This week, we’re helping a Louisiana second grade that needs books as they recover from Hurricane Ida, a kindergarten in the Choctaw Nation needing building toys, and a Mississippi high school teacher who wants to subscribe to a provider of online educational resources. 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, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
DonorsChoose has assembled a response to the damage to schools caused by Hurricane Ida. This elementary school in Hammond, Louisiana is among many now benefiting from available matching funds from DonorsChoose Community Hurricane Ida Support: Our community is here to support the teachers and students in neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Ida in southern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi. We want to enable as many teachers as possible to get the resources they need to help their students recover and get back to learning.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students books for their reading challenge, "Battle of the Books".
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Southeastern Louisiana University Laboratory School, Hammond, Louisiana
Total: $459.71 (2x matching funds from DonorsChoose Community Hurricane Ida Support)
Still Needed: $255.12 Completed, thank you! More below!
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Evans:
My Students: My second grade students are lovable, energetic children who are always eager to learn new things. They look forward to school each day because they are provided with inquiry-based learning. Creating projects and learning new things are a part of our everyday learning experience.
Our school has a kindergarten through eighth grade student body.
Our goal is to provide the most enriching, challenging education possible for all of our students. Our beautiful classroom is a warm, caring environment, conducive to all types of wonderful learning experiences.
My Project: Once our class returns to school after being out for Hurricane Ida, we will begin our reading challenge of "Battle of the Books". The books for this project will be used for the students to read, then record on their reading charts. Each nine weeks, the students will set their reading goals. If they meet their goals, they will participate in a reward. Second graders love to read high interest books, and these books requested are highly motivational and challenging. We are excited about returning to school and getting this program started!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
A collection of Caldecott winners is among the books requested.
DonorsChoose has developed a new designation for schools that submit projects. Equity Focus Schools 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. The next two projects come from such schools. |
Many thanks to our friend Eastern Bluebird for suggesting this project. This never-before-funded teacher in a small town in the Choctaw Nation needs some IO Blocks for her kindergarten class. I’m posting three projects today in the hope of not running out again, but this one happens to have considerably less time available than the other two, so if you are making a choice, I’d suggest favoring this one for today.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students this IO Blocks(r) Center. it will enhance our stem learning center, encourage creativity and build a sense of teamwork. as well as strengthen fine motor skills.
Economic need: Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Talihina Elementary School, Talihina, Oklahoma
Total: $598.33
Still Needed: $224.33 $120.80
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Sorrells:
My Students: Our school is located in the heart of the Choctaw Nation. A great number of the children are of Native American descent.
My students are excited and full of energy.
Hands-on learning experiences are so very important to their development.
My Project: My project will add much-needed learning and stem activities for our class. Our classroom has very little stem material at this time. We are a rural school with limited resources.
All students will have the opportunity to explore, create and work collaboratively with other students.
All while strengthening fine motor development and having FUN.
The children love hands-on activities and being able to work and discover together. As a kindergarten teacher, I love being able to provide things that encourage and inspire the children to develop a sense of community.
The students will rotate through the stem center (IO Blocks Center) for independent learning while I work with students in small group reading and math activities. This will help ensure all children are actively engaged in learning throughout the day.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Talimena Scenic Drive is a National Scenic Byway that runs 54 miles through the mountains in Ouachita National Forest, from Talihina into Arkansas. I found the music accompanying this video rather foreboding, but I assure you nothing bad happens, and it is beautiful country.
This Mississippi high school teacher (why yes, I was sucked in by the name of the school) hopes to pay for a year of Study.com for her class. They’re a provider of educational materials, including short lesson videos, as she’ll describe. As we’ve seen with some other vendors, Study.com is offering 2x matching funds for this project, to help the teacher become their customer: Study.com is a leading online education platform providing academic support for 30 million learners and educators a month. We believe information is the ultimate equalizer and that education is a key to upwards mobility.
PROJECT #3
Resources: Help me give my students access to a reputable online educational platform that will take their learning to another level.
Economic need: Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Michelle Obama Early College High School, Jackson, Mississippi
Total: $597.61 (2x matching funds from Study.com)
Still Needed: $407.61 Completed, thanks! Project #2 is still open ^^
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Murphy-Johnson:
My Students: I love my students! They have developed a love of reading and writing that challenges me to serve them better. Although they are all from low-income families, they are a bunch of bright scholars who consistently take on any challenge with a growth mindset.
My students are innovative, inquisitive, and creative.
I know how important it is to guide them as they mature into adulthood. They have leadership abilities just waiting to come out. I am proud of them.
My Project: As we progress in our digital age, I need online platforms that are challenging and engaging for my scholars. We have learned the importance of using online materials due to virtual and hybrid learning. However, Study.com has an outstanding reputation for providing high-quality lessons to enhance students' academic abilities.
The mini-lessons will be used to introduce, re-teach, and reinforce lessons with my students.
This online platform will allow me to arrange for whole group instruction, as well as small group and even one-on-one instruction. It has embedded assignments, games, and quizzes to help each scholar master our English, Language, and Writing standards. I would love to have this tool added to my teaching toolkit.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Study.com has a number of samples of its videos out on YouTube — but since this is, after all, the product they sell, they all end rather abruptly just when it’s getting interesting. ;)
Oh boy, do we have thank-yous for you!
First of all, two weeks ago, a project was completed late in the week so the teacher hadn’t heard by the time we posted. Now we have that note for you: Ms. Coleman’s Mississippi high school chemistry students will have access to virtual chem labs so they don’t lose out despite Covid and social distancing. The project was Virtual Laboratory Experiences!
She writes: Thank you for the generosity and support you've given in efforts to further enhance the learning experience for our scholars. The Virtual Laboratory subscription and laboratory supplies were greatly needed. Because of the pandemic, student contact has been minimized. These supplies will enable the students with a unique learning experience while keeping them safe.
Then, we had three projects last week, since one was close to completion quite early. And they still all got finished before everyone who wanted to help got a chance. We’ll do better this time!
Project #1 of these three was Spare Robot Parts. Mrs. Watts’ request for parts for her Baton Rouge high school robotics students was subject to Donors Choose’s matching funds for Hurricane Ida victims.
She writes: Thank you so much for supporting our project-based learning. The students are enjoying Robotics so much. I am so excited to be able to keep their robotics kits fully stocked so they can design and create to their hearts' content. Donors like you truly make the world (and school) a better place!
In project #2, STEAM Activities to Activate Our Minds, Ms. Kirkman’s students in a special-needs program in Des Moines, Iowa needed an assortment of books, science materials, and math games.
She writes: Thank you!! I am so excited to have this project come to life. It has much needed science, technology, engineering, art, and math supplies for our class. All the components for a STEAM project add up and I simply cannot afford to buy them on my own and there is not funds I can access for these at work. Your generosity and kindness will propel our class forward in our independent education explorations and creations. I am grateful for each of you!
And in project #3, Let's Get Creative With STEM Sets!, Mrs. Tinney’s second grade class in Youngsville, Louisiana was also eligible for the matching funds for victims of Ida. They needed some STEM-based building sets to help them recover, as well, from having had their education disrupted by Covid since they were in kindergarten!
She writes: Thank you so much for your donations! I can't wait to see how excited my students will be when they get to experience these STEM sets! Giving them these experiences make my heart so happy. Being able to have fun things like this make my students want to come to school each day to learn.
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, 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 928! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.