My public high school is an old, converted elementary school that has only 2 lab rooms, yet there are 4 lab science teachers. My 10th grade biology students learn about biology from my portable classroom, but they are eager see real live science. Although my school was once a California Distinguished School, a lack of resources has deprived students of the education that they deserve. Over half the students at the school participate in free and reduced-price lunch program. Many of my students come from cramped households, so school is a place for them to explore their surroundings.
Learning science from a trailer puts my students at a huge disadvantage. While students at other schools are able to do hands on experiments in a laboratory setting, we have to make do with what we have. My students are extremely interested in performing dissections, as many of them want to be doctors, but the space is not adequate for my students to do this in my classroom.
Performing dissections would not be possible in my classroom, as the desks are tiny and there is no running water. Thus, I must rely on demonstrations to enable the students to see the anatomy of organisms. In a classroom of over 40 students, many demonstrations would not be visible to the entire class. A document reader would allow students to be able to get as close to hands-on science as possible in a situation that would otherwise make this impossible.
Your generosity will make sure that my young scientists are able to get the experience they deserve as high school students in a lab science class (and need to become doctors in the future).
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Somasunderam and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.