Help cure our schools' calculator crisis!

My name is Matthew Kim, and I’m a junior at Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California.

Last year, it came time to look for a graphing calculator for math class. I looked far and wide, but every calculator was either prohibitively expensive or low-quality. I ultimately chose to settle for the TI-84, but the cost was steep — over $100 for a technologically prehistoric, clunky device. As I shopped, I wondered: why are we paying this much for a calculator?

While these calculators are essential for both students and teachers, students are often unable to afford the staggering cost of these calculators, which frequently forces teachers and schools to pay out-of-pocket or look to generous donors. In addition, calculators of this kind are rarely helpful after college or high school since their use is so limited.

To solve these issues, I’ve created an initiative, Calc-X-Change, for people to donate calculators that they don’t need anymore so that they can be given directly to the classrooms that need them. We accept donations of four-function, scientific, and graphing calculators, which will be sent to schools across the country whose teachers have indicated a need for calculators.

Because these calculators aren’t cheap, I’m starting this fundraiser to directly fund teachers, subsidize the price of used calculators, and handle numerous other costs, including shipping and inventory. By donating to this GoFundMe or donating calculators, we’ll be able to support teachers who need calculators nationwide by giving old calculators new life and by funding efforts to purchase calculators. Thank you!

Calculators are essential for both students and teachers, especially in math and science. While computer-based alternatives like Desmos are helpful and powerful, they aren’t feasible for use during exams, as the use of internet-connected digital devices like smartphones or laptops during exams can facilitate cheating without proper guide rails.

Please support our effort to help solve the calculator crisis in our classrooms today! Feel free to visit our website at https://www.calcxchange.org/ to learn more about this project, and to learn more about how to donate your old calculators.

In addition, we’re creating an application that features an inbuilt scientific and graphing calculator that can be monitored by teachers, so teachers can use free digital calculators during exams without worrying about issues like cheating. Funds raised here will not go to this project in any way, but we'd love to keep you updated about it! Visit https://www.calcxchange.org/application for more information.