This week, we’re helping an Alaska high school class get an Aerogarden so they can grow things indoors, and an Arkansas middle school class get a collection of books they’d love to read. 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.
We have new projects today! This first one gives us an early Earth Day celebration.
The small village of Brevig Mission, Alaska (called Sitaisaq in the Inupiaq indigenous language) is maybe 50 miles from the point on the International Date Line that’s in the middle of the Bering Strait. Ms. Pili hopes to get an AeroGarden into her high school classroom, so her students can grow herbs and salad greens. We have help to bring this project home from 2x matching funds from Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students aerogarden materials so they will have a fantastic way to spark interest in science, sustainability, and agriculture while fostering a deeper understanding of plant growth and food.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Brevig Mission School, Brevig Mission, Alaska
Total: $376.22 (2x matching funds from Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation)
Still Needed: $260.05 Completed, thank you! Please consider project #2 below.
Project description by Ms. Pili: An AeroGarden can be an excellent addition to a classroom project! It's a hydroponic system that allows plants to grow without soil, using water and nutrients. In today's educational landscape, fostering hands-on learning experiences is key to igniting curiosity and deepening understanding. The incorporation of innovative tools like the AeroGarden into classrooms has proven to be a transformative addition, revolutionizing the way students engage with science, sustainability, and biology.
The impact of the AeroGarden extends beyond the confines of the classroom.
It instills crucial life skills such as patience, problem-solving, and responsibility. Students learn to troubleshoot issues related to plant care, understand the importance of maintaining optimal conditions for growth, and develop a deeper appreciation for sustainable practices.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
This is on quite a bit bigger scale than the proposed Alaska Aerogarden, but I thought it was interesting. The Wall Street Journal got an expert gardener in Houston to try out a much larger and fancier indoor garden product, and rate it in comparison with growing the same plants outdoors.
This is an ambitious new project, but we know it’s possible for us to push things of this scale over the finish line, little by little.
Mr. Autry’s Arkansas middle-school students would love some new books, and he’d love to give them appealing books that would get them reading enough to improve their skills!
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students a change to read books that they enjoy! I have asked them the books they want and the big ones are Harry Potter, Baby Mouse, and the Saddleback Books.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; more than half of students from low‑income households.
Location: Sylvan Hills Middle School, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Total: $505.86
Still Needed: $505.86 $260.86
Project description by Mr. Autry: In our society, the internet, specifically social media, has taken the short attention span of our students and made it that much shorter. By finding books that my students are interested in, I believe that I can rekindle the flame that is buried in their hearts for good stories. I hope to use the stories found in this project to ignite the passion for reading in my classroom. I have asked them the books they want and the big ones are Harry Potter, Baby Mouse, and the Saddleback Books.
As my students continue to read I hope to increase my students' reading stamina, which will help them to be prepared for entering college and the workforce.
By supporting this project, you will also help increase their reading scores on the NWEA MAP exams that they take every year. My students are yearning to learn and I hope this project can make that happen!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
There are some interesting-looking books in Mr. Autry’s long list, in addition to the obvious classics like the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series. I was unfamiliar with the Hamster Princess series, which I’d describe as semi-graphic fiction — lots of text, but with regular detours into comic-style illustrated panels. I started looking at a YouTube reading of the second book and, by the time I got about five minutes in, I just closed the tab and went and bought the book. Who doesn’t want to read about a very smart and capable princess, even if she’s a hamster? Here’s the author, Ursula Vernon, talking about the series.
I’m so happy to say that both our projects from last week were completed! As you know, one of them was on its last week, so I’m especially glad we got that done, with the help of our wonderful readers, some matching funds, and a couple of outside donors. Thank you!!!
Project #1, Our Ecosystem Works!!: Ms. Mitchell teaches elementary grades in southwest Georgia, and she needed some science resources for multiple grades.
She writes: Thank you, thank you for the Terrarium Grow N' Glow kits. My 5th graders and 2nd graders loved experimenting with the kits. We placed several in the classroom windows and one in the closet. They wanted to see what would happen to the terrarium in the classroom closet. This experiment was creative and exciting for my students. I enjoyed watching and listening to them discuss the ecosystem in the jar. We studied ecosystems last 9 weeks and because of you, our donors, they had opportunity to see their own ecosystem in a jar. Thank you again for investing in my students' education.
Project #2, She Blinded Us With Science!: In a small Texas town, Ms. Tullos hoped to get some hands-on science materials for her second graders.
She writes: Thank you so much. I'm so excited my hands are shaking. I can't wait to begin using the materials and see the looks of the students as they get to work instead of watching a video. You are making such a difference for these students and you are renewing my passion for teaching when I see how you are supporting us. Thank you.
| 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 1096! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
