This week, we’re helping two Texas projects: a Houston elementary-grades teacher needs books for English language learners, and a Texas middle school needs robotics kits. 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.
It’s always nice to have a new project!
Ms. L. is a reading specialist at a Houston elementary school with many students who come from homes where Spanish is the primary language. She has some books in mind that will engage her students in reading in English.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students David Shannon books and some Narwhal and Jelly's Graphic Novels.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Vera Escamilla Elementary School, Houston, Texas
Total: $157.52
Still Needed: $157.52 $93.11
Project description by Ms. L.: Early reading skills and English language proficiency are essential for academic success and overall development. However, many young learners, especially ELLs, face challenges in these areas.
Due to popular requests from my students, I would like to request some picture books by David Shannon as well as Narwhal and Jelly graphic novels for the school library.
By leveraging the engaging storytelling, vibrant illustrations, and accessible language of these book series, I can create a stimulating and inclusive learning environment that fosters a lifelong love of reading.
I can't wait to get a rocket soon!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
David Shannon, author of one of the requested book series, gives a short interview to Scholastic News, intended for their young readers.
We made good progress with our new longer-term project last week!
The project offers no more specific location than “Texas”, but it seems perfectly understandable to me why a Texas teacher nowadays would want to play it close to the vest. Anyway, Dr. Morales teaches middle school students, and wants them to have these cool robotics kits to help them reach competition level.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students two Lego Spike Prime robotics kits to enhance their engineering skills.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Texas
Total: $990.47
Still Needed: $387.71 $308.29
Project description by Dr. Morales: My students enjoy learning new skills and sharing such with others. The acquisition of these two Lego Spike Prime robotics kits would allow them to enhance their engineering skills. In addition, additional students would be allowed to join as a result of the acquisition.
The acquisition of these two Spike Prime Lego robotics kits would enhance the robot design and programming skills of my students.
This year we will compete in robotics competitive events. As such, the acquisition of these two Spike Prime robotics kits would be a win, win for my students and our school community.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Here’s an interesting little tutorial on why the robot you’ve built may not be moving in a straight line.
Our project #1 from last week was completed! Most of that was us (and the matching grant organization), so as always, many thanks to our wonderful readers.
Project #1, Digital Microbe Hunters: Coding Their Way Through Science: Mrs. Price teaches high school in a small town in eastern North Carolina. She has a very interesting project in mind that will combine microscope viewing with robot coding in an innovative way.
She writes: I am thrilled to share that your support has made our "Digital Microbe Hunters" project a reality! Thanks to your incredible generosity, our students will now have access to cutting-edge tools that bridge the fascinating worlds of biology and computer science.
Your donation is providing our young scientists with GeoSafari MicroPro microscopes and programmable robots like Artie Max and Botley 2.0. These tools will enable them to not just observe microscopic wonders, but also bring their discoveries to life through coding and robotics. Imagine their excitement as they program robots to recreate the intricate patterns they discover under the microscope!
The mobile cart you've helped fund will transform our school into a dynamic learning environment, allowing us to share these resources across classrooms and foster collaboration among students. Your investment goes beyond equipment – it's an investment in our students' future as scientists, programmers, and innovators.
The impact of your generosity will ripple through our entire school community as students create their "Microbe Museum" and share their learning journey with peers. You've helped spark what may become lifelong passions for science and technology.
| 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 1138! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
