{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Carmen Dragon Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":23.3,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10099094,"projectId":9511689,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generous support, our speech therapy space has been transformed into a warm, welcoming, and engaging environment where students are excited to come, explore, and work on their speech and language goals. The new play materials such as the ball ramp, critter clinic with surprise boxes, kinetic sand, play dough tools, and the barn with farm animals plus a few more have made a tremendous difference in how we interact, learn, and play together.\r\n\r\nFrom the moment my students first saw these materials, their faces lit up with excitement and curiosity. The critter clinic with its surprise boxes was an instant favorite and students were thrilled to take turns unlocking the doors, discovering the hidden items inside, and talking about what they found. The sheer joy of this activity not only motivated them to participate but also created countless opportunities for practicing turn-taking, sharing, and using language to describe what they saw. The barn with farm animals inspired imaginative play, allowing students to create their own stories, practice animal vocabulary, and engage in pretend play scenarios that naturally encouraged full sentences and conversation skills.\r\n\r\nOne memorable moment came during a play-based activity with the ball ramp. A student who often struggles with focus and patience became fully engaged, carefully rolling balls down the ramp while narrating what was happening and using target speech sounds. This playful, hands-on activity allowed the student to practice both speech and language goals in a meaningful context. The other students eagerly joined in, taking turns and cheering each other on, reinforcing social communication skills like cooperation, problem-solving, and conversational turn-taking.\r\n\r\nThe kinetic sand and play dough tools have also been a huge hit. Students enjoy shaping, molding, and creating while practicing vocabulary, describing textures, and following multi-step directions. These materials allow me to interact with students in a playful and natural way during therapy and assessments, making learning feel fun rather than forced. I can guide them through language tasks, reinforce speech sounds, and observe progress, all while they are fully engaged in hands-on play.\r\n\r\nEvery session now feels dynamic and personalized. Students look forward to coming to speech therapy because they know they will get to play, explore, and work on their goals in a fun, interactive way. The materials encourage repeated practice of speech sounds and language targets, while also promoting social skills, imaginative thinking, and problem-solving.\r\n\r\nLooking ahead, we have many exciting plans for continuing to use these resources. Students will engage in cooperative pretend play with the barn animals, use the surprise boxes in the critter clinic to practice describing, sequencing, and turn-taking, and explore kinetic sand and play dough activities to reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure. The ball ramp will be used to incorporate movement and descriptive language into therapy lessons. Each of these activities offers endless opportunities for students to generalize their skills to real-life situations while having fun.\r\n\r\nYour donation has made a lasting impact, creating a space where students are excited to learn, explore, and grow. Thank you for helping make our speech therapy environment playful, inviting, and full of opportunities for learning. Your support is truly helping our students' voices shine!","fullyFundedDate":1753871367083,"projectUrl":"project/play-with-purpose-boosting-speech-throu/9511689/","projectTitle":"Play With Purpose: Boosting Speech Through Fun","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ripley","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10099094"},{"teacherId":10092705,"projectId":9506851,"letterContent":"I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your generous support! When I first began teaching TK at Carmen Dragon, there were few classroom materials that supported young students, especially those with diagnosed and undiagnosed special needs. Many students in the classroom have demonstrated an increased need for tools to assist with focus and self-regulation. The classroom materials I was able to purchase have helped with the following:\r\n\r\n-tactile stimulation for fidgety hands\r\n-seating that increases an awareness of physical boundaries\r\n-seating that provides the ability to wiggle and feel more grounded\r\n-sensory play to help students to relax and soothe themselves\r\n-gross motor sensory experiences for big wiggles!!!