{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Central Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":31.6,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9247564,"projectId":8260862,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our project Students Who Have Never Been Told \"You Can Change the World!\" Your generous donation brought the inspiring Ordinary People Change the World book series into our classroom — and the impact has been extraordinary. These books have opened our students' eyes to real-life heroes like Rosa Parks, Albert Einstein, and Jane Goodall, and taught them that greatness isn't about fame or fortune, but about courage, kindness, perseverance, and standing up for what's right.\r\n\r\nFor many of our students — especially those who face daily challenges and may not always hear positive affirmations — these stories serve as powerful mirrors and windows. Students are learning to identify character traits, summarize important events, and connect the actions of historical figures to their own lives. These books have helped us build vocabulary, spark meaningful discussions about fairness and justice, and practice reading strategies like asking questions, making predictions, and citing evidence. But perhaps most importantly, they've helped students see themselves as capable of making a difference.\r\n\r\nReading in our classroom now often includes animated read-alouds, thoughtful conversations, and students proudly sharing which hero inspires them most. One student, who struggles with reading but loves drawing, created a poster of Jackie Robinson with the words \"Never give up\" written boldly across it. Another student was so moved by the story of Helen Keller that she asked to learn more about sign language. These books have planted the seed that even ordinary kids — just like them — can grow up to change the world. Thank you for making this possible!","fullyFundedDate":1715402312901,"projectUrl":"project/students-who-have-never-been-told-you-c/8260862/","projectTitle":"Students Who Have Never Been Told \"You Can The World!\"","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Crane","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9247564"},{"teacherId":9247564,"projectId":8244452,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support of our project Graphic Novels for Special Education Students: Reading Outside the Box! Your donation brought excitement, motivation, and meaningful learning opportunities into our classroom through the addition of Dog Man graphic novels. These books have helped spark a genuine love for reading in many of our students who have previously struggled with traditional texts.\r\n\r\nGraphic novels like Dog Man are great for visual storytelling that supports comprehension, while the humor make reading enjoyable and less intimidating. Through these books, students are practicing important literacy skills such as sequencing, making inferences, identifying character traits (Petey and his redemption), and understanding dialogue and tone. We've also used them to model fluency and expressive reading. Because the books are so engaging, students are more willing to read — which reinforces decoding and comprehension strategies in a natural, joyful way.\r\n\r\nOne of our students, who has previously shown little interest in reading, now asks to read during free time and loves to talk about the characters and loves to draw from the book, the how to draw section at the back of the books is a great bonus. Another student with speech and language goals has been using the illustrations to help retell the story, improving both his expressive language and confidence. Reading in our classroom looks like kids laughing, pointing to speech bubbles, asking questions, and truly wanting to read. These books have made reading feel fun, accessible, and empowering — and we truly couldn't have done it without you. 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Join the 57 supporters who believe in this school.
About this school
Central Elementary School is
a suburban public school
in Imperial Beach, California that is part of South Bay Union School District.
It serves 379 students
in grades Pre-K - 6 with a student/teacher ratio of 16.5:1.
Its teachers have had 15 projects funded 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.
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
87%
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.
Central Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose
Last updated Dec 4, 2025
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Central Elementary School
$8,317
raised using DonorsChoose
15
projects
funded
9
teachers
funded
57
donors
7
projects for
books
Central Elementary School has received support from
39 individuals from California and
18 individuals out-of-state.