{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Da Vinci Arts Middle School","outOfStateSupporters":11.7,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":1072790,"projectId":10560436,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for helping bring our classroom library project, \"Books They Can't Put Down: Building a Classroom of Lifelong Readers,\" to life! Your generosity has given my 7th grade students something incredibly valuable: more opportunities to find a book that makes them want to keep reading.\r\n\r\nMy students are curious, funny, thoughtful, opinionated, and wonderfully different from one another. That means there is no single kind of book that will appeal to everyone. One student may want mystery or adventure, while another wants fantasy, humor, realistic fiction, history, or a story that makes them stop and think. The new books you provided have expanded our classroom library in exactly the way I hoped they would—with more choices, more variety, and more chances for students to find a story that feels like it was meant for them.\r\n\r\nFor me, teaching reading is about much more than asking students to finish a certain number of pages or answer comprehension questions. When students read books they actually care about, they practice important skills almost without realizing it. They build vocabulary by encountering unfamiliar words in meaningful contexts. They strengthen comprehension as they follow characters, understand conflicts, make predictions, draw conclusions, and connect ideas across a story. They develop reading stamina by spending longer periods of time engaged with a text. Perhaps most importantly, they learn to think about experiences and perspectives that may be very different from their own.\r\n\r\nReading in my classroom includes time for students to choose books for themselves and read independently. I want my classroom to be a place where students can browse, pick up a book because the cover or title catches their attention, read a few pages, decide it isn't for them, and try another. That kind of choice matters. It helps students begin to see themselves as readers rather than simply as students completing a reading assignment.\r\n\r\nThe new books are especially meaningful for students who have not always considered themselves \"readers.\" Middle school students are very good at telling me, \"I don't like reading,\" but I have learned that sometimes what they really mean is, \"I haven't found the right book yet.\" A student who is reluctant to read a book chosen for the whole class may become completely absorbed in a book that connects with a personal interest, sense of humor, curiosity, or imagination. Having more high-interest choices makes those moments possible.\r\n\r\nI also love what happens when students discover a book they enjoy and immediately want to tell someone else about it. A student will recommend a book to a classmate, explain why they think someone would like it, or become excited when they notice that another student is reading the same story. Those conversations turn reading into a shared classroom experience rather than something students do in isolation.\r\n\r\nYour donation will continue to benefit not only this year's students but future classes of 7th graders as well. These books will be read, recommended, discussed, passed from one student to another, and hopefully become favorites for students I haven't even met yet.\r\n\r\nThank you for investing in my students as readers. You didn't simply give us books—you gave my students choice, curiosity, opportunities to grow, and the chance to discover the joy of getting completely lost in a good story. I am so grateful that you helped me build a classroom library filled with books my students can truly connect with—and, I hope, a few books they simply can't put down.","fullyFundedDate":1788157366628,"projectUrl":"project/books-they-cant-put-down-building-life/10560436/","projectTitle":"Books They Can’t Put Down: Building Lifelong Readers","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Wasson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1072790_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1473653052378","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/s-wasson"},{"teacherId":245422,"projectId":10133423,"letterContent":"This donation has made a huge difference to our textiles room! When the package arrived and we unloaded all of the mannequins, the kids were so excited to immediately start pinning things to them. \r\n\r\nRight after the mannequins arrived, students were creating cape pieces for a fashion show. Two of the three mannequins were used in for patterning, display, designing the decoration. Having these pieces helped bridge the learning between two- dimensional sewing and three-dimensional garments.\r\n\r\nAt the end of the year, we host a final art show for the eighth graders. The student created artwork was draped and displayed on the mannequins!! This lent an air professionalism lacking from previous years. Thank you so much for your generous donation. It made a huge difference for the textile art students this year, and will continue for years to come!","fullyFundedDate":1772997907857,"projectUrl":"project/mannequins-for-sewing-students/10133423/","projectTitle":"Mannequins for Sewing Students","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Bennett","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp245422_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1474931646737","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-nbennett"},{"teacherId":409519,"projectId":10244307,"letterContent":"Once again, I want to express my utmost appreciation for your donation to our class. While you may have forgotten it, our class certainly has not. As we packed up the room this last week, my students were so excited to restock our worn out supplies, toss dead markers, and refill the highlighters and colored pencils that were woefully lacking. They were able to see first-hand the wear and tear that 150 middle school students subject materials to, and were glad to be able to reset the room to a better state before they left.