{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Susitna Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":50.7,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":2601309,"projectId":10628041,"letterContent":"Thank you very much for your generous support to the Susitna library through DonorsChoose. I was able to purchase books that will have a meaningful impact on our students and their learning.\r\n I am truly grateful that you chose to invest in our kindergarten through fifth grade students and their education. Your support reminds my students that there are people who believe in them and want to see them succeed.\r\nThank you for helping make our library a richer and more engaging place to learn. Your generosity will continue to make a difference every time a student opens one of these books. I let the children know there are people who believe in them and want them to have successful lives.","fullyFundedDate":1789600476587,"projectUrl":"project/what-are-we-going-to-read-next/10628041/","projectTitle":"What Are We Going to Read Next?","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Benfield","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2601309_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649397056812","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/a-benfield"},{"teacherId":2601309,"projectId":10212638,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation towards nonfiction books about fur and feathers! Your kindness has given our students much more than new books for our classroom library. You have provided opportunities for children to explore the natural world, ask questions, discover fascinating facts, and develop a deeper love of reading and learning.\r\n\r\nNonfiction books are incredibly valuable for children in grades K–5 because they help students understand that reading is not only a way to enjoy a story—it is also a way to learn about the world around them. Young readers are naturally curious. They want to know why animals have fur, how feathers help birds survive, what animals eat, where they live, how they communicate, and what makes each species unique. Books about fur and feathers allow students to follow that curiosity while practicing important literacy and science skills.\r\n\r\nFor our youngest students, nonfiction books provide an exciting introduction to informational reading. Children can look closely at photographs, illustrations, labels, captions, diagrams, and simple facts. They begin to understand that books can answer questions and provide information. As students move through the elementary grades, they become increasingly able to use nonfiction texts to locate specific information, identify important details, learn new vocabulary, compare animals, and explain what they have learned.\r\n\r\nThe impact of these books reaches far beyond reading instruction. Nonfiction encourages children to become observers and thinkers. When a student reads that an animal has a particular type of fur or feathers that helps it survive, that information can lead to another question: Why? That question can lead to research, discussion, writing, drawing, science investigations, and even conversations at home. A single nonfiction book can become the starting point for an entire learning experience.\r\n\r\nBooks about animals are especially engaging for elementary students because they connect academic learning to something many children already find fascinating. Animals give students a meaningful reason to read. A child who may be hesitant to pick up a book may eagerly choose a nonfiction book about a favorite animal. Once that child becomes interested, reading becomes purposeful. Students are motivated to decode unfamiliar words, use context clues, study photographs, reread passages, and share interesting facts with their classmates.\r\n\r\nThese books also help build vocabulary. Words connected to animals, habitats, body coverings, adaptations, environments, and behaviors can be new and challenging for young readers. Repeated exposure to these words in meaningful contexts helps students develop stronger language skills. They begin to use academic vocabulary when speaking and writing, giving them tools they can carry into other subjects.\r\n\r\nAnother important benefit is that nonfiction teaches children how to distinguish facts from opinions and how to gather information from a text. These are essential skills as students progress through school. By having accessible nonfiction books in the classroom, students can practice these skills in a way that feels interesting and relevant rather than simply completing an assignment.\r\n\r\nMost importantly, your donation helps create a classroom where students can see themselves as readers, researchers, scientists, and lifelong learners. The books you have provided will be picked up again and again—during independent reading, partner work, science lessons, research projects, and those wonderful moments when a child simply wants to learn something new.","fullyFundedDate":1787171190974,"projectUrl":"project/fur-feathers-feet-and-fantastic-books/10212638/","projectTitle":"Fur, Feathers, Feet and Fantastic Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Benfield","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2601309_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649397056812","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/a-benfield"},{"teacherId":2601309,"projectId":10182032,"letterContent":"Graphic novels provide a powerful bridge between visual storytelling and literacy, helping students build confidence, comprehension, and a genuine love of reading.\r\nGraphic novels support vocabulary development, inferencing skills, and sequential thinking, all while making reading feel accessible and fun. For some students, these books are the first time they see themselves as successful, independent readers.