{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Washington Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":16.7,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10223955,"projectId":9650633,"letterContent":"This project has proven to be far more valuable than I imagined. I thought I was creating an avenue where my math intervention students could develop mathematical thinking like spatial awareness, number sense, strategy and logic in a fun and playful way. And I was right. Of course, the games definitely create a sense of joy and fun in my intervention groups! They've proved a great incentive to keep students on track (\"If you work hard right now, we can play a game at the end of our lesson.\"). The students love working toward the prize of \"game day.\" And I can barely keep my kindergarteners on track because they want to try every single game, even the ones for the \"big kids.\"\r\n\r\nAnd as I hoped, the games are helping many of the students develop mathematical thinking. I've seen my kindergarteners learn to read numbers and move the right number of square when playing Chutes and Ladders or Trouble. I've watched my 3rd graders learn how to strategize about what pile of marbles to pick up in a Mancala game, essentially doing multiple steps of mental math before each move. And I've watched my 5th graders have intense Connect 4 tournaments, using logic, spatial skills and forward thinking before making every move.\r\n\r\nBut beyond all the obvious benefits of using board games, the board games have proven to be an effective method to shore up a variety of foundation skills and social-emotional learning far beyond what I imagined. It turns out that the vast majority of my students have never even played board games before; they play computer games where everyone plays simultaneously and the rules are obvious. We have had to learn sportsmanship skills like taking turns, not getting frustrated or angry, positive competition, and learning and following rules.\r\n\r\nBut the biggest surprise and biggest benefit was one I never anticipated. Board games require some foundational skills - particularly sequential thinking, which is so crucial to math - that I didn't realize I needed to work on with my students. Most of my students really struggled with the idea of a sequence of moves, where you had a starting place on the game board and you moved in one direction toward an end goal. They had to learn about the rotation of players (who's turn comes next in the game). They had to learn that they could only make one move each turn. Math is a mental activity that requires discipline, an ability to work within the logic of a system, and the understanding that you have to go through steps. The board games have proven invaluable to help my students develop these mental structures.\r\n\r\nThe world right now can sometimes seem to callous and cruel. But people like you lift my heart! Your donation to our math intervention program was so generous and kind, and it turns out it was helpful beyond my imagination. Thank you so very much!","fullyFundedDate":1761934763022,"projectUrl":"project/math-can-be-fun-board-games-for-math-in/9650633/","projectTitle":"Math Can Be Fun! Board Games for Math Intervention Lessons","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. CR","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10223955"},{"teacherId":5380716,"projectId":9680693,"letterContent":"Thank you very much for helping our students make the connection between the screen and the page. Your donation helped show these kids that gamers are also readers!\r\n\r\nThis project helped students see that the library is paying attention to their interested/requests and that their recreational interests can co-exist with their academic lives! These kiddos will appreciate gamer references and feel \"in\" on the plots of books based on their favorite characters.\r\n\r\nEvery single one of the books ordered with this project has been checked out and kiddos know that maybe there is a book out there just waiting for them to press start!","fullyFundedDate":1761933221966,"projectUrl":"project/gamers-equal-readers/9680693/","projectTitle":"Gamers Equal Readers!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Jackie Overlid","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp5380716_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1538529356819","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5380716"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9477131,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your donation to our classroom. This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation. The STEAM tools that you donated have allowed my students to experience science and engineering concepts more hands on! This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) for them to become better builders, engineers and scientists!\r\n\r\nThis will have a lasting impact on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of science and creating life-long independent learners.","fullyFundedDate":1763590484143,"projectUrl":"project/full-steam-ahead-steam-choice-time-mate/9477131/","projectTitle":"Full Steam Ahead! Steam Choice Time Materials","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9723797,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1761821814207,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9723797/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9569959,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1760977667515,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9569959/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":1516988,"projectId":9370559,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for all of the amazing books that you helped fund. My students have been so excited to discover and read them. We now have multiple copies of some of our most popular books, some brand new series, and replacements for books that had wear and tear. It's such a colorful and diverse classroom library that my students love. When they finish their work, they go right to the library and are depp in these books. Thank you for taking the time to support us and to help enrich the reading lives of these new readers.","fullyFundedDate":1755731448454,"projectUrl":"project/library-refresh/9370559/","projectTitle":"Library Refresh!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Waddell","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1516988_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471202341082","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jwaddell"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9401713,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1758819916034,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9401713/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":7431851,"projectId":9599437,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for donating to this project! Having brand new supplies for dramatic/interactive play is so important for early development. I appreciate all the support in ensuring we have what we need in the classroom. My students were very excited by the new materials and wanted to immediately begin playing with them during centers time. It was so amazing to see them show their families with the wooden blocks. Some next steps are incorporating what we are doing in the classroom such as sorting or patterns during play centers so that students get hands-on, tactile experiences in their learning.","fullyFundedDate":1757135339840,"projectUrl":"project/kindergarten-centers/9599437/","projectTitle":"Kindergarten Centers","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ali","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7431851_orig.jpg?crop=450,450,x0,y150&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1597283809478","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/weneedtechnologyinroom3msali"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9229476,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1747589253883,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9229476/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9229772,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1747032900525,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9229772/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9430040,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1755723904395,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9430040/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"},{"teacherId":609502,"projectId":9027004,"letterContent":"This is just a small token of my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The books that you have donated have allowed my students to experience literature at their level and books they are excited to read. This is exactly what they need (along with instruction) to become better readers. Students will read these titles at home and discuss with their families.\r\n\r\nThis will have lasting impacts on the lives of my students by cultivating their already existing love of reading and will create life-long independent readers.\r\n\r\nThanks again!","fullyFundedDate":1746786939771,"projectUrl":"project/ravenous-readers-need-new-books/9027004/","projectTitle":"Ravenous Readers Need New Books","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ellberg","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp609502_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1487574501739","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/ms-ellberg"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_3762","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":389,"numTeachers":24,"percentFrplEligible":26,"percentAsian":11,"percentBlack":8,"percentWhite":42,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":17,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"16.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_MIDSIZE"},"inStateSupporters":83.3,"schoolId":3762,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Washington Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Washington Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/california/berkeley-unified-school-district/wa-community-tech-magnet-school/3762"}