(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Inoculation Project 6/16/2024: Matching Funds in Mississippi [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-16 This week, we’re helping two Mississippi teachers eligible for matching grants, one with an elementary class that needs books about kindness, and one with a high school class hoping to dissect fish. 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 this week, both in Mississippi and both assisted, for now, by matching funds! Mrs. Richards teaches in Philadelphia, MS, and is hoping to gather some books to help her students learn about kindness and compassion. The 2x match is by The Compassion Project: Donations to this project are now being matched, thanks to support from The Compassion Project. There is no more important skill to teach today than compassion: how to see the world through the eyes of another person in order to help them. Free resources for teachers and parents interested in teaching compassion are available at thecompassionproject.com. PROJECT #1 Project: Creating a Positive Classroom Climate With Kindness Resources: Help me give my students kindness rocks, activity books, and literature books to learn and promote both kindness and compassion. Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: Philadelphia Elementary School, Philadelphia, Mississippi Total: $443.92 (2x matching funds from The Compassion Project) Still Needed: $ 389.92 $285.51 ($143 from us) Project description by Mrs. Richards: I am requesting a children's book to teach lessons on kindness and compassion. Children learn through play, experiences of others, and from book characters. I have carefully chosen books with characters who look like my students and share similar feelings as them. I have also chosen books with animal characters with feelings relatable to my students. These books will allow for conversations pertaining to the well-being of my students and how we as a class can work together to help one another just as characters being read about. My students will make text-to-self connections as well as text-to-text connections. The kindness rocks and activity book will be used as a means of measuring the understanding of how to show and accept both kindness and compassion to and from others. These activities can and will be done together which will gives the opportunities to share ideas and school supplies. Collaboration is key when showing kindness to others. The bookshelf will help the students learn how to be kind to books by properly storing them. This will allow other students and classes to have access to books that are kept intact year after year as kindness is being spread. DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! Several of the books and supplies requested refer to Kindness Rocks, which was not something I’d ever heard of, but painting the rocks is apparently a thing. Its originator tells her story. x x YouTube Video Meanwhile, down on the Gulf Coast, Mrs. Stelljes hopes to give her high school students the chance to do hands-on dissections of fish and other aquatic creatures. The 2x match in this case comes from Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand: Education is a key pillar of the Jordan BCC and we are proud to support teachers and their students in equity-focused schools. Black educators are essential to advancing equity in our communities and impacting the lives of every student, and all teachers play a role in uplifting Black students. Thank you for all that you do! PROJECT #2 Project: Aquaculture Begins With Anatomy! Resources: Help me give my students be able to perform dissections in the classroom! Economic need: An Equity Focus School; more than half students from low‑income households. Location: Moss Point Career Technical Education Center, Moss Point, Mississippi Total: $440.59 (2x matching funds from Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand) Still Needed: $ 440.59 $336.18 ($169 from us) Project description by Mrs. Stelljes: A donation towards acquiring dissection kits would empower my students to delve deeper into the study of aquatic species, offering them a hands-on experience beyond simply labeling parts on paper. With these kits, underprivileged and minority students could critically explore biology, particularly in Aquaculture. By dissecting fish and other aquatic species, students would gain invaluable insight into their anatomy and physiology, fostering a deeper understanding of these organisms and their ecosystems. This practical experience would enhance their knowledge and inspire their curiosity and passion for the sciences, opening doors to future opportunities and academic success. DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! So listen, I know that not everyone would like to watch a fish dissection video, but I have found you a nice video, “Fish Dissection, Episode 1”, presented by Dave from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, in which perch are discussed and displayed for five minutes without any cutting being done at all. (There are subsequent episodes in this Covid-time series meant for stuck-at-home students, that you can easily find if you’re keen to see what’s in there!) x x YouTube Video Once again, I’m a little surprised that both our projects from last week were completed, but only a little. Many thanks to our readers, including those of you who read but don’t comment here — I hope you are seeing this and know you’re appreciated! Project #1, Oximeters to Enhance Vital Signs Unit: Ms. Alvarez teaches middle school in Kansas City, and needs oximeters for 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. As I write, Ms. Alvarez has not seen the good news yet, but we’ll bring you her note when it’s available. Project #2, Students; They're Worth It!: Mrs. Villanueva teaches elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and needed very basic classroom supplies like paper, pencils, and crayons, that neither her school nor her students’ families could afford. She writes: I am beyond grateful and excited! My students are blessed to have kind and generous people supporting their educational journey. We look forward to a great school year prepared and ready to learn. They will totally love the Hexagon cushion seats! I’m happy to share the wonderful things we will do with your contributions. 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 1110! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/16/2246867/-The-Inoculation-Project-6-16-2024-Matching-Funds-in-Mississippi?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/