\r\n\r\nThis project will expand our library's collection of high-interest, age-appropriate graphic novels that reflect diverse voices, experiences, and perspectives. By offering engaging and inclusive reading materials, we can reach more learners where they are and inspire them to read more often.\r\n\r\nAccess to these books will not only support literacy growth but also foster creativity, empathy, and a lifelong love of reading. With your support, our library can become a place where every student feels excited, included, and empowered to explore stories.","fullyFundedDate":1778530831179,"projectUrl":"project/graphic-novels-a-gateway-to-lifelong-re/10182032/","projectTitle":"Graphic Novels: A Gateway to Lifelong Reading","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Benfield","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2601309_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649397056812","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/a-benfield"},{"teacherId":10418627,"projectId":10059537,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our project, \"Beaks, Magnets, and Microscopes—Oh My!\" Your generosity has truly made a difference in my classroom.\r\nBecause of you, my students are getting to experience science in a hands-on, meaningful way. One of their favorite activities has been using the bird beak tools to explore how different beaks work. They've been testing how birds pick up different types of food, and it's been amazing to watch them make connections about how animals survive and adapt.\r\nThe microscopes and magnets have also brought so much excitement into our learning. Students are getting to explore, ask questions, and figure things out for themselves instead of just reading about it. There's been a noticeable increase in engagement, and they are genuinely excited to learn.\r\nMoments like these are only possible because of your support. Thank you for helping create opportunities that my students will remember and learn from long after this lesson is over. It truly means so much to all of us.","fullyFundedDate":1769456790113,"projectUrl":"project/beaks-magnets-and-microscopesoh-my/10059537/","projectTitle":"Beaks, Magnets, and Microscopes—Oh My!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Courtney","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-4_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10418627"},{"teacherId":2601309,"projectId":9650645,"letterContent":"I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Donors for your incredibly generous support in providing a large collection of board books for our pre-kindergarten students, ages three to five. Your kindness has made a meaningful and lasting impact on our school library and, most importantly, on our youngest learners who are just beginning their journey as readers.\r\n\r\nThe board books you helped provide are now a valued part of our school library collection. These books are not simply classroom materials; they are true library books that our pre-kindergarten students are able to check out during their scheduled library classes. Through this process, students experience the excitement and responsibility of borrowing books, learning early library skills such as choosing books, checking them out, caring for them properly, and returning them on time. This experience helps lay the foundation for lifelong respect for books and libraries.\r\n\r\nFor children ages three to five, board books are essential. Their sturdy pages are developmentally appropriate and allow young readers to explore books independently without fear of damage. The colorful illustrations, simple text, and engaging themes capture students' attention and support early literacy skills such as vocabulary development, print awareness, and comprehension. Many of our students are encountering books in a library setting for the first time, and your donation ensures that this first experience is positive, joyful, and memorable.\r\n\r\nYour support has helped us create a more inclusive and accessible library for our youngest learners. Many of our students do not have access to books at home, and this donation helps ensure that every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to enjoy high-quality, age-appropriate books. The impact of this generosity extends far beyond our library walls and will influence students' academic growth and love of reading for years to come.\r\n\r\nOn behalf of our students, families, and staff, thank you for believing in the importance of early literacy and for investing in our school community. Your generosity has truly made a difference, and we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to enrich young lives through books.","fullyFundedDate":1758828869204,"projectUrl":"project/early-literacy-one-board-book-at-a-time/9650645/","projectTitle":"Early Literacy, One Board Book at a Time","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Benfield","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2601309_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649397056812","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/a-benfield"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_66551","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":394,"numTeachers":27,"percentFrplEligible":68,"percentAsian":21,"percentBlack":2,"percentWhite":24,"percentIndigenous":15,"percentLatinx":11,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":7,"percentMultiracialImputed":18,"gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"14.6:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":49.3,"schoolId":66551,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Susitna Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Susitna Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/alaska/anchorage-school-district/susitna-elementary-school/66551"}