Special Projects
2025-2026 Special Project
Musical Instruments Project / On-Going
Musical Instruments Project
The Corvallis Schools Foundation is proud to announce that Musical Instruments have been selected as its 2025-2026 Special Project – marking Phase 2 of our commitment to expanding access to music education for all students.
Overview
Corvallis is the only district in the Bitterroot Valley offering a string orchestra program. Band, orchestra, and guitar classes are thriving in our middle and high schools, but rapid growth has outpaced our resources.
- Our goal is to provide the 415/year band and orchestra students with the many benefits of high-quality music education.
- Good instruments are essential but purchasing them is beyond the financial capacity of the school district.
- Playing a musical instrument offers wide ranging benefits from boosting academic performance to enhancing creative thinking and social skills.
- Musical instruments are expensive, and many families cannot afford to buy instruments for their children.
Program Growth
- Orchestra and guitar programs have grown an impressive 300% since 2021.
- Band participation has increased by over 50% in just two years.
- New musical education classes offering percussion ensemble.
- Students are sharing instruments, limiting their ability to practice at home.
- The school urgently needs 28 additional musical instruments to meet demand.
Our Goal: $55,000
We’re raising funds to purchase instruments that will be added to the Corvallis School District’s low-cost rental program, ensuring affordability and equity for all students. The Corvallis Schools Foundation is partnering with the Corvallis Performing Arts Booster Club to make this vision a reality.
Your Support Makes the Difference
Without community support, we cannot provide instruments for every student who wants to participate. Let’s make sure no student will miss out on music education because they lack access to a musical instrument.
🎶 Help Us Put Instruments in Students’ Hands 🎶
2023/2024 Special Project
Interactive Computer Learning – Completed August 2024
With your help we were able to purchase cutting-edge 3D computers and software to be used in multiple curricular areas. These computers combine elements of augmented and virtual reality to create lifelike experiences that inspire curiosity, create engagement, and deepen understanding.
This new technology enables students to explore concepts and ideas by engaging in immersive and interactive experiences that bring learning to life. Whether it is engineering, physical science, human anatomy, mathematics, or other curriculum, this technology will expand and enhance the learning experience.
This project provided:
- Five zSpace computer systems to be shared between the High & Middle Schools.
- Software for Career Pathways curriculum in Health Care includes Biology and Human Anatomy instruction.
- Software for Career Pathways curriculum in Construction including instruction in Welding.
- And more.
The Interactive Computer Learning project will enrich the education of all Corvallis students and guide them on a path to fulfilling careers and/or higher education.
CHS Principal Cammie Knapp explains some of the benefits for high school students:
“Corvallis High School currently has one augmented/virtual reality computer equipped with automotive software that allows students to take apart and reassemble an engine virtually in 3D. We look forward to adding computers equipped with Agriscience, Health Science, Biomedical Technology, Construction, and Welding curriculums that will increase students’ preparation for and competitiveness in their post-secondary endeavors.”
2021/2024 Special Project
Hands-on Science Education – Completed April 2024
With your help, we raised $48,000 to purchase hands-on-science equipment for Corvallis Kindergarten through High School classes.
Hands-on science experiences allow students to directly investigate and find connections that increase their understanding of science, math, and technology. By engaging in hands-on science students develop problem-solving skills, evaluate data to make decisions, and engage in teamwork. Hands-on experiences make scientific concepts and processes real for students at all grade levels from kindergarten through high school. Learning by doing helps students understand more deeply and perform better!
Providing hands-on learning experiences for students requires special tools and equipment. Going beyond textbooks means that extra resources are needed to provide those tools. This is where this special project comes in – to ensure that students have the equipment to learn and do real science.
Specifically, Corvallis Primary School needs additional age appropriate robotic and electronic sets so that they are available class-wide and in every grade. Corvallis Middle School is establishing a new comprehensive school-wide STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) program. Tools and equipment are needed to help launch this new curriculum class. Corvallis High School equipment needs to enable conducting real world experiments in biology, agriculture, and other science classes.
