Rusk Elementary School in El Paso, Texas on DonorsChoose

{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Rusk Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":46.4,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":7968237,"projectId":8722256,"letterContent":"I would like to take this time to update you on the impact your donations to my project have made. Since the funding of this project all students have been awarded and/or gifted new books. \r\n\r\nDuring the holidays all students received a book as a gift. In the middle of the year students were gifted multiple books to reward them for reaching a annual goal/objective or were rewarded by making progress in core classes reflected on the report card.\r\n\r\nThe gift of books project has brought so much joy and smiles to my students faces while also encouraging further development of basic reading skills. Parents have also shown much appreciation for the opportunity to share and read new books with their children at home<3\r\n\r\nI couldn't do this without you.. thank you so much for your support of my classroom and our project.","fullyFundedDate":1734034740469,"projectUrl":"project/books-as-gifts/8722256/","projectTitle":"Books as Gifts","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ramirez","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7968237_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1646451163907","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7968237"},{"teacherId":6955040,"projectId":9084847,"letterContent":"Our Students were so excited to know that they were getting a donation consisting of and edible piece to their academic day! I wish you could of heard the chorus of oohs and aahs. After a day of testing the students were able to enjoy the snacks that were sent to them. \r\n\r\nSome of our students stay after school for extracurricular activities. Therefore the small yet big reward was a treat to their day. \r\n\r\nThe white boards as well as the accented colored dry erase markers was a delight. Most students began to practice their handwriting abilities with the different colored markers. \r\n\r\nThank YOU so very much for the kindness of your abilities and heart in helping me out to allow extrinsic tokens of their academic day.","fullyFundedDate":1738174261301,"projectUrl":"project/student-basic-needs/9084847/","projectTitle":"Student Basic Needs","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Beltrán","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6955040_orig.jpg?crop=1117,1117,x0,y372&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1736354993123","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/beltransandra"},{"teacherId":6955040,"projectId":8787653,"letterContent":"I'm extremely grateful for the donation. My students expressed their gratitude with onomatopoeia. Their \"ooohs\" and \"ahhs\" were a delight to my ears. When they were given their glittery scented pens to use in their writings some students said \"I can't wait to start using my pens, our writings will get everyone's attention; when they pass by our bulletin board full of writings. \r\n\r\nThe tangible sensory gadgets were a hit today as they were testing and throughout their learning day. I noticed students focusing on their test while they had their sensory gadget in hand. I feel there were less attempts to get another peers attention for distraction. They were truly focused. \r\n\r\nI can't emphasize it enough how appreciative I am for your humbling donation. Students couldn't understand why YOU donated these items to them. Yet, each of them expressed their happiness and gratitude!","fullyFundedDate":1735936784058,"projectUrl":"project/learning-through-sensory-items/8787653/","projectTitle":"Learning Through Sensory Items","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Beltrán","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6955040_orig.jpg?crop=1117,1117,x0,y372&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1736354993123","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/beltransandra"},{"teacherId":6813671,"projectId":8530235,"letterContent":"The students were on the science lab learning about the history of chess. When I walked in with the boxes. They were all asking \"What are those boxes\"? I Informed the students that we had received some special donations. As every chess board was pulled out from the box, there was excitement. They asked \"Are those chess boards for us?\", \"Can we use them\"? \"I want to start playing chess.\" \r\nThe chess club meetings are every Wednesday from 3:45 - 4:25. It has now been a couple of meetings and finally the students dreams came true. They are finally using the chessboard. They started using certain pieces of the chessboards to learn how they are moved. Now, they are already using all the pieces. Soon there will be a class competition. \r\nLike I said before \"Let the competition begin\". \r\n\r\nThank you.","fullyFundedDate":1726728334062,"projectUrl":"project/let-the-competition-begin-chess-time/8530235/","projectTitle":"Let the Competition Begin! Chess Time.","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Salas","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-6_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6813671"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_17930","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":221,"numTeachers":22,"percentFrplEligible":77,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":3,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":96,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"10.0:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":53.6,"schoolId":17930,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Rusk Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Rusk Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/texas/el-paso-independent-school-district/rusk-elementary-school/17930"}

About this school

Rusk Elementary School is an urban public school in El Paso, Texas that is part of El Paso Independent School District. It serves 221 students in grades Pre-K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 10.0:1. Its teachers have had 33 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Title 1

Grades Pre-K - 5

221 Students

22 Teachers

3601 N Copia St

El Paso, TX 79930 View local requests

http://rusk.episd.org

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

Rusk Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

Ms. Salas

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. Each classroom request for funding was created by a classroom teacher and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

See how DonorsChoose works

Rusk Elementary School Demographics

77%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

96%

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.

Rusk Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 5, 2025

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education.