{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Luis Valdez Leadership Academy","outOfStateSupporters":32.4,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":7936803,"projectId":9613335,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your kind donation to help purchase these soccer balls for our upcoming soccer season. These new soccer balls will provide the girls with the opportunity to refine their skills, have a lot of fun, and develop into a more competitive group together. This will also allow our wonderful seniors a chance to have a great last season and to send them to graduation the right way. Once again, thank you so much for helping a struggling financial school with essential equipment needs to have the opportunity to have a great soccer season this winter. The team, coaching, staff, and parents all appreciate you","fullyFundedDate":1758501222012,"projectUrl":"project/soccer-balls-for-success-girls-soccer/9613335/","projectTitle":"Soccer Balls for Success - Girls Soccer","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Viri","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7936803"},{"teacherId":8017854,"projectId":9006870,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your thoughtful donation of multiple copies of The Great Gatsby. Your support has made a real difference in our classroom and in the way my students are engaging with literature this year.\r\n\r\nWhile many of us love to read books for enjoyment, teaching a novel like The Great Gatsby opens doors to deeper skills and lessons for students. Through this text, my juniors are exploring critical themes such as the American Dream, wealth and inequality, and the role of perspective in shaping meaning. They are also practicing close reading skills—analyzing Fitzgerald's imagery, symbolism, and narrative style—to strengthen their ability to interpret complex texts and build arguments based on evidence.\r\n\r\nIn our classroom, reading is a dynamic process. Students don't just read silently—they annotate, discuss in small groups, and connect the novel's ideas to modern issues in society. It's common to hear lively debates about whether Gatsby's dream is noble or doomed, or how Fitzgerald's critique of wealth in the 1920s resonates today. The shared set of books has made these moments richer, as students can all be on the same page—literally and figuratively—without relying on photocopies or incomplete excerpts.\r\n\r\nOne student in particular, who has always been a quiet reader, has been especially engaged with the text. Having her own copy to annotate has given her the confidence to contribute her insights during discussions, often pointing out symbolism her classmates missed. Another student has been inspired to read passages aloud, eager to highlight Fitzgerald's lyrical style. These are the kinds of moments your generosity makes possible.\r\n\r\nThank you again for putting these books into my students' hands. Because of you, they are not only reading a classic novel, but also building critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills that will stay with them long after the last page is turned.","fullyFundedDate":1738276677764,"projectUrl":"project/the-great-gatsby-and-the-american-dream/9006870/","projectTitle":"The Great Gatsby and the American Dream for Eleventh Grade","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hightower","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8017854"},{"teacherId":8017854,"projectId":6690581,"letterContent":"On behalf of my students at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy, I would like to sincerely thank you for your generous donation of binders to our classroom. These resources have already made a tremendous difference in the way we learn and stay organized.\r\n\r\nWe are using the binders as personalized learning portfolios. Each student now has a dedicated place to store their notes, writing drafts, and project materials. One of our first projects with the binders was creating literature journals for our current unit. Students collected quotes, wrote reflections, and tracked themes—and having their own binder made it possible for them to keep everything in one place, building pride in their work.\r\n\r\nWhen the binders first arrived, my students were so excited. Many of them immediately began decorating the covers and organizing their sections, saying how much easier it would be to keep track of assignments. It was a joyful moment to watch them take ownership of their learning tools.\r\n\r\nLooking ahead, these binders will continue to be used as we prepare for our upcoming research unit. Students will compile sources, outline essays, and track revisions, allowing them to see their growth over time. The binders have turned into more than just supplies—they are tools that help students feel confident, organized, and capable of success.\r\n\r\nThank you once again for supporting our classroom. Your generosity has had an immediate impact, and it will continue to benefit our students throughout the year.","fullyFundedDate":1666803201327,"projectUrl":"project/avid-binder-support/6690581/","projectTitle":"Avid Binder Support","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hightower","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8017854"},{"teacherId":8017854,"projectId":8707444,"letterContent":"On behalf of our 11th grade English students at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy, I want to thank you for your generous donation of novels. Your thoughtful gift provides our students with the valuable opportunity to read and learn together from the same texts, enriching both their individual understanding and our classroom discussions.\r\n\r\nThese novels will be used throughout the year to explore themes of identity, society, and the human experience—topics that are central to our curriculum and to helping students grow as critical thinkers. Having enough books for every student ensures that all of them can fully participate, making literature more accessible, engaging, and meaningful.