{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Copper Canyon Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":7.7,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":4926278,"projectId":9991840,"letterContent":"Thank you to the incredible Palo Verde Fiesta Sports Foundation for their Wishes for Teachers grant opportunity! All students in our elementary school have benefited from the learning materials donated through DonorsChoose. As the STEAM specials area instructor who works with 450 students, including kindergartners through 6th graders as well as six neurodiverse classrooms, I wanted our entire community to benefit from the materials. \r\nTwo of our most powerful learning experiences this year have been our reusable green mini-golf engineering mats that support the creation of a mini-golf course and the Sphero Indi cars that introduce urban planning to our students. Both projects build upon the skills students need to succeed well beyond the classroom: creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. These skills support deep thinkers and innovators ready to solve real-world problems—our classroom's mission.\r\nThe reusable green mats are the foundation of our signature sixth-grade engineering project. Students design and build original mini-golf holes that are assembled and played during a whole-school event. The mats allow students to prototype, test, redesign, and reuse materials without waste. Instead of building once and being finished, students engage in the full engineering design process: brainstorming, sketching, measuring, constructing, testing ball movement, and revising angles and obstacles. They apply math concepts such as geometry, measurement, and scale. They write design proposals and reflect on setbacks. Because the mats are durable and reusable, the project is revisited each year with our eldest students. \r\nThe most exciting part for students is seeing their ideas come to life in a real, playable space. When younger students play the course, sixth graders become the experts. They explain slope, force, and friction. They describe how they improved their design after testing. The green mats elevate the project from a craft activity to a professional-level experience. Students feel proud knowing their work is part of a long-standing school tradition and that the materials can be reused by future classes. \r\nOur second schoolwide project utilizes the Sphero Indi car system. Our 'urban planning unit introduces students to the concept of designing and building a city that is easily navigatable, fun, and sustainable. After our 'city' is built using Legos (thank you for our building plates!) and other building manipulatives, students are challenged to code our robotic cars to traverse it. The cars use color-coded tiles to follow commands, which introduces students to foundational coding and computational thinking without requiring advanced programming skills. Students plan traffic flow, create safe pedestrian zones, and design efficient routes. They quickly see that poor planning leads to \"traffic jams\" or collisions. This makes abstract civic concepts concrete.\r\nStudents are especially excited when they realize they can debug both the car's path and their city layout. They experiment with cause and effect: What happens if we move this turn tile? How can we redesign the road to reduce congestion? The learning blends engineering, social studies, math, and teamwork. Students are not just building cities; they are thinking about how cities serve people.\r\nOverall, these materials help our students see themselves as engineers, planners, and innovators. Our community cannot thank you enough for your generous donation and dedication to education!","fullyFundedDate":1771428422057,"projectUrl":"project/hole-in-one-steam-adventures-mini-golf/9991840/","projectTitle":"Hole-in-One Steam Adventures: Mini Golf, Coding Cars & Epic Builds","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Piyis","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4926278"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_59679","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":484,"numTeachers":36,"percentFrplEligible":10,"percentAsian":10,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":68,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":13,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"1 - 6","studentTeacherRatio":"13.4:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":92.3,"schoolId":59679,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Copper Canyon Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Copper Canyon Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/arizona/paradise-valley-unified-school-district/copper-canyon-elementary-school/59679"}
Join the 78 supporters who believe in this school.
About this school
Copper Canyon Elementary School is
an urban public school
in Scottsdale, Arizona that is part of Paradise Valley Unified School District.
It serves 484 students
in grades 1 - 6 with a student/teacher ratio of 13.4:1.
Its teachers have had 35 projects funded on DonorsChoose.
Public School
Grades 1 - 6
484 Students
36 Teachers
17650 N 54th StContact info is sourced from our partners at MDR Education, and DonorsChoose updates our site ahead of each school year.
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of students receive free or reduced price lunch
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
Source: the National Center for Education Statistics
23%
of students are Black, Latino, Native
American, or Asian
Data about school demographics comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. The numbers in this chart may not add up to 100% because of limitations in the available data.
Copper Canyon Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose
Last updated Apr 10, 2026
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.
Copper Canyon Elementary School
$27,318
raised using DonorsChoose
35
projects
funded
27
teachers
funded
78
donors
1
project
for
basic supplies
3
projects for
technology
6
projects for
books
3
projects
for
art supplies
Copper Canyon Elementary School has received support from
72 individuals from Arizona and
6 individuals out-of-state.
