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The 8th graders at
STEM have recently finished a fundraising project for the school. The purpose
of the project was to help with improving the former Dollar General space. As the students
worked on the project they had to try to answer the driving question: "How will
DRSS provide opportunities for families, volunteers, and other interested
parties to participate in the fundraising necessary for expanding our
facilities?"
They started the project by
first creating a case statement about why their selected donors should donate money to
DRSS. Then they created three different donation plans that potential donors could
choose from while donating. The three plans were a one-time donation of a certain
amount, a monthly donation plan, and a membership + monthly donation. Each
group was assigned to create plans for one of the following locations:
- IT Collaboration Space
- Engineering and Manufacturing Center
- 3D Printing and Laser Cutting Center
- Auditorium & Presentation Space
- Classrooms
- Conference Rooms
After the students created the
case and donor plans they created a final product (website, video, PowerPoint,
etc.) that could be shown to potential donors to help them choose which of the three donation plans they are going to use. During the project students learned
about slope intercept form and how to write the equation of a line given a
scenario.
“We decided to try this project
this year because we wanted our first 8th grade Algebra I students to be
engaged in a real-world understanding of this new content” said Ms. Vazquez, an 8th
grade math teacher at DRSS. “I hope that students can begin to appreciate the
opportunities they have here at DRSS and realize that this type of educational
experience is actually quite expensive. Even more than that, I also hope they
realize how much support they have from the community around them - we all want
what’s best for them. And, of course, I also want them to walk away
understanding linear relationships at a foundational level.”
You can see their work (along with other projects) on display at our upcoming Exhibition Night on December 8, 2016, from 5-7PM. This event is free and open to the entire community.