\r\n\r\nWe deeply appreciate your support in helping us create a stronger, more inspiring learning environment. Your generosity will make a lasting difference in the education of our students.","fullyFundedDate":1728201297864,"projectUrl":"project/independent-reading-project-part-2/8707444/","projectTitle":"Independent Reading Project Part 2","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hightower","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8017854"},{"teacherId":7936803,"projectId":9380172,"letterContent":"Thank you again for your kind and generous donation. I have started to distribute the binders to any of my students who need them. I was also able to give out some ot other teachers who are struggling with their student organization. \r\n The students have started to organize all of their AP, quizzes, notes, classroom activities, tests in a fashion where it will be easy for them to locate them in the future when it comes to testing time.\r\nMany of them were very grateful for the donation, and I am hoping that in May, this will increase our test pass rate and get many of the students the important college credits.","fullyFundedDate":1758585787460,"projectUrl":"project/ap-student-succes/9380172/","projectTitle":"Ap Student Succes","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Viri","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7936803"},{"teacherId":10065602,"projectId":9499099,"letterContent":"Our students are loving their new resources! \"Experience the Power of Play\" is our project designed to provide students with fun activities, acquire interpersonal skills & develop social-emotional learning strategies in a cooperative setting. Students were highly engaged during our \"jump rope challenge\" where each participant attempts to get 100 jumps! What makes this activity so fun is how challenging it is to develop a \"rhythm or routine\"; but once in sync, students begin to view \"challenges\" as difficult but doable rather than impossible. Our students were excited to see new materials and tools that we would be implementing throughout the school year.\r\n Currently our focus is on communication and support. Our school community is prioritizing advocacy for our students and by our students. Building the confidence and vocabulary to verbalize emotional expression and regulate feelings is a foundational pillar in preparing our students post high school. We are working towards our students with social anxieties to present comfortably in from of groups, feel confident in sharing their thoughts and concerns and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety by merging communication and play among peers. \r\n Thank you again to all our amazing donors!","fullyFundedDate":1755411617280,"projectUrl":"project/experience-the-power-of-play/9499099/","projectTitle":"Experience the Power of Play","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Worthy","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10065602_orig.jpg?crop=2340,2340,x0,y241&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1751915621191","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10065602"},{"teacherId":10065602,"projectId":9436921,"letterContent":"First and foremost we would like to send a huge shout out to our donors for making our Social Emotional Project an ongoing success! \r\n For our reading program we selected graphic novels depicting underrepresented families to enhance an understanding of perspectives. This allows our students (90% Latin background) an opportunity to explore life from various cultural viewpoints while enhancing a sense of empathy through shared experiences of others. Some skills introduce throughout the texts include: improved communication & verbal skills which students implemented during our read aloud and documentation components. Reading together allowed our students to strengthen there verbal communication, non verbal context clues, and engage in meaningful conversation related to the texts. \r\n Our reading program operates out of our wellness space within small groups. Research shows reading for pleasure can reduce psychological stress and decrease anxiety. By sharing the reading experience, our students develop supportive bonds with one another in addition to strengthening peer to peer relationships. Students have been enjoying the graphic novels as several themes (family, culture, legal troubles, identity, technology) intersect with their own lives! Knowledge is Power!","fullyFundedDate":1752845556840,"projectUrl":"project/social-emotional/9436921/","projectTitle":"Social Emotional","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Worthy","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10065602_orig.jpg?crop=2340,2340,x0,y241&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1751915621191","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10065602"},{"teacherId":7936803,"projectId":9150884,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your kind donation and support. So far, I have been able to give all of my students a notebook, which they are using for various purposes. Some are using them to take AP notes for homework and to keep all this information in one central location. This will greatly help them have all their information in one place for when they are getting ready to prep for the test. I have an AP government class and an AP World History class, and these notebooks will help give my disadvantagetaged students who can not get tutors or other test prep resources a greater chance at passing the exam.\r\nFor my on-level students, we use these notebooks to write daily in my Government class. This helps all my students improve writing and critical thinking skills, and helps me as a teacher get to know my students on a deeper level.\r\n\r\nOnce again, thank you so much.","fullyFundedDate":1746787065377,"projectUrl":"project/small-steps-to-improve-writing/9150884/","projectTitle":"Small Steps to Improve Writing","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Viri","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7936803"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_107397","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":234,"numTeachers":null,"percentFrplEligible":74,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":0,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":100,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"9 - 12","studentTeacherRatio":null,"demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":67.6,"schoolId":107397,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Luis Valdez Leadership Academy on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Luis Valdez Leadership Academy","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/california/east-side-union-high-school-district/luis-valdez-leadership-academy/107397"}