{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"J.D. Smith Middle School","outOfStateSupporters":72.9,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9360526,"projectId":10573041,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your incredible generosity and for supporting our classroom! Because of your help, our project \"Make Math Fun and Interactive\" is now a reality, and my students are already reaping the benefits.\r\nThe new games and hands-on supplies have completely transformed how math looks and feels in our room. Instead of just working through worksheets, my students are actively collaborating, problem-solving, and engaging with math concepts in a visual, hands-on way. Concepts that used to feel intimidating or abstract are now approachable and fun.\r\nThe best part of my day is watching students who used to say \"I'm not good at math\" light up when they work through a game with their classmates. Seeing their confidence grow as they discover that math can actually be enjoyable is truly priceless.\r\nYour support does so much more than just provide supplies—it lets my students know that there is a whole community of people out there invested in their learning and success. Thank you for making a lasting impact on our classroom!","fullyFundedDate":1788615243969,"projectUrl":"project/make-math-fun-and-interactive/10573041/","projectTitle":"Make Math Fun and Interactive","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Walters","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-4_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9360526"},{"teacherId":2695294,"projectId":10484909,"letterContent":"I am deeply grateful for your generous support of our project, \"Earn it, Own it!\" Thanks to all of the generous donors, our students have gained access to materials that have revitalized our daily and weekly goals. These resources have enabled our entire school to utilize positive incentives to reward students. The immediate impact on our students' enthusiasm and achievement has been wonderful to witness. Students being encouraged to make good choices is fabulous. Thank you for investing in our school and empowering our young learners!","fullyFundedDate":1792024311474,"projectUrl":"project/earn-it-own-it/10484909/","projectTitle":"Earn it, Own it!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Feasel","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp2695294_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1455076529104","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/meghan-feasel"},{"teacherId":10398496,"projectId":10572750,"letterContent":"My students have been very excited to use the new materials in our classroom. As a Special Education Resource Math teacher, I work with students who learn best when they can see, hear, and practice new skills in different ways. The laptop screen extender has been helpful because I can show examples, directions, and visual supports while still having other information available on my computer. The printer also allows me to quickly make materials that meet the different needs of my students.\r\n\r\nThese materials have also helped increase student engagement. My students are able to move around the classroom, work with partners, use whiteboards, and share their answers. The dry erase markers and erasers are especially helpful during math because students can practice, make mistakes, and try again. These activities also give students more chances to practice skills connected to their IEP goals.\r\n\r\nI am very thankful to the donors who made this project possible. These materials give me more ways to support my students and make learning more active and enjoyable. Most importantly, they help my students feel more comfortable participating, sharing their ideas, and building confidence in their math skills.","fullyFundedDate":1788521682328,"projectUrl":"project/empowering-every-learner-tools-for-indi/10572750/","projectTitle":"Empowering Every Learner: Tools for Individualized Success","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Apilado","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10398496"},{"teacherId":2695294,"projectId":10596498,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support of our project, \"Keep the Calm.\" When the package arrived and my students were excited to choose tools and learn how to use them. They immediately felt recognized and supported in our classroom.\r\n\r\nThese new materials have already made a profound difference in our school routine. We use them daily to help students self-regulate, take proactive breaks, and re-center their focus when feeling overwhelmed. Students know they can come to us for a break and we will guide them in coping and give them the tools.\r\n\r\nAs we move forward this school year, these resources will remain an essential part of our socio-emotional learning framework, helping my students build lifelong emotional resilience and focus. Thank you for opening your hearts to our school!","fullyFundedDate":1788768096012,"projectUrl":"project/keep-the-calm/10596498/","projectTitle":"Keep the Calm","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Feasel","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp2695294_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1455076529104","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/meghan-feasel"},{"teacherId":6262958,"projectId":10001898,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for the donations to help students get their glaze on with Ceramics. Students love to create things with Clay and in our Ceramics class that's all they do! Using different kinds of glazing methods and techniques help the students learn about different surface decorations for Ceramics. \r\nAs an Art Teacher, it is wonderful to use your donations to help bring different kinds of materials into my art students' hands. It allows them to be creative and experiment, taking risks in their art that normally they wouldn't be allowed to in a regular classroom where there could possibly be constraints on materials available. With the funding provided, I was able to share with them more opportunities.","fullyFundedDate":1768170828706,"projectUrl":"project/students-get-their-glaze-on/10001898/","projectTitle":"Students Get Their Glaze On!