{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"C Ray Gates Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":26.0,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":9471048,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation of school supplies to our kindergarten classroom — especially the twistable crayons, colored pencils, and oil pastels. Your support has brought an incredible burst of color, creativity, and excitement to our daily learning.\r\n\r\nThese art materials have truly transformed our classroom activities. My students light up every time they get to choose from the bright, vibrant tools you've helped provide. With your gift, they are not only creating beautiful artwork — they're also developing essential skills in ways that are meaningful, joyful, and developmentally appropriate.\r\n\r\nBecause of your kindness, every child in my class has the opportunity to create, explore, and express themselves with tools that inspire learning and joy. Thank you for helping us start our school year with so much color and creativity.","fullyFundedDate":1754399352408,"projectUrl":"project/supplies-for-success/9471048/","projectTitle":"Supplies for Success!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"},{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":9190852,"letterContent":"I want to extend a heartfelt thank you for your generous donation of magnetic center blocks to our kindergarten classroom. Your support has brought more than just a new set of materials to our room — you've sparked creativity, collaboration, and joyful learning for some of our youngest learners.\r\n\r\nFrom the moment we opened the set, the excitement was contagious. The magnetic blocks have quickly become one of the most loved and sought-after centers in our classroom. Whether students are working together to build tall towers, exploring shapes and patterns, or simply experimenting with how the pieces connect, they are actively engaging in meaningful, hands-on learning every day.\r\n\r\nMost importantly, your gift has created a space where learning feels like play — and that's where the magic of early education truly happens.\r\n\r\nThank you again for making such a meaningful impact on our classroom. Your generosity is helping shape curious, confident, and creative learners — and for that, I am truly grateful.","fullyFundedDate":1748972547454,"projectUrl":"project/magnetic-creativity/9190852/","projectTitle":"Magnetic Creativity","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"},{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":9231686,"letterContent":"We are absolutely thrilled to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your incredibly generous donation of decodable readers to our kindergarten class.\r\n\r\nThe impact of your kindness is already immeasurable. Our young learners are absolutely beaming with excitement as they hold these new books in their hands. Decodable readers are a critical tool in helping children build foundational literacy skills, allowing them to confidently sound out words and experience the joy of reading success right from the start.\r\n\r\nThanks to you, our students now have access to resources that will empower them on their reading journey and foster a lifelong love of books. We're already seeing their confidence grow with every page they turn.\r\n\r\nThank you again for investing in the future of our students. Your support makes a real difference in their lives.","fullyFundedDate":1744215918310,"projectUrl":"project/we-love-reading/9231686/","projectTitle":"We Love Reading!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"},{"teacherId":351072,"projectId":9061993,"letterContent":"My students were estatic when they saw the hand to mind learning trays. We had been using paper letters to build our words and as a teachers view it was very painful to do so.\r\nThese hand to mind trays are magnetic and can grow with my students. For example when we got the trays my students had already learned all the letter sounds and digraphs. So we used the mat with digraphs to build words. At the beginning of the year next year I will use the mat that just has the abc's.\r\nWe used these trays in small group reading time to practice encoding and decoding words. My students loved using them.\r\n\r\nNext year I plan on using them the whole year. I also plan on trying out some o the other mats they provided like the word ladder mat.\r\n\r\nThank you again for your generous donation!","fullyFundedDate":1742937330872,"projectUrl":"project/learning-hands-on/9061993/","projectTitle":"Learning Hands On!!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Cuellar","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-7_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/351072"},{"teacherId":351072,"projectId":9052503,"letterContent":"My students loved using the materials you purchased for them to really deepen their understanding about Native Americans. They were so excited to play and use the materials you purchased.\r\n\r\nThe miniature figures we used to setup a tepee site like the Lakota Sioux would and talked about how it would be if they were Lakota Sioux.\r\n\r\nThe books as well helped them hear another story about what life was like for them. Having these hands on materials really helps my students understand history so much!\r\n\r\nWe appreciate your donation so much!! It has impacted this year's students and many new students every year!","fullyFundedDate":1739376108154,"projectUrl":"project/learning-about-native-americans/9052503/","projectTitle":"Learning About Native Americans!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Cuellar","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-7_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/351072"},{"teacherId":9866814,"projectId":8993788,"letterContent":"Our Growth & Development and Hygiene classes were a huge success on April 17th.\r\nWe discussed the changes that come with growing up and how to stay healthy.\r\nThanks to your generous donations we were able to give out 80 travel bags with the supplies you helped purchase. We had 42 Boys and 38 Girls in our classes. These are 4th and 5th graders.