"Our high school is a small urban school which aims to teach our students experience science in an advanced academic setting. This year we have a big group of juniors taking AP Chemistry which is the second year of a two year course. They worked hard last year and are ready for the college course. Ou...
"
MORE
"Our high school is a small urban school which aims to teach our students experience science in an advanced academic setting. This year we have a big group of juniors taking AP Chemistry which is the second year of a two year course. They worked hard last year and are ready for the college course. Our goal is to trying to prepare them for study in technical fields such as medicine and engineering.
Being a small urban school district, our diverse student population is predominately minority and low income. Because of our demographics, we do not have a tax base from which to fund the development of our advanced academic programs. This is the second year we have offered AP Chemistry, and do not have lab equipment to perform the challenging experiments needed to enhance our students' learning.
We have twenty-nine students signed up for AP Chemistry this year, with most of them juniors that are doubling up in science to better prepare themselves for college. The commitment they have made to work hard has placed a burden on me to make sure that I can get the materials and instruction to prepare them for their test.
The mission of our high school is to prepare our students to be lifelong learners in our diverse, changing world and competitive workplace. With this mission in mind, we are striving to develop a challenging academic program which will prepare our diverse student population for advanced technical study in college. As a small urban school district with a student population of predominately minority and low income families, we do not have opportunities that larger districts enjoy. YOU can make a difference in such an environment by helping our kids to experience science in a fun, engaging, and challenging environment.
My students need a complete set of chemistry lab kits for AP Chemistry. This set will allow our kids to perform twenty-two labs recommended by the College Board in preparation for the AP Chemistry test.
See Mr. R.'s class participating in this project!
(Enlarge photos)
Dec 3, 2009
Dear Elizabeth, Amanda, Mr.R, Eve, Cara, Lori, Nicolle, Sandra, Laura, Carena, Lisa, M. Giant and M. Edium, Rebecca Boston, charmaine, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Anonymous Donors,
We have begun our experiments, and the kids have enjoyed the rigor of the lab exercises. You have afforded our students an opportunity which would not have been possible without your generous donations. Words cannot do justice to the strength of our gratitude we have for you.
This donation to our program is allowing our students to perform higher level experiments which will allow them to understand through experience and thus perform well on the AP Chemistry exam next spring.
Please understand that you have helped shape some minds for our future and indeed have put them in position to do great things in their academic future. Our school system has made a commitment to develop strong interest in science and technology as that is where the greatest opportunities will be.
With gratitude, Mr. R.
Mr. R. sent this note after the project was fully funded:
Oct 16, 2009
Dear Elizabeth, Amanda, Mr.R, Eve, Cara, Lori, Nicolle, Sandra, Laura, Carena, Lisa, M. Giant and M. Edium, Rebecca Boston, charmaine, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Anonymous Donors,
My students are so excited to be able to start on their labs quickly. These resources you have donated will allow them to be better prepared for their college level AP Chemistry test next May.
These kids are driven to go to college, majoring in a technical science field such as medicine, veterinarian medicine, or engineering. I personally cannot thank you enough for your generosity, and want you to know that you have helped some kids reach for the stars and are partly responsible for their successful achievements.
"I want to thank each of you for your generous donation. School is underway, and this group of kids have me so pumped up with their focus and dedication to success on this test. Your donation will help them do well on the lab based questions. Thanks so very much."
"I just couldn't pass up this project! I'm a brand new high school teacher teaching AP Chemistry myself and loving it. But I also know how hard this job is, and hope my donation makes it a little easier! Best of luck from North Louisiana! "
"We provided DonorsChoose.org with matching funds for projects that improve college readiness. We believe that when all people in the United States have the opportunity to develop their talents, our society thrives."
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Carolyn B. (volunteer)
on Sep 16, 2009