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Alpha Nash","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6262958_orig.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1550076281689","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6262958"},{"teacherId":305198,"projectId":10425190,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generous donation, our mariachi classroom now has a 3D printer, and it has quickly become one of the most hands-on learning tools we own. Students are using it to design and print practical accessories for their instruments — things like violin shoulder rest clips, guitar pick holders, capo guides, and small repair parts that used to mean a trip to a music store or, more often, just going without. For families who mostly know 3D printers as a novelty gadget, it helps to understand what it means in a music classroom: students aren't just watching a machine make plastic shapes, they're learning to measure their own instruments, design a part that has to fit precisely, test it, and redesign it when it doesn't work the first time. That's engineering, math, and music all happening in the same project.\r\n\r\nWhat's most exciting to students is watching something they designed on a screen turn into a real object they can hold, attach to their instrument, and actually use that same day. There's a genuine sense of ownership in that — this isn't a worksheet, it's a tool they built for their own violin or guitar. Several students who are naturally more drawn to building and tinkering than to music theory have found a new way into the classroom through this printer; kids who used to sit quietly through lecture time now ask to stay after class to fine-tune a design or print a part for a classmate's broken instrument. It's given students who see themselves as \"not musical\" a real, visible way to contribute to the ensemble, and that has changed how they show up in rehearsal.","fullyFundedDate":1786541717024,"projectUrl":"project/printing-the-tools-for-musical-success/10425190/","projectTitle":"Printing the Tools for Musical Success","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Gonzales","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp305198_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1472427957301","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/daniel-gonzales"},{"teacherId":305198,"projectId":10491546,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generous donation, Mariachi Los Bravos and Mariachi Los Bravitos now perform with Bose wireless transmitters, and the difference on stage has been immediate. Before this grant, our singers and soloists were tied to stationary microphones and tangled cables, which meant they couldn't move during a performance — no walking to the front during a violin or trumpet solo, no turning to connect with a fellow performer, no stepping into the audience during a crowd favorite. Mariachi is a tradition built on movement and connection with the crowd, and our students were performing it standing still. That's a hard thing to ask of middle schoolers who've watched real mariachi ensembles move freely across a stage.\r\n\r\nFor families who mostly think of \"technology\" in terms of phones and laptops at home, it helps to know this equipment changes what's actually possible during a school concert. A wireless system means a student singing a solo can walk downstage, make eye contact with the audience, and own the moment the way professional performers do, instead of standing anchored to a mic stand with a cord underfoot. That freedom translates directly into confidence: students who used to whisper through a solo because they were nervous and stuck in place are now stepping forward and performing like they mean it.\r\n\r\nWhat's most exciting to students is simple — they finally look and feel like the mariachi groups they admire. Several of our more reserved performers, the ones who used to hang back near the mic stand, have started moving during their features for the first time, cueing each other, walking toward the audience, genuinely enjoying being watched instead of dreading it. That shift, from standing still to performing with presence, is exactly what this grant made possible, and it's something our students will carry with them long after this school year ends.","fullyFundedDate":1787320652027,"projectUrl":"project/wireless-freedom-bringing-our-mariachi/10491546/","projectTitle":"Wireless Freedom: Bringing Our Mariachi Performances to Life","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Gonzales","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp305198_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1472427957301","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/daniel-gonzales"},{"teacherId":8130646,"projectId":10011279,"letterContent":"Thanks to the generous donations from our supporters, our students have had several performance opportunities to use our new mic stands. We recently did a performance for a school district kick-off