{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Helen B Stafford Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":16.0,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10249121,"projectId":9862500,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generosity in supporting our 2nd grade classrooms! When the art materials arrived, the 2nd graders were absolutely thrilled. Their faces lit up as they explored the new supplies, and they couldn't wait to start creating.\r\n\r\nThanks to you, my students now have the opportunity to express themselves through art while building confidence and creativity. These materials have brought new energy and joy into our 2nd grade classrooms and have made art enrichment an exciting part of our learning day.\r\n\r\nWe are deeply grateful for your kindness and for believing in our students. Thank you for helping make meaningful, joyful learning experiences possible for our young artists!","fullyFundedDate":1762359489045,"projectUrl":"project/art-enrichment-in-2nd-grade/9862500/","projectTitle":"Art Enrichment in 2nd Grade","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Hunter","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10249121"},{"teacherId":7942071,"projectId":9756880,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting the efforts of our social-emotional learning and development in first grade. With these meaningful mentor texts, students will be able to explore strong themes surrounding character such as empathy, responsibility, kindness, and other traits and will support positive character development. Students will be able to relate to characters and themes in the stories and will build empathy across diverse life experiences. \r\n\r\nStudents will learn with the mentor texts in a whole group setting first and can also revisit these texts during their independent reading time so that the skills can spiral and the learning is continuous throughout the school year. \r\n\r\nAll students are enjoying these stories as they get to relate to characters and identify personal connections to various themes and experiences that will build empathy and positive social-emotional skills and strategies.","fullyFundedDate":1768774884396,"projectUrl":"project/building-strong-characters-scholars/9756880/","projectTitle":"Building Strong Characters & Scholars!","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Vo","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-6_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7942071"},{"teacherId":7975661,"projectId":8496148,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your contribution to our Ready Reader's Project! This project was a labor of love and thanks to you I was able to create a warm and welcoming reading area for our students.\r\n The students love to turn the lights off and lounge on the comfy pillows while reading their new stories! Reading has been so much more enjoyable since giving them a space to use. They love the lights donated that don't overwhelm their eyes while reading and throughout the day ask to turn them on! We love love our new space!! \r\n Thank you again!","fullyFundedDate":1729529311334,"projectUrl":"project/mendenhalls-ready-readers/8496148/","projectTitle":"Mendenhall’s Ready Readers","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Mendenhall","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7975661_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1650154407087","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7975661"},{"teacherId":7942071,"projectId":9861894,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous contributions to our classroom community. Students have been able to utilize clay and other art materials to create characters with specific traits as part of our science and ELA units that focus on character traits, animal traits, as well as plant characteristics. Students were so excited when they saw the various mediums they could use to create and explore with. As students were creating their various characters, students expressed extreme amounts of joy and multiple students even said \"I am so happy we get to use clay to do this!\". \r\n\r\nAs we move forward with instruction, students will also get to explore the seven elements of art to deepen their techniques and methods when creating their art pieces. This not only builds art skills, but also deepens content learning as students hone-in on key details and attributes. It is so great that students have access to these enriching materials to accompany their learning! Thank you donors for supporting our efforts of being an arts-infused school.","fullyFundedDate":1763340383161,"projectUrl":"project/art-enrichment-in-first-grade/9861894/","projectTitle":"Art Enrichment in First Grade!","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Vo","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-6_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7942071"},{"teacherId":7331038,"projectId":9788502,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous donation. My students were so excited to receive the hats for the Dia de Los Muertos celebration. They had a lot of fun performing.\r\n\r\nI wish you could have seen their excitement when they were up on-stage dancing. Thanks to generous donors like you I have been able to add more dancers to my program. Everyday students are asking me if they can be a part of my dance group. \r\n\r\nI am truly thankful for your generosity and providing me the opportunity to teach dance to these incredible students.","fullyFundedDate":1760216710605,"projectUrl":"project/creative-dancers/9788502/","projectTitle":"Creative Dancers","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Nixon","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7331038_orig.jpg?crop=643,643,x0,y531&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1691623412784","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-nixon-stafford"},{"teacherId":10249121,"projectId":9699333,"letterContent":"My 2nd grade students are diving into hands-on STEAM challenges that are transforming the way they learn. With the materials provided through DonorsChoose support, they are experimenting, building, problem‑solving, and discovering new ideas every day. These activities are helping them see themselves as scientists and engineers in real time—curious, creative, and excited to learn.\r\nWhen we opened the new STEM materials, the classroom absolutely lit up. Students were buzzing with excitement, asking questions, exploring every item, and imagining what they could build. Their enthusiasm was immediate and contagious. That moment set the tone for the learning happening now—joyful, energized, and full of possibility.\r\nIn our classroom, students are working together to test solutions, make adjustments, and try again. They are learning that mistakes are part of the process and that perseverance leads to breakthroughs. Each STEAM activity is giving them the chance to explore, question, and understand the world around them in meaningful, concrete ways.\r\nYour generosity is making an immediate difference. Because of you, students are gaining confidence, collaborating with their peers, and developing skills that will shape their future. You are helping them build, investigate, and imagine possibilities they never knew existed—and it's happening right now, every single day in our classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1766085196371,"projectUrl":"project/steam-activities/9699333/","projectTitle":"STEAM Activities","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Hunter","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10249121"},{"teacherId":3845707,"projectId":9845330,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our Building 2nd Grade Math Thinkers With Hands-On Learning. Because of your generosity, my second graders now have access to materials that help them truly understand how numbers work, not just memorize steps. When the kit arrived, students were so excited to open it and explore the materials; touching, sorting, and immediately trying out the tools like real mathematicians.