Summit Tamalpais in San Pablo, California on DonorsChoose

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Your contribution makes a huge difference to my classroom and the lives/success of my students","fullyFundedDate":1742582779724,"projectUrl":"project/empowering-biology-students-with-essenti/9096598/","projectTitle":"Empowering Biology Students with Essential Tools for Success","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. O","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9907531_orig.png?crop=587,587,x173,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1742779287784","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9907531"},{"teacherId":9707460,"projectId":9590255,"letterContent":"In the words of my student, Victoria: By reading these books, we gain insight into the lives of unsung heroes. We get to learn about their lives, goals, aspirations, the injustices done against them, and the way they rose above them. And through this, we ourselves, as readers, can grow, using their stories to gain a deeper understanding of social justice and the injustices of the past. Reading in our classroom is mostly self-directed. After students receive their books, they are expected to read a bit at home, but are also granted time and encouraged to read at school! \r\nThe students are also required to complete assignments and answer questions regarding the book and their social change leader, such as summaries, identifying any literary devices and their meanings, and discussing the overall themes and messages of the book. At the end of the project, we are expected to develop an opening speech where we share everything that we learned and take a stance on whether the social change leader deserves national recognition in the form of a monument, and then engage in a Socratic Seminar with 4-5 of our peers, with the main topic being our chosen social change leaders: Who the person is and how they are a champion for social change? And does this person deserve a monument? Why or why not? We are expected to become an expert on our social change leader, ensuring that we are motivated to read our books.\r\nIn fact, when the day of our Socratic Seminar arrived, we were able to have deep, meaningful discussions about the lives of these chosen social change leaders, their impacts, and the legacy they left behind. For example, many students were able to draw similarities between their social change leaders, allowing for a thoughtful discussion on the injustices done to marginalized groups in the past. To put it simply, this is one of the few projects that our students seem to willingly throw themselves into and complete with vigor. \r\n\r\nHere are some appreciation quotes:\r\n\r\nKaleah: \"I enjoyed this project because it helped me uncover things about people I never even knew existed. I read about Ethel Waters, and she was overall a really cool person.\"\r\nMichael: \"Reading about Henrietta Lacks, about the injustices done to her and her family, helped open my eyes to more ways people of color were abused and exploited back then.\"\r\nAdrian: \"This project was my personal favorite. Learning about Elie Wiesel and his struggles during the holocaust changed my entire perspective on the idea that staying out of conflict affects nobody. Learning about Elie Wiesel taught me that staying on the sidelines still results in aiding oppressors. Changing somebody's perspective of the world is one of the most impactful things a project can do.\"","fullyFundedDate":1758857083543,"projectUrl":"project/ap-english-language-choose-your-champio/9590255/","projectTitle":"AP English Language: Choose Your Champion","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Smith","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9707460_orig.jpg?crop=407,407,x22,y167&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1758669840305","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9707460"},{"teacherId":9707460,"projectId":8836688,"letterContent":"My student Juliet has a message for you:\r\nHi guys, my name is Juliet and I am a student of Ms. Smith's AP English Language and Composition class as well as being apart of her mentor group. I am very grateful for all your donations because now we have more books and study materials for the AP English exam. These books are very helpful to me and my peers because without them I would probably not pass the exam. The new lights have also created a chill ambiance in the classroom to help us be productive and not slack off with the amount of work we have to do. I also very much appreciate the snacks which have been given to us. I have Ms. Smith's class before lunch meaning I'm usually hungry during class, so getting snacks for participating is very encouraging. Passing the AP English Exam is important to me because I do not want to take this class again in college. I want to study Cellular and Molecular Biology and I would like to be able to focus on that and other things related to science and not be super stressed out about other classes which I wouldn't have to take if I passed the exam. 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About this school

Summit Tamalpais is a public school in San Pablo, California that is part of Contra Costa County Office of Education. Its teachers have had 12 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Grades Not specified

# of students unavailable

# of teachers unavailable

3020 Hilltop Mall Road

San Pablo, CA 94806 View local requests

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

Summit Tamalpais Teachers on DonorsChoose

Ms. Abi

Ms. O

Ms. Saenz

Ms. Sanchez Alcantara

Ms. Smith

Mr. Umaña

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Summit Tamalpais Demographics

76%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

68%

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.

Summit Tamalpais Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 5, 2025

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