Oakley Middle School in Oakley, Kansas on DonorsChoose

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Several students literally gasped (middle-schoolers don't gasp often!), and a couple cheered because \"now we don't have to squint from the back row anymore.\" They immediately wanted to write on it, test out the markers, and claim space for their upcoming group projects. The enthusiasm was instant and genuine — they could tell this was something meant to make their work feel important and visible.\r\n\r\nAs for what's next, our classes are diving deeper into summarizing informational text and narrative writing craft, and the new whiteboard is going to be front and center. Students will use it to storyboard their personal narratives, compare example summaries, and collaboratively build anchor charts that will stay up throughout the unit. Your support didn't just add a tool to our classroom — it expanded what we're able to do together. Thank you for investing in our readers and writers. They feel it, I feel it, and we are all truly grateful.","fullyFundedDate":1754362005609,"projectUrl":"project/help-us-think-big-on-a-bigger-board/9485548/","projectTitle":"Help Us Think Big on a Bigger Board!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Janzen","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10087043"},{"teacherId":10191390,"projectId":9633383,"letterContent":"I want to share a sincere thank you to all of you that gave to my Donors Choose project. When I first found out about the large class of 41 7th & 8th graders, I was terribly overwhelmed. It seemed impossible that we could ever have meaningful art class experiences with such a crowded room. \r\n\r\nWhen I heard about Donors Choose, I was skeptical that I could draw people's attention to my cause. But I went ahead and found items that would greatly benefit my art students. I was excited to find the various stools that would allow each student to have a seat off of the floor. And the large clipboards looked like they would work great as well. I published the project and shared it with friends and family. And I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the donations came in. From former students, parents, grandparents, friends, and even strangers. I felt a new kind of overwhelmed by the generosity.\r\n\r\nThe students were excited to hear that the new stools and clipboards were on their way. They arrived in about a week and a half. It was fun unboxing everything and finishing assembly of the large stools. When the big class came in and saw the new arrivals, they were very happy to finally each have a seat. The tall stools work great at the higher tables. And the stacking stools are perfect for the small space because they are lightweight and easy to move around. And then they stack perfectly out of the way for the rest of my day with smaller class sizes. It has been such a blessing to receive these donations to provide seating. And the clipboards are being used by more than just my 7th & 8th graders and that is fun to see.","fullyFundedDate":1756768302548,"projectUrl":"project/stools-drawing-boards-for-art-class/9633383/","projectTitle":"Stools & Drawing Boards for Art Class","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Larshus","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10191390_orig.png?crop=561,561,x24,y2&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1755807158119","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10191390"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_57052","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":135,"numTeachers":9,"percentFrplEligible":53,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":92,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":4,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"5 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"15.0:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"RURAL","ncesMetroType":"RURAL_REMOTE"},"inStateSupporters":66.7,"schoolId":57052,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Oakley Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Oakley Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/kansas/oakley-unified-school-district-274/oakley-middle-school/57052"}

About this school

Oakley Middle School is a rural public school in Oakley, Kansas that is part of Oakley Unified School District 274. It serves 135 students in grades 5 - 8 with a student/teacher ratio of 15.0:1. Its teachers have had 3 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Title 1

Grades 5 - 8

135 Students

9 Teachers

611 Center Ave

Oakley, KS 67748 View local requests

http://www.oakleyschoolsks.com

Evidence-based impact

Inspire teachers to stay in the classroom and boost student achievement.¹

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

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

Oakley Middle School Teachers on DonorsChoose

Mrs. Janzen

Mrs. Larshus

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Oakley Middle School Demographics

53%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

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.

Oakley Middle School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 5, 2025

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