Mill Street Elementary School in Naperville, Illinois on DonorsChoose

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We've been working on segmenting and blending sounds, and now students get to physically manipulate letters and match them with corresponding objects—like building the word \"hat\" and finding the little foam hat to go with it. This tactile approach has been a game changer for many of my learners, especially those who benefit from hands-on experiences.\r\n\r\nThe sentence building kits have also transformed our writing block. Students love picking word tiles and building silly sentences, then reading them aloud with pride. It's such a fun way to practice grammar, sentence structure, and fluency—all at once!\r\n\r\nNext, we're moving into a unit focused on digraphs and blends, and we'll be using the phonics activity centers and reading rods to strengthen those skills. With these tools, my students can rotate through stations, practice at their own pace, and collaborate with peers—all while staying engaged and building confidence as readers.\r\n\r\nThank you again for investing in our classroom. You've helped create a joyful, literacy-rich environment where students feel empowered and excited to learn every day. We couldn't have done it without you!","fullyFundedDate":1727880964379,"projectUrl":"project/ignite-first-graders-reading-journey-wi/8545578/","projectTitle":"Ignite First Graders' Reading Journey with Science of Reading Tools!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Goode","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6416220_orig.jpg?crop=272,272,x75,y76&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1722632793985","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6416220"},{"teacherId":9553850,"projectId":8518894,"letterContent":"The book bins you donated to our classroom have made our classroom library so much more accessible! Before, all of our books were housed in random bins that I either collected 2nd hand from around school or bought from the dollar store. Since the bins were not made for books, the books were not easy to keep organized for the students to browse from. Now that we have bins that are made for books we are able to keep the books organized so students can get a book into their hands that they can enjoy reading. We are now able to separate the fiction from the non-fiction books. Then within the fiction, the books are sorted by the author's last name and within the non-fiction the book are sorted by topic, just like in a regular library. Students can easily locate a specific book, author, or topic that they are looking for. Thank you for your generous donation that is helping to get books into the hands of the students in my third grade class!","fullyFundedDate":1727881178962,"projectUrl":"project/find-a-book-to-connect-with/8518894/","projectTitle":"Find a Book to Connect With","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Hund","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-6_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9553850"},{"teacherId":9588927,"projectId":8491737,"letterContent":"It is very difficult to put into words, especially in the written word, how much your contribution to our classroom has made an impact on my students. This is an autism kindergarten/first grade classroom, so most of my students are unable to express their gratitude, or how these materials have impacted them, so I am going to try and do my best. \r\nEach of our stations (math, reading, play, sensory, language, writing, and feelings) has been impacted by your gifts. 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About this school

Mill Street Elementary School is an urban public school in Naperville, Illinois that is part of Naperville Community Unit School District 203. It serves 600 students in grades K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 13.3:1. Its teachers have had 40 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Public School

Grades K - 5

600 Students

45 Teachers

1300 N Mill St

Naperville, IL 60563 View local requests

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Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

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

Mill Street Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

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Mill Street Elementary School Demographics

33%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

45%

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.

Mill Street Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 25, 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.