\r\n\r\nI know that \"August me\" will be excited all over again when I go to pull out the bins and see them fresh and ready to go for my next group of 8th graders. Getting to relive your generosity, I will think back fondly on all that you've done to help students you don't even know. Thank you for all of your support - now, and in the future.","fullyFundedDate":1778011755407,"projectUrl":"project/help-us-get-organized/10244307/","projectTitle":"Help Us Get Organized","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Young","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/megan-young"},{"teacherId":1072790,"projectId":10271802,"letterContent":"These supplies make a meaningful difference in our classroom every single day. Fine-tip Sharpies help students create polished, detailed artwork and presentations they feel proud to share. Glue sticks allow students to build interactive projects, add dimension to their work, and engage in hands-on learning activities. Duct tape is an invaluable organizational tool that helps us label materials, repair classroom items, organize supplies, and create systems that keep our classroom running smoothly. These simple but essential materials help foster creativity, independence, organization, and student pride in their work.\r\n\r\nThank you for your generous donations to our classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1778168900258,"projectUrl":"project/fresh-start-to-a-new-year/10271802/","projectTitle":"Fresh Start to a New Year","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Wasson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1072790_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1473653052378","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/s-wasson"},{"teacherId":245422,"projectId":8111218,"letterContent":"You made a huge difference to our textiles room and I can't believe how big! Having a vacuum is such a weird thing to be excited about but we create so many fibers and so much dust that we really needed this help!\r\n\r\nOur custodians do clean our room well but there are just so many messes that we create they can't always keep up and I can't always wear the huge industrial vacuum to clean them. Your donation has made us free of getting help from others for this problem and makes my job as a teacher so much easier. \r\n\r\nWe use the speaker daily- these days we are weaving while listening to audio books and the kids are benefiting from both of these activities. \r\nThank you so much. You are amazing and kind and wonderful!","fullyFundedDate":1704046697385,"projectUrl":"project/clean-and-cozy-textile-room/8111218/","projectTitle":"Clean and Cozy Textile Room","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Bennett","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp245422_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1474931646737","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-nbennett"},{"teacherId":409519,"projectId":9822190,"letterContent":"It seems like every week there is a new article in the news about the loss of literacy in our society. From children to adults, fewer people are able to read at a level of proficiency, and even fewer are choosing to read for enjoyment. We know that this loss has a negative impact on our society as a whole.\r\n\r\nWhile I cannot guarantee that everyone of my students leaves my class loving reading, what I can promise is that they are each exposed to a wide variety of reading options, conversations, and opportunities to grow as a reader - all things we know have a positive impact on life-long literacy. A huge part of what I can do in the classroom requires having materials that students are excited to try and can't wait to share with their friends.\r\n\r\nYour help and donations make that happen for our students. Thank you for providing them with the latest and greatest that get them reading and sharing in our community.","fullyFundedDate":1760730673542,"projectUrl":"project/a-great-shelf-refresh/9822190/","projectTitle":"A Great Shelf Refresh","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Young","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/megan-young"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_63689","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":429,"numTeachers":23,"percentFrplEligible":42,"percentAsian":1,"percentBlack":6,"percentWhite":59,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":12,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":12,"gradesServed":"6 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"18.7:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":88.3,"schoolId":63689,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Da Vinci Arts Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Da Vinci Arts Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/oregon/portland-public-schools/da-vinci-arts-middle-school/63689"}