Arlanza Elementary School in Riverside, California on DonorsChoose

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The purchase of this new sound equipment has allowed students to learn without the music being too loud for those that happen to be sitting the closest to the speaker, since it now plays the music above them instead of directly at them. In my classroom, we often sit in a circle on the ground to play music games and sing songs. When we would do this before, the music would often be problematic for those nearby. This is no longer the case, and I am so thankful.","fullyFundedDate":1752586580321,"projectUrl":"project/speakers-for-music-class/9297296/","projectTitle":"Speakers for Music Class","teacherDisplayName":"Dr. Chitwood","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7654898_orig.jpg?crop=2366,2366,x0,y118&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1705704264273","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/dr-chitwood"},{"teacherId":7654898,"projectId":9306550,"letterContent":"My students were so excited when we received our Donor's Choose packages, and have enjoyed being able to make music with our new portable music speaker. It has been a blessing to be able to play music for my classes outdoors in broader spaces as we move and not be limited to staying indoors. This technology has also allowed us to provide a spirited environment for students exiting for a long weekend, in addition to the normal music making activities, as we play music for a fun send off into weekends/holidays/breaks. What a joy has it been to make music with such reliable and high quality technology.\r\n\r\nAlong with the speaker/microphones, we were able to purchase a few noise canceling headphones for our sound sensitive students to enjoy music class. These headphones have immediately been put to use, and my students that have used them express appreciation at being able to enjoy music class in a more sensory friendly manner. \r\n\r\nOur entire student body has benefited from this gift, as they all have a music class once a week. Every time they come to music they are excited to learn and make music, and this technology has really enhanced our learning experience.","fullyFundedDate":1752586556389,"projectUrl":"project/singing-anywhere-with-a-speaker/9306550/","projectTitle":"Singing Anywhere with a Speaker","teacherDisplayName":"Dr. Chitwood","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7654898_orig.jpg?crop=2366,2366,x0,y118&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1705704264273","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/dr-chitwood"},{"teacherId":8500283,"projectId":9154070,"letterContent":"Thanks to your donation we have been able to make the sadness around having to be indoor for hot temperatures in California (or very rarely rain) into something exciting for the students to enjoy. We're even using having indoor recess as a classroom incentive for academic and behavioral goals and the students are thrilled as several of them don't have any sort of art or family game supplies at their house. One was ecstatic seeing how many Uno cards come in a new deck as he's only ever had hand me downs, and another was thrilled to find out that he was an undiscovered checkers champion!\r\n\r\nFrom last year's class to this year's, thank you!","fullyFundedDate":1743105496298,"projectUrl":"project/no-recess-no-problem/9154070/","projectTitle":"No recess? No problem!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Runquist","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8500283_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1691292687452","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/runquistsscholars"},{"teacherId":8500283,"projectId":9092590,"letterContent":"My students were beyond excited to see that we had three seats ready to go for this weeks independent reading time. One of them was also elated to find out that they had the most good behavior points and could choose to sit down there anywhere in their room comfortably instead of having to lean against walls.\r\n\r\nIn addition to the excitement, my students and I feel, the custodian enjoys that they're easily stackable so they can be put out of the way rise in the past beanbags were very cumbersome to try to get out of the way when he was doing any sort of clean, vacuuming. 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About this school

Arlanza Elementary School is an urban public school in Riverside, California that is part of Alvord Unified School District. It serves 450 students in grades Pre-K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 19.6:1. Its teachers have had 12 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

450 Students

23 Teachers

5891 Rutland Ave

Riverside, CA 92503 View local requests

http://www.alvordschools.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

Arlanza Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

Mrs. Bales

Dr. Chitwood

Mrs. Runquist

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Arlanza Elementary School Demographics

93%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

97%

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.

Arlanza 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.