Richardson Middle School in Torrance, California on DonorsChoose

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Once we acquired the kits, things went together more smoothly and consistently.\r\n\r\nStudents learned a lot about powered flight, aerodynamics, and the hand-eye cognitive interaction with actual materials lacking during the regular school day. It was a series of one day a week patient building sessions by increments a precision product; putting a mess of parts together with hot glue is not how this kind of thing is done. Students had to learn patience over a series of weeks to see their rocket take form; attempting to add too many parts together in one sitting would cause them to sag or adhere imperfectly. They learned about the chemistry of different kinds of adhesives and which were good for what. Getting to a surface smooth enough to reduce drag was painstaking in a time when students are growing up with more instant gratification, more apps to play with, less actual hands-on work with materials to produce a reality-based outcome.\r\n\r\nAnd it was just fun, building and learning from one another, peer interaction to reach a successful goal without the pressure and worry of getting a grade for daring to do something difficult that might not work. Unlike common perception, failure is always an option. But from failure comes an acknowledgement of defects that must be put right in order to have a quality product, whatever it is. Students will take with them these order-of-operations skills into whatever endeavors they want to do next.\r\n\r\nAmong our group, leaders began to emerge. One or two students had some experience with these topics, most did not, and the interaction between them all, with limited guidance from the teacher produced an outcome that earned a sense of agency to their work. It was their own. They owned it. They produced it, unlike so many tasks they are made to do during the regular school day that seem pointless, having little connection with the lives they live and the skills they actually want and need after their years of schooling are finished.\r\n\r\nTwo students modified the standard rocket kits to accommodate second stages for more height, with parachutes in between to safely bring the parts down, replace the rocket motors, and launch a second or third time. Every student got to keep their rocket project.\r\n\r\n\r\nLaunching:\r\n\r\n\tSeeing others from various schools, watching university students set-up and prepare huge rockets, home schoolers, all kinds of groups also launching made for a community cohesion on rocket launch day. We were at Santa Fe dam, east of Los Angeles, a great open space for launching. Students learned about safety, had to wait their turn, but able to see the other groups present bring up and set up their own projects to launch.\r\n\r\nParents were involved too, of course bringing their student to the launch site, and getting to know one another and making connections that will help each as their kids grow up, sharing experiences\r\n\t\r\nJoe Petito\r\nRichardson Middle School\r\nTorrance, CA.","fullyFundedDate":1741877976865,"projectUrl":"project/real-rockets/9090371/","projectTitle":"Real Rockets","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. P","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9496928"},{"teacherId":1394471,"projectId":8657008,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your contributions to our science classroom. 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About this school

Richardson Middle School is an urban public school in Torrance, California that is part of Torrance Unified School District. It serves 649 students in grades 6 - 8 with a student/teacher ratio of 22.4:1. Its teachers have had 57 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Public School

Grades 6 - 8

649 Students

29 Teachers

23751 Nancylee Ln

Torrance, CA 90505 View local requests

Evidence-based impact

Inspire teachers to stay in the classroom and boost student achievement.¹

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

Richardson Middle School Teachers on DonorsChoose

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Richardson Middle School Demographics

18%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

52%

of students are Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian

Schools in districts that mainly serve students of color receive substantially less state and local support than similar districts that serve primarily White students. Learn more about this gap, why it exists, and how you can help close it.

Richardson Middle School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 14, 2025

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education.