Visions of Dollar Signs Dance in Hurld Students' Heads

Instead of their feet, students at the are going to raise money for their school this month with their heads.

Students in each grade are going to take a 30-question grade-level test developed by their teachers and collect pledges for their correct answers.

To get them even more excited about the project, students participated in scavenger hunts Tuesday at school to find the answers to a series of grade-appropriate math questions.

Adding to the novel fundraiser, students who return their sponsor sheet by this coming Monday, April 11, will have a chance to win by raffle one of more than 10 prizes. Two of the prizes: A ride to school in a fire truck or police cruiser.

The new approach to fundraising pleases fourth-grader Jonathan Jiang in the class of Tara Tedesco.

Before, you would have to go around the neighborhood and ask people to buy things, Jonathan said.

This way, “You stay in school and do math,” he said. Definitely better.

If he was lucky enough to win a raffle prize for bringing in his sponsor sheet, Jonathan said he would choose a ride to school in a fire truck.

Tedesco’s students went on their scavenger hunt Tuesday right before lunch.

Jonathan worked with Evan Strandberg to answer six questions that tested their knowledge of multiplication, division, measuring, estimating and geometry.

Among the questions: Find the total age of your group in months; the number of desk legs in your classroom; and three things in the classroom that are squares.

Mary Kate O’Riordan and Stephen Kolodko worked on the question about tallying their ages in months.

“Two hundred forty,” Stephen computed. “We’re both 10,” he said. So multiply 10 years by 12 months in a year, which equals 120 months per student, then multiply the result by two.

Parents designed the scavenger hunt questions, Tedesco said.

“So far, so good,” Tedesco said of the overall effort.

This approach to fundraising offers two benefits, the letter to parents from the fundraising committee states.

First, “It allows our students to raise funds through learning.”

Second, the school keeps “close to 95 percent” of the money the students raise, compared with about 60 percent if a product vendor is involved.

The goal is to raise $12,000, according to the letter. The school could reach that goal, the letter continues, “if each of our 214 students brings in just $60 in pledges.”

In the classroom across the hall from Tedesco, fourth-grade teacher Laura McGrath said she thinks the whole approach to the fundraiser is “great.” The school is looking to buy equipment for its computer room, she said: 12 laptops, two rolling carts, enrichment programs and school supplies, according to the letter to parents. McGrath’s students had already completed their scavenger hunt.

“They’re learning at the same time (they’re raising money for their school) and don’t realize it,” McGrath said.

The idea for the fundraiser came from a Woburn resident. Vicki Blazejowski started the web-based company, PTO Ideas, in October, 2006, according to information from the Hurld School. “In 2008, Blazejowski released the first in her (trademarked) BudgetBashes series of e-books” that “challenges the students to raise money based on what they learn.”

The and  schools both ran spelling challenges, according to the information about Blazejowski’s company. The Wyman “raised just over $13,000 in about two weeks; the Linscott, over $8,500.” The Linscott also ran a math challenge and raised $7,200, the background states.

Some math for parents and other prospective student sponsors: sponsoring a student at 25 cents a question could cost $7.50 per sponsor, if the student got all the questions right. At 50 cents a question, the cost could be $15; at $1 a question, $30.

Originally, the fundraiser was supposed to tie in with MCAS math testing for students in grades three through five, according to Hurld School Principal Eileen Mills. Since it is a fundraiser, she said, “We want to make it as successful as possible.” So it will be a review of what students in each grade have learned this year.

Students will take the fundraising test on Wednesday, April 13.