event and needed to provide our own sound equipment. Our new stands came in very handy and the students looked and felt like professionals on stage. \r\n\r\nLooking to the future, our school concerts now are better equipped to handle more mics for our 300+ student program. Our students will continue to provide the highest level of performance and professionalism that can be expected.","fullyFundedDate":1768340000761,"projectUrl":"project/owning-the-stage/10011279/","projectTitle":"Owning the Stage","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Garibay","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8130646_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1634189835834","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/maestro-garibay"},{"teacherId":6827704,"projectId":10014525,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support of my DonorsChoose project, “Just One More Chapter!” Your kindness is helping create a warm, inviting space where students can relax, read, and discover the joy of getting lost in a good book.\r\n\r\nThe kids and our school community absolutely love it—and we are already seeing the benefits! Your generosity is making a meaningful difference in our library and, most importantly, in the lives of our students.\r\n\r\nThank you for helping us inspire just one more chapter, one more reader, and one more love of books!","fullyFundedDate":1779441221876,"projectUrl":"project/just-one-more-chapter/10014525/","projectTitle":"Just One More Chapter","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Slykerman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6827704"},{"teacherId":6433820,"projectId":10015678,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation for the badminton equipment for p.e. students at JD Smith Middle School. Your donation has allowed studenta in p.e. to be exposed to the sport of badminton. Badminton teaches the students hand eye coordination as well as helps students to develop their cardio fitness. \r\nStudents have definitely utilized the badminton equipments and play badminton at least once a week to work on their hand eye and coordination skills. Most all students that play badminton really like the sport . So again, thank you so much for purchasing the badminton equipment.","fullyFundedDate":1768526446319,"projectUrl":"project/developing-hand-and-eye-coordination-thr/10015678/","projectTitle":"Developing Hand and Eye Coordination Through Playing Badminton","teacherDisplayName":"Coach Murphy","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6433820"},{"teacherId":10108033,"projectId":9989038,"letterContent":"Providing these basic but crucial supplies was very impactful to students' engagement with the material. Paper and pencil can be very boring to engage with. The more dynamic the teaching, including with materials, the easier it is for students to participate and learn. We have used the materials several times for many lessons and I will continue to use the whiteboards for many years to come. The coordinate whiteboards especially are wonderful and should be standard issue for every classroom in Clark County.","fullyFundedDate":1768054498656,"projectUrl":"project/math-fun-with-whiteboards-and-lots-of-co/9989038/","projectTitle":"Math Fun With Whiteboards and Lots of Color","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Arroyo","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-7_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10108033"},{"teacherId":9120679,"projectId":10017775,"letterContent":"It has been exciting for all of us to learn how to use the 3D printer, especially because for many of my students, this is their first time ever seeing one in real life. The printer has brought a new kind of curiosity into our classroom as we learn how it works, troubleshoot problems, and celebrate successful prints together. Students are genuinely invested in the process, and they're learning that mistakes and adjustments are part of creating something real.\r\nEven though we haven't started printing our science models yet, we've already found meaningful ways to use it. We've printed small 3D characters for behavior recognition, and we've also printed game pieces and boards like chess for students who finish their work early. That has sparked deeper thinking about how games like chess can strengthen students' brains, and it has motivated students to stay focused and complete their assignments so they can earn a chance to print something. Thank you for making this new learning experience possible, we're excited to keep growing with it through the rest of the year.","fullyFundedDate":1768527551313,"projectUrl":"project/see-it-hold-it-learn-it-3d-printed-sc/10017775/","projectTitle":"See It, Hold It, Learn It: 3D Printed Science Models","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Vivas","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9120679"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_82944","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":1143,"numTeachers":47,"percentFrplEligible":95,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":9,"percentWhite":3,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":85,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":1,"gradesServed":"6 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"24.3:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":27.1,"schoolId":82944,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about J.D. Smith Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"J.D. Smith Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/nevada/clark-county-school-district/j-d-smith-middle-school/82944"}