This week, we’re helping a Kansas City middle school class get pulse oximeters to learn about vital signs, and a Texas elementary school class get the basic supplies they’ll need to start the new school year. 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.
A week when we have two new projects is a good week!
In our first project, Ms. Alvarez teaches middle school in Kansas City, and as she notes, she’s using an interesting science module developed by Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a US nonprofit that develops STEM curriculum units for elementary, middle, and high school levels. You can read more about them at the link.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students pulse oximeters to use in our Medical Detectives Vital Signs unit.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Hickman Mills School District, Kansas City, Missouri
Total: $309.82
Still Needed: $159.82 Completed, thank you! Please consider project #2 below.
Project description by Ms. Alvarez: I teach a PLTW class called Medical Detectives. Them first unit in this class is on Vital Signs. We are able to track blood pressure, pulse and temperature; but, do not have Oximeters to measure blood oxygen levels.
My students learn best when they have a hands-on experience taking their own viral signs as well as their classmates.
The vital signs lab is one of the most popular of the entire semester.
Oximeters add one more vital sign measurement commonly obtained in a doctor's office and; therefore, makes the unit more complete and informative.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
This video explains how pulse oximeters work. I bet you will be unsurprised to hear about the nature of their shortcomings.
Our friend Eastern Bluebird is a regular visitor to DonorsChoose, and she often sends me good suggestions for projects that might interest us. This one initially surprised me a little, only because it isn’t in our usual books-or-science-project scope. What it is, though, is the most basic possible grade-school classroom supplies — paper, pencils, crayons, chalk, modeling clay, you get the idea. Things I bet most of us as kids, even in not-great districts, never imagined a school could lack, but this teacher needs to ask our help because her school can’t pay for them, she fears her students’ parents can’t either, and she can’t personally make up the shortfall. The school district is Uvalde, Texas.
We have some help in the form of 2x matching funds from the Bezos Family Foundation: We’re helping more young people realize their potential by championing the science of learning and its application in everyday life. Please join us in giving back to help ensure that students and the educators who support them have what they need this year to learn, grow, and thrive.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students some of the essentials needed for great success in a day to day classroom.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Flores Elementary School, Uvalde, Texas
Total: $965.14 (2x matching funds from the Bezos Family Foundation)
Still Needed: $715.14 $160.73 ($81 from us)
Project description by Mrs. Villanueva: Hello, The items and supplies I am requesting for my students will allow them to focus on learning rather than "will I be able to participate because my family cannot afford it?" My school district receives Title 1 funding meaning our students come from low-income households and these supplies will aid in their success.
The bins will be used for supply storage for crayons, manipulatives, markers, pencils, books, etc.
The folders and journals will be used for daily instruction differentiating for each subject. The storage cart will be used to save classroom space that can be utilized for teacher storage for projects and supplies. the hexagon shape floor mats will be utilized by students to allow learning at different areas of the classroom. Students can move around freely and engage in learning outside of the desk. The remaining general supplies are craft and daily essentials that grant my students tools they need to learn to get through the school year.
Your generous contribution will also help relieve some of the stress and financial burdens that sometimes fall on teachers. Thank You.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Here are some short videos about how crayons and pencils are made. (Forgive me, I am highly entertained by this sort of thing!)
Both our projects from last week were completed! This is always great news, but one of this pair of projects is for a summer enrichment program that is surely in need of these resources pronto, so, many thanks to everyone!
Project #1, STEM Magazines in Our Library!: Ms. Albin is a science teacher working on a library science graduate degree, and she’s been hoping to get some exciting new science content into the library at her Baton Rouge school.
She writes: The STEM project for our school library is fully funded, thanks to you! Thank you so much. The students will enjoy learning about science through the many resources you have provided, including science magazine subscriptions and digital resources. These materials will enhance learning opportunities for over 900 students in our school.
Project #2, Science Enrichment Camp!: Mrs. Navarro, the second of our two never-before-funded teachers last week, can only offer her Texas middle-school students science enrichment if they come back for “science camp” in the summer.
She writes: Thank you and thank you again! A love for science is not cultivated easily when hands on activities are not available. My students and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and we are so excited to have an enriching summer camp this year! Many blessings to you and... With gratitude...
| 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 1108! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
