Celebrate Black Teachers and Students
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
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Mr. Stark from Washington LA is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
My students need lab safety equipment, including chemical splash goggles, rubber gloves, and aprons, along with pipets.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
There are few days that go by when my high school chemistry and physical science students don't come to class eager to ask the question, "Are we going into the lab today?" Last year, I was pleased to have my students learning through hands-on inquiry two to three days each week. Unfortunately, their excitement for learning often turned to moans when I would tell them they'd need to don the old goggles and aprons my school provides so that they could safely work with chemicals and glassware we'd need to do the lab activity.
The complaints were too numerous to count: "These goggles are too tight." "My apron smells awful." "I can't see through these goggles--they're too scratched up." Not to mention the wasted minutes each day I have to spend fixing broken goggles for a student or throwing out aprons that were falling apart. Many schools simply have students provide their own safety equipment. Unfortunately, over 80% of my students qualify for the free lunch program, so for most of them it is a struggle to have basic school supplies like pens, notebooks, and binders--much less lab safety equipment.
The time for an upgrade to my school's aging safety equipment is past due. Would you help by providing the funds we need to purchase a set of safety equipment, goggles, aprons, and gloves? My students love to learn, and we've seen tremendous improvement in science in the three years I've taught at my school since I moved to Louisiana with Teach For America. Though my students are behind where they need to be, they've shown that they are capable of performing at levels comparable with our nation's best schools. Don't they deserve access to similar equipment and resources that these schools have? My students are motivated! As they are growing more mature academically, many of them are beginning to believe that, just maybe, they could be the first member of their family to go to college. Some new safety equipment would mean one less obstacle in the learning process.
Your support and partnership with me and my classes would provide opportunities for my students to enjoy science even more. Many of my students struggle to see the value of education, but I believe that I'm beginning to break through to many of them by providing a deep and rigorous course in chemistry or physical science. They're finally learning enough that they can see how all the things they've memorized and studied might actually be useful. And we spend lots of time in class investigating real-life situations and talking about how what we've learned is used in real-life. I've taught several students who, after taking my class, have said they might like to study chemistry or physics in college. Would you help make my students' dreams a reality?
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