Harding University School in Santa Barbara, California on DonorsChoose

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They've been learning to read note names on the staff, and having the opportunity to immediately apply that knowledge by playing it on the piano has been both empowering and motivating for them. To many of our students, learning to play the piano feels \"really cool\" — and it has sparked a new level of engagement and curiosity in the music room.\r\n\r\nThe headphones and headphone splitters have added another wonderful dimension to their learning. The headphones allow each student to focus and play independently, while the splitters have opened the door to collaboration. I've watched students sit side-by-side, working together to compose simple melodies and songs, supporting and inspiring one another in the process. It's been incredible to see their creativity and confidence grow.\r\n\r\nThis piano unit has truly enriched not only their musical skills but also our entire school music program. Thank you again for making this possible. Your generosity has helped create joyful, meaningful learning experiences that our students will carry with them for years to come.","fullyFundedDate":1734214938977,"projectUrl":"project/learning-key-music-foundations-by-play/8964741/","projectTitle":"Learning \"Key\" Music Foundations by Playing Piano","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Corrigan","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9646465"},{"teacherId":6824836,"projectId":8663797,"letterContent":"Thank you for your donation! Students are EXCITED about cursive. The whiteboards provide a fun and reusable practice space. Cursive practice improves students hand strength and fine motor skills, along with teaching them how to write in cursive! Cursive is being brought back into our 3rd grade curriculum and these boards have been a great support. Students in 3rd grade classrooms are using the boards in small group, along with students in grades 3-6th grade with our reading teacher. We appreciate your generous donation!","fullyFundedDate":1731023877722,"projectUrl":"project/empowering-young-writers-with-cursive-u/8663797/","projectTitle":"Empowering Young Writers with Cursive: Unlocking the Art of Handwriting","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Burkett","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6824836_orig.png?crop=312,312,x0,y83&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1723749399124","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6824836"},{"teacherId":9646465,"projectId":8666551,"letterContent":"\"Feelings come and feelings go, I never know what they'll be. Silly or angry, happy or sad, they're all a part of me.\" This is the text from the last page of the book \"The Way I Feel,\" by Janan Cain. It's also the words to the song that we sing along to this book. In music class, we don't just get to read books, we get to experience the joy of the story through adding music! For some books, like \"The Way I Feel,\" we add a song to sing along that includes text from the book. For this book, we also utilize the book as a Social-Emotional Learning activity. Students are able to identify emotions through the words on the page, the pictures across the page, and the song that we sing. We also learn musical concepts, such as form, melody, and chorus. Not to mention reading books and adding music is a ton of fun!\r\n\r\nFor other books, like \"Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!\" by Candace Fleming, we get to incorporate a huge variety of music making into the story. Not only do we add in a song, we also get to explore the timbres of various percussion instruments that we associate with each of the various actions the rabbits take trying to reach the vegetables in Mr. McGreely's garden. Students are able to review rhythmic patterns of each of the onomatopoeia words in the book. Students are also able to learn cumulative form, as the bunnies add on a new action every night they sneak into the garden.\r\n\r\nMusic and literacy are so connected, and with these new books, we are able to form even more interdisciplinary connections in music class.","fullyFundedDate":1724970004341,"projectUrl":"project/music-is-language-too/8666551/","projectTitle":"Music is Language, too!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Corrigan","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9646465"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_40003","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":378,"numTeachers":17,"percentFrplEligible":79,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":13,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":82,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 6","studentTeacherRatio":"22.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_SMALL"},"inStateSupporters":65.6,"schoolId":40003,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Harding University School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Harding University School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/california/santa-barbara-unified-school-district/harding-elementary-school/40003"}

About this school

Harding University School is an urban public school in Santa Barbara, California that is part of Santa Barbara Unified School District. It serves 378 students in grades Pre-K - 6 with a student/teacher ratio of 22.2:1. Its teachers have had 51 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Title 1

Grades Pre-K - 6

378 Students

17 Teachers

1625 Robbins St

Santa Barbara, CA 93101 View local requests

http://www.sbunified.org

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Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

Harding University School Teachers on DonorsChoose

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Harding University School Demographics

79%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

82%

of students are Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian

Schools in districts that mainly serve students of color receive substantially less state and local support than similar districts that serve primarily White students. Learn more about this gap, why it exists, and how you can help close it.

Harding University School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Jan 13, 2026

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