McDowell County Career & Technical Center in Welch, West Virginia on DonorsChoose

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One hundred percent of our students qualify for free breakfast and lunch, and many families who already had limited resources experienced additional hardship when severe flooding forced school closures for three weeks and disrupted learning, stability, and access to educational support.\r\n\r\nThe implementation of Strawbee Robotics kits, integrated with Micro:Bits and Makey Makeys, will provide students with highly engaging, hands-on STEAM learning experiences that directly support reading, mathematics, and problem-solving skills. These project-based activities will help in fostering creativity, resilience, collaboration, and perseverance—skills that are especially critical for students facing trauma and economic disadvantage.\r\n\r\nOur gifted students are already trained in engineering concepts and familiar with the Engineering Design Process. They regularly design, build, test, and refine projects that are assessed using an Engineering Design Rubric. By incorporating Strawbees into our existing STEAM curriculum, students will be able to deepen their understanding of structural design, coding, measurement, and logic while advancing their use of technology in meaningful, real-world applications. The flexibility of the Strawbee system allows for differentiation, ensuring that students of varying skill levels can participate successfully while still being challenged.\r\n\r\nBeyond the immediate classroom impact, this project will extend learning opportunities to the broader school community. Student-created engineering projects are showcased annually at the local Science Fair and Social Studies Fair, where hundreds of students from across the county interact with and explore hands-on engineering activities. Although 12 gifted students will directly use the Strawbee kits during the current year, more than 200 students will benefit from exposure to these projects during the 2025–2026 school year.\r\n\r\nBy investing in this project, funders will support equitable access to high-quality STEAM education in a high-need area, restore student engagement following learning loss, and empower students to see themselves as innovators, problem solvers, and leaders. The impact of this project will reach far beyond a single classroom, inspiring curiosity, confidence, and hope throughout our school community.","fullyFundedDate":1750814751627,"projectUrl":"project/engineering-and-designing-with-strawbee/9225105/","projectTitle":"Engineering and Designing with Strawbee Robotics","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Christy Hunt","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2468942_orig.jpg?crop=284,284,x258,y362&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1755050206439","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/christy-hunt"},{"teacherId":2468942,"projectId":9432049,"letterContent":"I would just like to thank you so much for contributing to the purchase of the Hummingbird Class Kit for our Makerspace. My students used our new Chomp Saw to create an animal for a Robotic Petting Zoo. The Hummingbird Kit made things SO much easier. Students were able to bring their 3D cardboard animals to life.\r\nStudents used the Hummingbird kits to make the animals robotic. If you petted the wing of a penguin it would wave at you, pet the axolotl and its head would turn, feed the caribou and his eyes lighted up. They programmed an Intelino Smart train to travel from animal to animal and play their recorded voice giving info about the animal. They also used Marty the robot to welcome people to the petting zoo. They used Canva to create signs for their animals, like you would see in a zoo.\r\n\r\nIt was SO much fun and engaging! Thanks for giving them this opportunity. They entered their project into the WV Makes Festival at Marshall University and won $200 and 2nd place in the state of WV. They were elated! They will use that money towards field trips this year.\r\n\r\nThanks for helping to make learning fun!\"","fullyFundedDate":1753784806905,"projectUrl":"project/unleash-student-creativity-and-improve-m/9432049/","projectTitle":"Unleash Student Creativity and Improve Mental Health Through Play","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Christy Hunt","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2468942_orig.jpg?crop=284,284,x258,y362&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1755050206439","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/christy-hunt"},{"teacherId":2468942,"projectId":9636579,"letterContent":"I would just like to thank you so much for contributing to the purchase of a Chomp Saw for our Makerspace. We completed at training on the Chomp Saw and they were just so excited to see what they could do with it! They felt like true carpenters and builders. My students recently used it to created a Robotic Petting Zoo. The Chomp Saw made things SO much easier. Students were able to cut their cardboard safely. They created 3D animals using cardboard and their Chomp Saw.\r\n\r\nStudents were then able to use the Hummingbird kits from another Donors Choose project to make the animals robotic. If you petted the wing of a penguin it would wave at you, pet the axolotl and its head would turn, feed the caribou and his eyes lighted up. They programmed an Intelino Smart train to travel from animal to animal and play their recorded voice telling about the animal. They also used Marty the robot to welcome people to the petting zoo. They used Canva to create signs for their animals, like you would see in a zoo. \r\n\r\nIt was SO much fun and engaging! Thanks for giving them this opportunity. They entered their project into the WV Makes Festival at Marshall University and won $200 and 2nd place in the state of WV. They were elated! 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About this school

McDowell County Career & Technical Center is a rural public school in Welch, West Virginia that is part of Mcdowell Co School District. It serves 200 students in grades 11 - 12 with a student/teacher ratio of 16.7:1. Its teachers have had 4 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Grades 11 - 12

200 Students

12 Teachers

1 Stadium Dr

Welch, WV 24801 View local requests

Direct, proactive support

Empower teachers at McDowell County Career & Technical Center to request what their students need.

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

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

McDowell County Career & Technical Center Teachers on DonorsChoose

Ms. Christy Hunt

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McDowell County Career & Technical Center Demographics

77%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

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.

McDowell County Career & Technical Center Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 22, 2025

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