“Hands-on laboratory science experiences are critical to the learning process across all areas of study, beginning with kindergarten and continuing through post-secondary education. Research has shown that students who engage in well-designed laboratory experiences develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.” — American Chemical Society Public Policy Statement 2020-2023
By supporting this CSF Special Project, you can help empower students to use their minds and imagination to invent, create, solve problems, and explore the world of science and technology.
Primary School K-4
Robotic classroom sets to explore robotics, coding, design, and engineering.
Electronic building block set for creating inventions while learning electronics and engineering skills.
Middle School 5-8: all tools and equipment are for the new STEAM curriculum
Circuits and electricity classroom set to teach simple circuits.
Coding and Robotics classroom sets to enhance science and technology learning.
Engineering and architecture design kits to enhance math and engineering skills.
Aquaponics kits for life sciences.
Geology and meteorology equipment for earth science.
And more
High School 9-12
20 compact stereo microscopes to support science lab activities.
Sanitizing glassware washer to enable sterile experiments in science and agriculture classes.
2020/2021 Special Project
Outdoor Science Education – Completed July 2021
With your help in this challenging year, we reached our full goal of raising $28,000 to support outdoor science education for Corvallis students. This project was completed in a little under one year.
The Corvallis Schools have pioneered outdoor science education opportunities for students since the mid-1990’s. As students monitor streams, gauge post-fire recovery, or track the distribution of wildlife, they learn real-world scientific techniques and processes. Some classes engage in multi-day outdoor field studies that foster teamwork and teach outdoor survival skills. This special project focused on replenishing the special equipment and gear needed to make outdoor science education happen.
Here are some of the things this project is providing to high school and middle school students for outdoor science education:
Soil test kits, tree borers, water chemistry meters, snow science kits
Snowshoes, waders, winter gear
Tents, sleeping bags, backpacks
Your support and generosity are what made all this possible.
Thank you!
2019-2020 Special Project
K-12 Musical Instruments – Completed September 2020
With your help, we raised an amazing $47,500 to purchase quality musical instruments for Corvallis music programs from Kindergarten through high school. You helped complete the project in just over one year.
This project has helped the school district meet the needs of a growing enrollment and increased interest in participating in music programs. Corvallis music education begins in the primary school and band, choir, and string orchestra programs are offered to students in the middle and high schools. The string orchestra program is the only music program of its kind in the Bitterroot Valley.
This project provided:
New percussion instruments and xylophone for Primary School music classes.
New brass and woodwind instruments and accessories for Middle School and High School Bands.
New string instruments and accessories for Middle and High School Orchestras.
Replacement and additional instruments for the band and orchestra low-cost rental program to ensure that all students can afford an instrument for home practice.
A new electronic keyboard for use by choirs and jazz band.
Learn more about this Special Project: Corvallis School District Press Release September 2020 and Corvallis Schools Foundation funds Musical Instrument Program
None of this would have been possible without your support and generosity.
Thank you!
2018-2019 Special Project
Middle School Microscopes – Completed March 2019
With your help we raised $13,000 to purchase microscopes for the Middle School. The new microscopes are in use by 450 students in science classes in grades 5-8.
This project has provided each science classroom with enough high-quality microscopes for 25-30 students to use with no more than 2 to 3 students sharing a single microscope. With this equipment, science teachers can plan lessons that involve students making direct observations. Students experience science as it takes place in the real world enhancing their understanding of both scientific facts and the scientific process.
Each grade level is now equipped with a digital microscope, capable of transmitting images to tablets, computers, or SMART boards for whole class instruction.
A set of fifteen 1000x microscopes is in use by grades 7 and 8.
Seven 400x microscopes are combined with existing microscopes and used by grades 5 and 6.
Learn more about this Special Project: Corvallis Middle School receives new microscopes thanks to community donations
Thank you!