This week, we’re helping two Texas classrooms — a first grade needs books, and a kindergarten needs interactive educational games that can work with a tablet or phone. 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 a new project #1 today! This tiny Texas community is some 100 miles or so southeast of Dallas (and southwest of, and a little closer to, Shreveport LA). Ms. Gonzalez’s first graders need books to encourage them to keep reading! (This project is running out of time, but I think we will be able to give it the push it needs.)
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students fun and educational books so that they can learn to love reading.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Laneville School, Laneville, Texas
Total: $344.07
Still Needed: $144.07 Completed — thank you! Please consider project #2 below.
Project description by Ms. Gonzalez: My students are curious, energetic, and full of potential. They come to school each day eager to learn, despite the challenges many face outside the classroom. Our classroom is a safe space where they feel seen, supported, and encouraged to grow as readers and thinkers. Their excitement when they connect with a book reminds me daily of how powerful reading can be.
Books will help bring their love of learning to life.
My goal for this project is to provide a wide variety of engaging books that are just right for their reading levels and interests. These books will not only help them practice fluency and comprehension, but also allow them to see themselves in stories and expand their understanding of the world. With your support, I can build a classroom library that motivates my students to read more, take risks as readers, and fall in love with reading for life.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Among the requested books is Sheep in a Jeep!
We made some progress on this ambitious project last week, and as often happens, the project had been sitting around untouched for some time until we got donations started, and then picked up an outside donor during the week. Don’t ever think a small donation isn’t going to matter!
Ms. Tangle teaches kindergarten in a border city in the McAllen, TX area, not far from the Gulf Coast. She’s hoping to get these clever interactive educational games that work with an iPad or phone, to enrich her students’ learning.
We still have 2x matching help from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation: The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation is excited to sponsor this Innovation Challenge to discover projects that promote experiential learning in classrooms nationwide. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting teachers' creative ideas that provide students with unique opportunities to engage in activities that deepen their understanding through direct experience, exploration, problem-solving, or connections to experiences outside of the classroom.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students the opportunity to engage with hands-on learning through Osmo kits, which will spark their creativity, enhance their problem-solving skills, and make learning fun and interactive.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Dr William Long Elementary School, Pharr, Texas
Total: $947.40 (2x matching funds from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation)
Still Needed: $577.40 $472.99 ($237 from us)
Project description by Ms. Tagle: I absolutely love how curious and eager my students are to explore the world around them. They have a natural desire to learn and a passion for discovering new things, which makes teaching them so rewarding. Each of my students is unique, with different strengths, and it’s incredible to see them support one another in their learning journey. The Osmo kits will give them the chance to dive into interactive, hands-on activities that not only make learning fun but also help them build critical skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity. With these resources, I can meet each student where they are, whether they need more visual engagement, physical interaction, or a way to bring abstract concepts to life. The Osmo kits will provide the tools they need to express their creativity, enhance their understanding of key subjects, and ultimately feel empowered as learners.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Here’s a very short video in which kids show each other how the Osmo games are played.
Our project #1 from last week was completed. Thanks to our readers who set this project in motion and positioned it to cross the finish line!
Project #1, Notes for Success: Building Stronger Writers and Thinkers: Mrs. Diaz teaches high school in Jersey City, a large city on New York Harbor, and she needed paper and notebooks for her students.
She writes: Thank you so much for the notebooks. We are so grateful for donors like you who care and are willing to give back to the community. The use of notebooks will be a crucial strategy in trying to steer students away from their phones and other devices during instructional time.​ ​ ​
DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus 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
❧ 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. |
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 1199! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
