This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Dean Kamen, an American inventor, entrepreneur, and an advocate for science and technology once said "You have teenagers thinking they are going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not even realistic for 1% of them. Becoming a scientist of engineer is."
Students in my school come from low income households.
We are a Title I school and all students are eligible for free lunch. Students do not have modern day technology available to them at home, and unfortunately are not provided with up to date or enough technology in our school due to a low budget. Students are not fortunate to have the luxury of playing on sports team or joining extracurricular activities outside of school and are therefore offered a range of after school activities through our after school program. This was our first year that we created a Robotics Team and participated in the First Lego League competition.
My Project
One enrichment class offered in our school is robotics. Students create autonomous robots using Lego Mindstorms EV3. Students love this class as they are able to step away from a structured curriculum, the common core, homework and tests and use their mind. Students learn computer programming and begin to see what it would be like to be an engineer. In fact, many go on to high schools that have robotics and engineering programs within them in hopes that they can eventually move on to major in these subjects in college.
This was our first year creating an after school robotics team and competed in the First Lego League Competition. We won first place for Staten Island and advanced to the next level where we won two awards. Students used their robotics skills to design a robot to complete a 12 mission challenge and created a research project to solve an environmental issue. Unfortunately we faced many obstacles along the way due to old, uncooperative technology.
With the help of your donation, I can provide my students with a functioning computer.
Students can properly create a program for their robot and not fear that the transfer will not work. They will not have to worry that their weeks and sometimes months of hard work will magically disappear. This program works best with an Apple computer, which we do not have. Student engagement through Stem Education will be always possible and hopefully increase with effective technology.
More than three‑quarters 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
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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. Randazzo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
