My Students

My students have the exact same thirst for knowledge and science as their peers in more affluent schools. They want to learn, and they are natural-born scientists, but while we have the will, we need the way--we need microscopes in the Science Lab!

My role as the school Science Lab teacher is an amazing one.

While students K-5 have their own teachers that give them Science instruction, all students come to the Science Lab at least once each week to dive in and obtain HANDS ON experience with their Science education! Passion for Science is through the roof, but we need the tools to harness that ENTHUSIASM and transform it into real, tangible, and measurable achievement. We work hard to overcome our challenges. Petersen Elementary is a high-poverty (Title I) school, with student demographics being 68.5% Hispanic and 31.3% African American. Over 70% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. However, that is the only difference between my students and their more affluent peers. My students come to me with smiles on their faces, eagerly asking what we're going to be doing in the lab any given week. I am asking for your help in giving them the answer that we're going to use REAL MICROSCOPES in our Science Lab!

My Project

I am requesting your help in purchasing 5 student-grade compound microscopes to be used throughout the year for our scientific inquiries. Having the ability to look at the specimens in our lab at a microscopic level will ignite a brand new passion for learning about the world around us. Our lab has five work tables, and I would like each group of Student Scientists to have access to the wonders of natural science at the tiniest and most fascinating level. Beyond my classroom, I want my students to have a passion for science that will inspire them to participate in our school Science Fair, as well as our upcoming CSTEM Competition. Our scholars won a prize in robotics last year, showing how far they can go with limited resources. Just imagine how far they WILL go when they have the tools they need! I will also share these microscopes, when not in use in the lab, with the other 8 science teachers in our school, to maximize the benefit of this vital instrument in science education.

My students stand balanced on the edge of achievement and failure.

Their feeder high school has been referred to as a "drop-out factory", and it infuriates and upsets me to think that my scholars might not finish high school, that their burning passion for learning and studying science might be snuffed. Harnessing the innate passion for science found in all students, regardless of their backgrounds and demographics, will put my students on a path to success, and it will transform their lives.