I have created a fun, high interest new class at East Wake Academy, a K-12 public charter school in Zebulon North Carolina. I am teaching hands-on science lab skills to middle school students.
Many of these students come from homes where no family member has attained education beyond high school. My goal is to open students' minds to the possibility of higher education (Community College Associates Degrees)and to increase their likelihood of getting a job locally five or six years down the road.
Eighty students each year for the next three years will participate in my class. Students of all ability levels, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds are working cooperatively. Students are ages 10 to 14 years.
My class teaches Science, Math and Language Arts objectives as well as cooperative learning, exploration and discovery. Students are being trained in polymer science principles and are using local plastics manufactures as resources to link learning to real life.
My students are doing hands on activities that teach cell biology and frog anatomy. They are exposed to simple Chemistry labs that are fun and educational.
Consumables are used in each lab. Our school budget does not allow for the cost of these consumables. Our students come from homes where the parents work as waitress, deliverymen, farm labor, store clerks, etc. My $5 Lab Fee does not cover my expenses, but some parents have trouble coming up with even that. My husband is starting to squawk at how much I am spending on my students!
I need money for a durable copy of the Periodic Table to display in my class. I need to buy grocery store lab materials like cornstarch, Jell-O, glue, borax, pie pans, plastic bags, etc. nearly every week.
I also need actual lab supplies from a lab supply house like dissection frogs, beakers, graduated cylinders, isopropyl alcohol, microscope slides and covers, etc. I need more teacher resource on frog and human anatomy.
As a former Chemist and an 8th grade Math and Lab Time teacher, my goals are to accelerate science education, link math and science and to encourage students to consider higher education and a career in science or math.
Most importantly I am showing the students that what they learn in class applies to their future right here in Zebulon.
My class takes advantage EWA campus location near four important local businesses: Eastern North Carolina Plastic Technology Center, PTC, (a joint effort of the community colleges of six counties: Edgecombe, Johnston, Nash, Wake, Wayne and Wilson), Hi Cone Plastics Manufacturing, Nomaco Plastics Manufacturing and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals.
Three of these resources are located along side the East Wake Academy campus in or near the Zebulon Industrial Park.
With an emphasis on learning by doing, students see the labs they do with simple everyday objects in my classroom repeated in a community college setting using high tech equipment at the Plastics Technology Center. Students are able to experience the connection between classroom learning, higher education and manufacturing first hand. We are glad to work with East Wake Academy students, said Mike Jensen, site director at PTC. There are scholarships available to students of any age who are interested in polymer studies, he added.
The project is part of an overall middle school experience that not only teaches the basics of reading, writing and math but also exposes students to interactive learning in four main areas: Public Arena (political action/social ethics/public speaking), Scientific Community (basic laboratory skills/scientific method), Practical Everyday Skills (interpersonal relationships/consumer math/finance) and Marketable Creative Skills (drafting/graphic design).
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. B. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.