Penn Elementary School in San Diego, California on DonorsChoose

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You are appreciated.","fullyFundedDate":1758716444977,"projectUrl":"project/we-love-chapter-books-and-dog-man-makes/9749051/","projectTitle":"We Love Chapter Books and Dog Man Makes Us Laugh","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Vazquez","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4922625_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1510800252615","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4922625"},{"teacherId":170817,"projectId":9096495,"letterContent":"This project impacted my students' learning in a positive way. It created excitement, increased interest and independence. The items are being used during our literacy learning centers which is a designated time in the day where we read and manipulate letters and words with various tools. \r\nThe donations to this project have helped me continue and support fun and interactive literacy centers while allowing me to work in small groups. It is important in a classroom for students to be able to work independently and stay focused and engaged. \r\nThank you so much!","fullyFundedDate":1738961118427,"projectUrl":"project/literacy-tools-for-kindergarten-readers/9096495/","projectTitle":"Literacy Tools for Kindergarten Readers","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Avelar-Flores","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp170817_orig.jpg?crop=440,440,x162,y440&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1645565239297","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/170817"},{"teacherId":170817,"projectId":9001581,"letterContent":"Thank you for donating the leveled books that we requested! My students absolutely love reading them. Unfortunately, because I have a Kindergarten class, we do not have access to challenging books unless I go out and purchase them. My students have access to easy readers with predictable text or just picture books. \r\n Amazingly, early on this school year my students began to decode much earlier than anticipated ...which is great! Unfortunately, I did not have the leveled books to meet their needs. Now they have access to the books during their independent reading time and they can read quietly or with a partner. They love having a variety of leveled books to choose from. Thank you, donors, for making this possible in my kindergarten classroom!","fullyFundedDate":1734459383415,"projectUrl":"project/step-it-up-with-leveled-books/9001581/","projectTitle":"Step It Up With Leveled Books!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Avelar-Flores","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp170817_orig.jpg?crop=440,440,x162,y440&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1645565239297","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/170817"},{"teacherId":170817,"projectId":8852911,"letterContent":"Thank you very much donors and Carters | Osh Kosh B' gosh for this amazing donation! We rely on this type of technology in our classroom everyday. \r\nStudents are able to listen to fiction and non fiction texts of their choice on a compact disc. For our English language learners especially, it is a productive way to listen to the English language and fluent reading being modeled. \r\nFinally, this is a great tool for my students to listen to stories and then talk with their partners about the stories. It gets students speaking which is very important. \r\nThank you again!","fullyFundedDate":1734099458858,"projectUrl":"project/portable-players-for-kindergarten-reader/8852911/","projectTitle":"Portable Players for Kindergarten Readers","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Avelar-Flores","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp170817_orig.jpg?crop=440,440,x162,y440&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1645565239297","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/170817"},{"teacherId":8803091,"projectId":8960431,"letterContent":"It is with a heartfelt thanks for your generous support for my project (tools and sensory items). 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About this school

Penn Elementary School is an urban public school in San Diego, California that is part of San Diego Unified School District. It serves 380 students in grades Pre-K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 25.3:1. Its teachers have had 33 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

380 Students

15 Teachers

2797 Utica Dr

San Diego, CA 92139 View local requests

http://www.sandi.net/penn

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

Penn Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. Each classroom request for funding was created by a classroom teacher and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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Penn Elementary School Demographics

77%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

85%

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.

Penn 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.