This week, we’re helping a Houston middle school get both pencil sharpeners and books, and a Queens elementary school get a broad collection of materials to do STEM projects. 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.
belinda ridgewood
We have a new project this week! It’s got a relatively short time left, but it’s accessible enough for me to be confident it’ll get completed in time.
Mrs. Aziz teaches at a Houston middle school. She needs some good electric pencil sharpeners, and although she teaches science, she’s rounding out her project with some good books as well!
PROJECT #1
Project:Â Sharp Pencils & Sharp Minds
Resources:Â Help me give my students books that reflect real emotions, relationships, struggles, and growth.
Economic need: A Historically Underfunded School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location:Â Woodland Acres Middle School, Houston, Texas
Total:Â $162.24
Still Needed:Â $162.24 $71.06
Project description by Mrs. Aziz:Â Every day, my middle school students are reading, writing, annotating, sketching models, and solving problems in their interactive notebooks. Having working classroom supplies makes a huge difference. This project will provide heavy-duty pencil sharpeners to help keep our classroom running smoothly and reduce the frustration that comes with constantly broken pencils and worn-out sharpeners.
This project also includes several historical fiction novels by Alan Gratz, an author my students love.
His books combine fast-paced storytelling with real historical events, helping students stay engaged while building literacy and critical thinking skills.
As a science teacher, I love creating a classroom where students can explore all kinds of learning opportunities. Whether students are sharpening pencils for classwork or getting hooked on a great book, these resources help support curiosity, focus, and a positive learning environment. With your support, we’ll keep both pencils and minds sharp all year long!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Alan Gratz is the author whose books are part of this project. Here’s a trailer from Scholastic in which he talks about an included book.
Our #2 project made excellent progress last week!
Mrs. Chun teaches in an elementary school in Queens, New York. She’s requesting a collection of open-ended STEM building materials (plus some extra modeling clay!) to encourage her students to think and explore.
PROJECT #2
Project:Â Empowering Young Inventors with STEM Manipulatives
Resources:Â Help me give my students the hands-on STEM building materials and modeling clay they need to become confident scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers.
Economic need: A Historically Underfunded School; More than half of students from low‑income households.
Location:Â PS 18 Winchester, Queens Village, New York
Total:Â $391.00
Still Needed:Â $251.59 $203.06
Project description by Mrs. Chun:Â Help me give my students the hands-on STEM materials they need to become confident scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers. My students absolutely love science. They are constantly asking questions, making observations, and looking for opportunities to explore how the world works. Their excitement for learning is inspiring, but our classroom needs additional materials to help them fully engage in meaningful scientific discovery. To be effective scientists, students need opportunities to build, test, investigate, and learn through hands-on experiences.
The STEM Bins Comprehensive Set will provide my students with engaging manipulatives, engineering challenges, and problem-solving activities that transform curiosity into learning.
Instead of simply reading about science concepts, students will have the chance to design structures, experiment with different solutions, and learn from both successes and mistakes. These activities encourage critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and perseverance. They also help students develop the confidence to tackle challenges and think like real scientists and engineers.
Many of my students learn best when they can actively explore and create. With these STEM bins, our classroom will become a place where students can investigate, innovate, and discover every day. The materials will be used throughout the school year during science lessons, STEM centers, enrichment activities, and collaborative projects. Your support will provide resources that many of my students would not otherwise have access to. By funding this project, you are helping nurture a love of science while equipping students with the skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. Thank you for investing in the curiosity, creativity, and potential of my young learners.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
I personally endorse the requested Crayola Model Magic — it’s not greasy, sticks only to itself, air-dries fairly quickly, and the sculpted objects are lightweight, durable, and can be painted (although it also comes in colors). Here’s a short demonstration using it to make a pinch pot.
DonorsChoose
Our project #1 from last week was completed, with considerable help from our readers! Many thanks, as always!
Project #1, Team Jacob or Team Edward?: Ms. Simoes teaches at a public high school in the Bronx. She was seeking popular young-adult book series, because when kids are excited about stories, they want to read!
At this writing, Ms. Simoes had not yet seen the good news. We’ll bring you her note when it becomes available!
DonorsChoose has developed the designation Historically Underfunded Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet ANY of these criteria:
❧ At least 50% of students are Black, Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multiracial
❧ At least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch
❧ At least 75% of students are students of color (Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multiracial) and the same race
❧ Rural schools where more than one third (34+%) of the students are eligible for free and reduced priced lunch
You can read more at the link about their efforts to address the longstanding inequity in education.
Internet
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 1243! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
belinda ridgewood