\r\nWe now use these resources during small-group instruction, where students get hands-on practice building, breaking apart, and regrouping numbers. Some children are learning how tens and ones fit together, while others are developing more efficient strategies for solving larger problems. The manipulatives make abstract ideas visible, and students are eager to share their thinking, explain their strategies, and learn from one another.\r\nYour generosity is helping my students build confidence and deep mathematical understanding. Because of you, they are not just finding answers—they are learning how to reason, model, and truly understand numbers. Thank you for making this powerful learning possible for our classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1761100111725,"projectUrl":"project/building-2nd-grade-math-thinkers-with-ha/9845330/","projectTitle":"Building 2nd Grade Math Thinkers With Hands-On Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lyon","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3845707_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1530376054353","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3845707"},{"teacherId":7331038,"projectId":9630603,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generosity. It took a while for the dresses to arrive because they were custom order. The dresses are beautiful and well worth the wait. \r\n\r\nMy students are absolutely excited about wearing them at the next performance on Cinco de Mayo. They absolutely love dance and when they saw the dresses they were excited to have the opportunity to wear these dresses. \r\n\r\nBecause of your generosity I am able to open up the opportunity to participate in dance performances to more students.","fullyFundedDate":1756387045569,"projectUrl":"project/supporting-the-art-of-folklorico-dancing/9630603/","projectTitle":"Supporting the Art of Folklorico Dancing","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Nixon","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7331038_orig.jpg?crop=643,643,x0,y531&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1691623412784","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-nixon-stafford"},{"teacherId":7331038,"projectId":9431826,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generosity. It took a while for the dresses to arrive because they were custom order. The dresses are beautiful and well worth the wait. \r\n\r\nMy students are absolutely excited about wearing them at the next performance on Cinco de Mayo. They absolutely love dance and when they saw the dresses they were excited to have the opportunity to wear these dresses. \r\n\r\nBecause of your generosity I am able to open up the opportunity to participate in dance performances to more students.","fullyFundedDate":1756387064496,"projectUrl":"project/supporting-the-art-of-folklorico/9431826/","projectTitle":"Supporting the Art of Folklorico","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Nixon","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7331038_orig.jpg?crop=643,643,x0,y531&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1691623412784","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-nixon-stafford"},{"teacherId":4249919,"projectId":9658008,"letterContent":"The kindergarten students LOVE these books! The books have tremendously impacted their understanding of the characteristics described in the curriculum. We could not have done it without your support! Students are learning social-emotional skills and are staying engaged in the lessons. These books are being shared across three kindergarten classrooms. The students have access to the books after they have been read aloud so they can practice retelling the story! The books also have diverse characters, so the students feel even more connected to the stories! \r\n\r\nThank you again!","fullyFundedDate":1756931817944,"projectUrl":"project/character-strong-book-library/9658008/","projectTitle":"Character Strong Book Library","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Beam","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp4249919_orig.jpg?crop=827,827,x0,y162&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1648832732290","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4249919"},{"teacherId":1066587,"projectId":9149932,"letterContent":"Thank you for making reading accessible and engaging for my blooming readers! These decodable books help students practice decoding with a limited set of letters. This ensures that students are not having to try to read words that include letter sounds that they haven't yet learned. Without these book sets, we had to wait until much later in the year until students could start accessing engaging text. Now, students can start to apply reading skills with only the letters they've been taught. My emerging readers are exited to engage with the text - they LOVE these books!\r\n\r\nThank you!","fullyFundedDate":1751901169006,"projectUrl":"project/help-us-learn-to-read/9149932/","projectTitle":"Help Us Learn to Read!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Farley","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp1066587_orig.png?crop=981,982,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1662568289316","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-hoane"},{"teacherId":7975661,"projectId":9439770,"letterContent":"My students are loving their new reading area. During reading rotations, they've been using the new books, comfy pillows, and colorful rug to curl up and enjoy their stories. It has created a cozy and inviting space that helps them stay focused and excited about reading.\r\n\r\nThe students were so excited! As soon as they saw the new books and the cozy reading space, they were smiling, pointing things out to each other, and asking when they could start using everything. They couldn't wait to sit on the pillows and explore the books.\r\n\r\nNext, we'll continue to use the new reading space during literacy rotations to help build reading stamina, fluency, and comprehension. Students will also begin book talks, where they can share their favorite stories with classmates using the new books. This space will continue to support their growth as confident and enthusiastic readers.","fullyFundedDate":1756387069883,"projectUrl":"project/lifelong-readers/9439770/","projectTitle":"Lifelong Readers","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Mendenhall","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7975661_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1650154407087","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7975661"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_32278","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":453,"numTeachers":31,"percentFrplEligible":95,"percentAsian":21,"percentBlack":15,"percentWhite":16,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":25,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"14.6:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_MIDSIZE"},"inStateSupporters":84.0,"schoolId":32278,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Helen B Stafford Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Helen B Stafford Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/washington/tacoma-public-schools/hellen-stafford-elementary-school/32278"}