Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, California on DonorsChoose

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A specific moment that stands out happened just last week during a particularly challenging afternoon transition. One of my students arrived feeling extremely frustrated and overstimulated from their general education class. Rather than shutting down, they independently recognized their big feelings, walked right over to our new space, and used the tools to decompress. Within ten minutes, they had completely reset and were able to rejoin our small group ready to focus. Seeing them take ownership of their emotional well-being was a massive victory.\r\n\r\nNow that the students have developed strong routines for finding their \"big calm,\" our next step is to tie these self-regulation skills directly into our upcoming Healthy Living unit. We will be exploring how taking care of our mental and emotional health is just as important as our physical health. The students will use their daily experiences with these calming materials to identify their own favorite coping strategies and create personalized wellness plans. Thank you so much for giving them the resources they need to navigate their big emotions and thrive!","fullyFundedDate":1755728807911,"projectUrl":"project/helping-little-learners-find-big-calm/9586226/","projectTitle":"Helping Little Learners Find Big Calm","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Prasad","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7922606_orig.jpg?crop=1849,1849,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1627337145288","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7922606"},{"teacherId":10473639,"projectId":10191271,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for investing in and supporting our classroom and learning. I was able to unbox the books with students, and they were thrilled to see new books. It has been an ongoing challenge to encourage the love of reading and to get students excited about books and reading. To see students excited about books felt like a huge accomplishment. Many of my students have never seen or held a brand new book because we often get used books from other schools, libraries, or used book fairs. \r\n\r\nA few students recently created an \"Esperanza Rising\" poster to put up in the hallway to show the rest of the school what we learned about the book. They were excited to hold up the new books in front of their poster and share with others the poster they made. \r\n\r\nI am so grateful to you as a donor for choosing to fund a public school classroom. All students deserve high-quality books, and I am so thankful that you made this happen for my class. I am filled with gratitude, hope, and excitement for learning!","fullyFundedDate":1776132598695,"projectUrl":"project/learning-readers-need-chapter-books/10191271/","projectTitle":"Learning Readers Need Chapter Books!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lia","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10473639_orig.jpg?crop=1465,1465,x0,y19&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1775070163648","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/msliakelly"},{"teacherId":2989422,"projectId":9818722,"letterContent":"Thank you for your incredible generosity and for believing in my students. Because of you, our classroom has been transformed in ways that truly impact our daily learning.\r\n\r\nThe new easel has quickly become the heart of our classroom. We use it every day during reading and math to model thinking, build anchor charts, and share student ideas. Just this week, we planned a piece of writing together, and students took turns coming up to add their sentences. There was such a sense of pride as they saw their words become part of our shared work.\r\n\r\nThe noise-canceling headphones have made a huge difference during independent learning time. Students are able to focus more deeply during centers and fully engage in online lessons. One of my students, who often struggled with distractions, recently told me, \"I can hear everything now and it helps me think better.\" Moments like that remind me how meaningful these tools are.\r\n\r\nWhen the materials first arrived, the excitement was immediate. As we opened the boxes together, students leaned in, asked questions, and cheered. They could tell right away these were tools just for them, and they took ownership from the very start.\r\n\r\nAs we move forward, we will continue using these resources to support our literacy and writing work. 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About this school

Nystrom Elementary School is a suburban public school in Richmond, California that is part of West Contra Costa Unified School District. It serves 420 students in grades Pre-K - 6 with a student/teacher ratio of 21.0:1. Its teachers have had 119 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Supporting this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Title 1

Grades Pre-K - 6

420 Students

20 Teachers

230 Harbour Way S

Richmond, CA 94804 View local requests

https://www.wccusd.net/Page/1143

Direct, proactive support

Empower teachers at Nystrom Elementary School to request what their students need.

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

Nystrom Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

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Nystrom Elementary School Demographics

68%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

91%

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.

Nystrom Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Aug 19, 2026

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.