Dear Donor
“When I see how engaged the students are in the lab, it reminds me of why I went into teaching!”
It is not often that a single gift can touch the lives of so many children. A gift of a LabLearner lab to a school directly impacts every student in the school, from preschool through eighth grade. Year after year. LabLearner instills not only crucial scientific principles in its students, but also a genuine love of science; a love that they apply in life no matter their vocation or career.
LabLearner is a perfect gift for schools. Once in place, the LabLearner program has only a low annual cost to replenish materials needed to sustain the program. Thus, a gift of a LabLearner program does not “strap” schools to a major ongoing financial commitment.
Many of the LabLearner programs currently in use across the United States began by the seed planted by individual donors. Whether by small donations from parents, grandparents, or local small businesses, or through major donations from large organizations such as The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the American Cancer Society, or leading citizens of the community, tangible seeds are sown in both cases.
“Using the LabLearner program has been such a wonderful experience and a blessing for our students. Having every grade in the lab on a weekly basis has brought us leaps and bounds ahead of where our science program was before. Our students love being able to work hands on with state-of-the-art equipment and use what they have learned while they collaborate with their classmates to problem solve. Our students are no longer simply learning about science, they are “doing” science.”
Why LabLearner is the Perfect Gift
Naturally, any donor wants to know that their gift goes toward something solid and lasting. Something that works. Something that will endure and be deeply meaningful for years and years to come. This is precisely why LabLearner is the perfect gift.
- LabLearner represents an intuitive plan for helping a school grow – LabLearner is a cross-curricular program that not only represents the best in hands-on science instruction, but has a major impact on reading, writing, communication, mathematics, and problem-solving. It systematically improves students’ critical thinking skills, which helps in every other area of their lives. Thus, LabLearner helps both organize the PreK-8 educational experience and transforms the entire educational culture to one of deeper and more insightful thinking.
- LabLearner has measured outcomes within a defined timeline – LabLearner works and it works immediately. By the end of the very first year of LabLearner, all previous science education in the school will be referred to as “the old way of learning science.” LabLearner comes with a full complement of assessments to demonstrate student gains. Thus, it is not surprising that many LabLearner schools have
received positive affirmation within a very short period of time of its implementation. For example, it is not uncommon for schools who have adopted LabLearner to win recognition as a National Blue Ribbon school within a couple years of starting LabLearner. - LabLearner improves people’s lives – Pre- and Post-tests demonstrate, on an individual basis, the exact increase in student achievement. Parents report obvious improvements in their student’s interest in science that extends well beyond the LabLearner lab. Some parents, for example, have reported that it is difficult to keep their students at home on LabLearner lab days, even if they are sick! In addition, LabLearner’s ongoing teacher professional development can “transform” the way teachers themselves view teaching science. They are often invigorated and energized as they become expert science educators in their very own classrooms.
“LabLearner is an incredible program for the students in my school. We used it for the first time last year and it had a huge impact on both the students and myself. I was able to teach Science in a way that I was never able to before because I finally had equipment that allowed the students to reach their full potential. Students came in asking to go to the lab every day and loved being there. They enjoyed everything from wearing the lab coats to using equipment and materials most students don’t see until high school or college. We had our annual Science fair in May and students came up with ideas that were more advanced than they were in the past. They were asking to borrow things from the lab to complete their projects. We had a very successful year in Science and the LabLearner program was the main reason why. I am excited to use it again this year and I would highly recommend it to other schools.”
Plant a Seed Now!
Good seeds grow into healthy plants, and plants perform the single most useful chemical reaction on planet Earth, photosynthesis (see the equation below). Each plant takes the waste product of animal respiration, carbon dioxide, adds water, and produces the carbohydrate glucose (sugar), and the essential gas oxygen. Through this important reaction, all life on Earth thrives. However, for photosynthesis to occur, light must also be provided. We say that light catalyzes the reaction. A simple experiment of placing a dark bag over a plant will immediately shut down photosynthesis and no further growth will occur – no more sugar, no more oxygen, no more life.
In a sense, LabLearner catalyzes an important reaction as well. It helps transform students and teachers from owning attitudes where science is a dreaded, irrelevant, and boring subject, to one that creates science lovers, deep thinkers, and smart citizens. Donors can provide the light to make this happen!