\r\n\r\nThe students in TK are quickly learning how to regulate their bodies and feelings. We have created a calm area in the classroom where students have access to the silencing headphones if they need some quiet moments. In that area, they also have access to the weighted blanket, fidget toys and liquid timers. They are learning that this area can help them think about what their body needs in order to be ready to return to an activity or to playing with others. Although this area is for one student at a time, there are other spaces in the room that students can go to with a fidget, headphones, weighted blanket or timer to calm down and focus on their own needs. \r\n\r\nOne additional experience I wanted to share occured on our first rainy day of the school year. We were unable to go outside and I knew that the students were going to need some BIG movement in order to get through the day. I created an obstacle course indoors and set up the sensory tunnel that had been purchased with your generous donations! It was a big hit and the students had a blast! Unlike regular tunnels, this one was very spacious and sturdy. It also had lots of colorful ribbons hanging down that felt exciting and surprising. I was able to get a few photos of the students coming through the tunnel that I hope you will enjoy:)\r\n\r\nMy hope is that by the end of the school year, the TK students will have learned 1) that they have the power to calm themselves with the use of tools, 2) that it is normal to feel over stimulated and it is always okay to ask for a break, and 3) that Carmen Dragon Elementary is an inclusive place where teachers care about students' individual needs.\r\n\r\nThe materials purchased with your support have been instrumental in meeting the needs of all students in the classroom. Thank you again for your generous contribution!","fullyFundedDate":1753932415016,"projectUrl":"project/support-sensory-stimulation-for-tk/9506851/","projectTitle":"Support Sensory Stimulation for TK!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Zarcone","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10092705"},{"teacherId":9705156,"projectId":8699935,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your incredible generosity in providing us with these new books! These texts have not only enriched our classroom academically but also helped us build a stronger sense of community and cultural understanding. Many of the books reflect diverse cultures and perspectives, which has sparked meaningful conversations about identity, belonging, and shared experiences. They've allowed us to celebrate our unique backgrounds while finding common ground through storytelling.\r\n\r\nReading in our classroom has become an engaging and inclusive activity. Whether we are analyzing themes, discussing characters' journeys, or connecting the stories to our own lives, these books have brought us closer together. They've opened the door for students to share personal stories, celebrate their heritage, and learn about the experiences of others in a safe and supportive environment.\r\n\r\nOne student, whose culture was beautifully represented in one of the books, shared how proud they felt to see their traditions reflected in the classroom. Another student, who initially struggled to connect with reading, found a love for stories that explore cultural journeys, sparking new enthusiasm for reading. Watching these moments unfold has been nothing short of inspiring.\r\n\r\nThanks to your support, our classroom has become a space where students grow as readers and as empathetic and culturally aware individuals. We are deeply grateful for your contributions and their lasting impact on our students and community.","fullyFundedDate":1726617516046,"projectUrl":"project/english-learner-classroom-library/8699935/","projectTitle":"English-Learner Classroom-Library","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ghaus","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9705156"},{"teacherId":9770499,"projectId":8809057,"letterContent":"When students find stories with character in them that look like them or have similar interests, they get very excited! My students were thrilled to read these stories because they could see themselves within the pages. They could connect with the story and may even have felt seen and special. \r\n\r\nChildren learn and grow through reading and being read stories. There is a message in every book and that message can change depending on the person enjoying the story. When students read about other cultures that are different than theirs, they can learn that it is okay to be different. They may grow to have an open mind. I believe that by having these books in circulation in our library students will continue their journey in understanding the world and people around them. Having the most information possible is the best way to form an opinion and I hope these stories will aid students in forming theirs.","fullyFundedDate":1727291323962,"projectUrl":"project/celebrating-hispanic-heritage/8809057/","projectTitle":"Celebrating Hispanic Heritage","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Amigo","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9770499"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_25520","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":446,"numTeachers":22,"percentFrplEligible":83,"percentAsian":14,"percentBlack":32,"percentWhite":10,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":35,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 6","studentTeacherRatio":"20.3:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":76.7,"schoolId":25520,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Carmen Dragon Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Carmen Dragon Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/california/antioch-unified-school-district/carmen-dragon-elementary-school/25520"}