\r\n\r\nThe students were very attentive during the presentations and appreciated the gifts given afterwards.\r\n\r\nI have included some pictures of the travel bags and supplies. I did not have consent from all parents so I am unable to share pictures of students.\r\n\r\nThank you again for your vital help with this project.","fullyFundedDate":1734549811026,"projectUrl":"project/teaching-growth-development-hygiene/8993788/","projectTitle":"Teaching Growth, Development, & Hygiene to 4th & 5th Grade","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Meyer","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9866814"},{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":9044285,"letterContent":"On behalf of my kindergarten students and myself, I want to express our deepest gratitude for your incredibly generous donations of books and Native American toys. Your kindness has truly touched our hearts and will have a profound and lasting impact on our classroom.\r\nThe beautiful books you provided will open up worlds of imagination and learning for our young students. They are eager to explore new stories, discover fascinating facts, and develop a lifelong love of reading. \r\n\r\nThe Native American toys are particularly meaningful. They offer a unique opportunity for our students to learn about the rich culture and history of Native American peoples. These toys will foster a deeper appreciation for diversity and promote understanding and respect for different cultures. We are excited to incorporate these resources into our lessons, allowing our students to engage in hands-on learning and develop a stronger sense of cultural awareness.","fullyFundedDate":1738813416998,"projectUrl":"project/learning-about-native-americans/9044285/","projectTitle":"Learning About Native Americans","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"},{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":9033563,"letterContent":"Words cannot express how grateful we are for your generous donation of reading materials to our kindergarten classroom. Your kindness has made a significant impact on our young learners.\r\n\r\nThe excitement when we unpacked the boxes was palpable! Our students were immediately drawn to the colorful letters and trays. The Numberblocks and balance were also a big hit. \r\nThe new materials are helping us reinforce essential literacy skills, like phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension, in a fun and engaging way.\r\n\r\nWe've already seen significant progress in our students. Thank you for investing in their future and helping us cultivate a lifelong love of learning.","fullyFundedDate":1738081850269,"projectUrl":"project/hands-2-learn/9033563/","projectTitle":"Hands 2 Learn","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"},{"teacherId":351072,"projectId":8709368,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation. We have received the materials and plan to create materials that will help cement our learning. For example we are learning more on rhyming and literary elements. We just finished a unit on stories and one of the stories was the Three Billy Goats. \r\nSo we created a bridge for the students to retell the story of the Three Billy Goats. They really enjoyed using the the bridge we had created. We also made a boat to go with the story Little Blue Boat. \r\nThe materials you purchased for us will help us create many, many more things that will help cement our learning. Thank you sooo much!!!","fullyFundedDate":1735251268688,"projectUrl":"project/bringing-to-life-our-ideas-in-3d/8709368/","projectTitle":"Bringing to Life Our Ideas in 3D!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Cuellar","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-7_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/351072"},{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":8718013,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donations. We are enjoying our Cricut. We have been able to make yard sins to encourage participation in our PTA. I also love making memory books for my students. The cricut has made that even more fun. \r\nI have also used the cricut to make labels for our water bottles. I have been able to share my cricut with my fellow kindergarten teacher and she has also enjoyed having access to a cricut at school. \r\nI am so excited to see all the things I can do with our new Cricut.\r\nThanks again for your donation and your support of Public Schools.","fullyFundedDate":1733278480254,"projectUrl":"project/cricut-and-beyond/8718013/","projectTitle":"Cricut and Beyond","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"},{"teacherId":527399,"projectId":8718168,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation to our class project. I really appreciate your support and am so honored that you chose our project to support. \r\nMy students are loving the books we received. The have provided a much needed resource to our classroom. As we are learning to read it is great to have books that we can practice with. The colorful pictures are so engaging and the text is so appropriate. \r\nReading is such a big part in kindergarten and to have these books available to my students is amazing. \r\nThanks again for your support. I love that there are wonderful people in the world willing to support education.","fullyFundedDate":1727962342432,"projectUrl":"project/i-can-read/8718168/","projectTitle":"I Can Read!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Verba","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-verba"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_79182","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":284,"numTeachers":24,"percentFrplEligible":63,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":4,"percentWhite":48,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":41,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"11.8:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_SMALL"},"inStateSupporters":74.0,"schoolId":79182,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about C Ray Gates Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"C Ray Gates Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/nebraska/grand-island-public-schools/c-ray-gates-elementary-school/79182"}