern corner of Wisconsin, Ms. Jones wanted her fourth grade to be able to read the same book together, even though they are apart, and she chose Diary of An Awesome Friendly Kid, one of a series of popular stories appropriate for their level. And now, thanks to the project Reading and Math Go Great Together, they will get the book and a math game they can play at home too!
She writes: Thank you all so much in your help with funding my project to educate my students at home. I will be delivering the reading books and the math kits to their doorsteps so they can continue learning at home. I know the kids are going to enjoy a change in how we have been doing at home learning.
Our Dollars at Work
Being stuck at home gave me a chance to weed through my zillion saved emails linking to photos, so now I’ve been starting at the far end of the list. Back in 2017 at about this time of year, we just managed to slide in before the school year ended, to help make this project happen for a Texas gulf-coast high school right at the Mexican border. They built and launched model rockets, as part of a broader program in science and humanities concerning space exploration. The project was Blast Off!! Learning STEM Principles through Rocketry! (More photos at the link.)
Thanks to your help my students were able to get the rocket materials and supplies just in time before the school year ended. They constructed and flew the rockets and applied all the concepts they learned in four of their core classes. In World History, students learned about Dr. von Braun and how he built the first ballistic rockets and later helped the space program get to the moon. In science class, students learned Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion. In English class, students learned about the International Space Station and what it takes to be an astronaut living in space. Next year, we are planning on having a live talk with the astronauts currently working on the ISS. In math class, students used tangents to track height trajectories and altimeters to graphically plot data points.
One thing is to study about the rockets and space and another thing is to actually put everything they learned into practice. When students saw the Amazon boxes and actually helped me open and sort the materials they were really excited that we got fully funded and that we were able to build and fly the rockets as our last project of the year. While we were outside flying our rockets, all the other indoor students were curiously standing at the windows to see our rockets soar high in the sky.
My students were extremely grateful that we were able to complete this project and asked that I give a big thank you to all our donors for all of your support and for caring about their education. It really meant a lot to them to know that people all over the country could make a difference in their lives. I also would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our donors for making the end of the year project-based learning experience a huge success.
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 827! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.