{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Paxson Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":32.2,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":6751530,"projectId":9303983,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generosity, my preschoolers now have exciting new puzzles that are already making a big difference in our classroom. At four and five years old, my students are building the foundational skills they'll carry with them through their school years—and these puzzles help them do it piece by piece.\r\n\r\nWhen my students sit down with the puzzles, they aren't just playing. They're strengthening fine motor skills, practicing spatial awareness, and learning how to solve problems with persistence and creativity. Many of the puzzles also connect directly to early literacy and math concepts, giving my students the chance to explore letters, numbers, shapes, and patterns in a fun, hands-on way.\r\n\r\nWhat I love most is the confidence I see growing in them. Each time a puzzle is completed, there are smiles, laughter, and a sense of pride. These moments help nurture independence, resilience, and a love for learning—all while keeping my students engaged and motivated.\r\n\r\nBecause of your support, my classroom is now a space where children can develop skills essential for lifelong learning in a joyful, playful environment. You've truly made a lasting impact, and we are so grateful for your kindness.","fullyFundedDate":1746801955752,"projectUrl":"project/piece-by-piece-building-bright-minds/9303983/","projectTitle":"Piece by Piece: Building Bright Minds","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lisa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6751530_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1722963818012","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6751530"},{"teacherId":8632295,"projectId":8706126,"letterContent":"Our goal as a fifth grade team which consists of three fifth grade classes decided to invest in a classroom set of Pedro's Journal for each of our classrooms. Our goal was to help all our students to be on grade level or above in ELA. This project incorporates nonfiction texts with a social studies focus. This book, Pedro's Journal coupled with a few others were specifically selected to tie in with our state and and local social studies standards. As you can see in the slide show, we as a class read through most of the chapters as a class and created a personal journal titled with the students name. They were to summarize the chapter in which we had done a previous lesson and students were to demonstrate their skills with. I had several students who enjoyed the book, in particular one of my students who is also Native American really enjoyed this and the other books. He had made personal connections and also shared with the class his personal knowledge about his tribe and others. Other students were engaged by learning more from this students sharing which helped to build more awareness, engagement and background knowledge of the history of these tribes. Lessons with these texts were also extended into our English Language Arts informational and writing standards. Students progress was monitored to ensure all are meeting grade level standards.","fullyFundedDate":1727121745322,"projectUrl":"project/5th-grade-reading/8706126/","projectTitle":"5th grade Reading","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Detrick","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8632295"},{"teacherId":6751530,"projectId":8815083,"letterContent":"We are incredibly grateful for your support of our Early Literacy Program. Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to provide our young learners with a rich collection of books that align with our thematic units of study, fostering a love for reading and strengthening foundational literacy skills.\r\n\r\nThe books we received have already made a noticeable impact in our classroom. Our students, aged 4-5, are engaging deeply with stories that introduce them to new vocabulary, diverse perspectives, and exciting concepts. These books are not just tools for literacy—they are windows into new worlds, sparking curiosity, imagination, and meaningful discussions.\r\n\r\nWith your help, we have been able to create an environment where every child has access to high-quality literature that supports early language development, comprehension, and critical thinking. Seeing their excitement as they explore new books is a testament to the power of your generosity.\r\n\r\nYour contribution has played a vital role in shaping the educational journey of our young learners. By investing in early literacy, you are helping to lay the foundation for their future academic success. We cannot thank you enough for believing in our students and supporting their growth.","fullyFundedDate":1735220462844,"projectUrl":"project/literature-for-learning/8815083/","projectTitle":"Literature For Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lisa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6751530_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1722963818012","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6751530"},{"teacherId":3735499,"projectId":8736111,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our classroom. I was able to purchase a class set of of historical fiction books for my students. \r\n\r\nIn my fifth grade classroom students have the opportunity to choose self selected books and also have required texts that we read together. In order to encourage students to read many types of books I have created a genre challenge. Students are encouraged to read at least two books per genre. This allows students to read books they love, but also encourages them to try books that they typically wouldn't be drawn to. This opens up the possibility of finding new genres that they enjoy. \r\n\r\nFor this novel study, students are reading a novel that is written in journal format through the perspective of a ship's boy. After each daily reading students are creating their own journal where they summarize what has happened in the story. They are also reflecting on the perspective, thoughts and feelings of the characters in the journal. In addition, students are able to draw sketches to reflect the main events in the story. Students are really enjoying the book and journal entries each day.","fullyFundedDate":1725586417432,"projectUrl":"project/increasing-literacy-skills-through-engag/8736111/","projectTitle":"Increasing Literacy Skills Through Engaging Nonfiction Texts","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Grant","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3735499_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1508509953486","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3735499"},{"teacherId":398096,"projectId":8777874,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation of the sets of Minecraft and Wild Robot books for our second grade classroom. Our students work hard every day on reading and phonics skills and on formal writing, both ficiton and nonfiction. A large part of what makes our ELA classroom work is that the Daily 5 structure. The five components are Reading to Self, Reading to Someone, Word Work, Work on Writing, and Listen to Reading. While the students choose between the five activities to work on independently or with a partner (or if we're lucky, and adult volunteer!) I meet individually or in small groups with students to support them exactly where they are. This structure only works if the students who are working independently have books to choose from that they love and are motivated to read to themselves or to each other. Here is where you come in!\r\n\r\nThe kids were THRILLED when their new books arrived, and they are excited when Wednesdays come around and they can \"check out\" one of these books through our very informal library system. During Daily 5 time, they read these books to themselves and to each other, and whenever they are finished their work early during other moments in the day, they reach for these books and get lost in them. \r\n\r\nThe Minecraft books in particular are pleasing and of great interest to a diverse group of learners in my class, both boys and girls, and both the high achieving kids who read at or beyond grade level and the kids who struggle to read but LOVE Minecraft and are very motivated to make sense of these wonderful, colorful, high-interest texts. \r\n\r\nI also have several students who have worked their way through all three of the \r\nWild Robot chapter books in the sets you provided. I guarantee that when I start reading the series t the class as a read aloud, which I will do n a few weeks, many more kids will be excited to borrow copies of these texts so they can follow along as I read, and so they can read them independently. \r\n\r\nThank you so much again for helping our community of readers have high interest books that they love, right at their fingertips!","fullyFundedDate":1726423960040,"projectUrl":"project/lets-get-reading/8777874/","projectTitle":"Let's Get Reading!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. D.","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/398096"},{"teacherId":2812508,"projectId":8787693,"letterContent":"Thanks to the generous support of my DonorsChoose project, my elementary library has seen wonderful growth and transformation. With the funding provided, I was able to add a diverse collection of new books that cater to the varied interests and reading levels of my students. From vibrant picture books to engaging chapter books and nonfiction resources, these new additions have enriched our library space and sparked a renewed love for reading among the children. Not only have the books expanded our library's offerings, but they have also provided students with access to fresh, exciting stories that support their educational and emotional development.","fullyFundedDate":1726497422755,"projectUrl":"project/fostering-a-love-of-reading-expanding-o/8787693/","projectTitle":"Fostering a Love of Reading: Expanding Our Collection for Students","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gearheart","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp2812508_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1539728560581","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/2812508"},{"teacherId":6751530,"projectId":8839628,"letterContent":"My classroom was buzzing with excitement when the boxes of new materials started arriving. The students were eager to start using things right away. \r\n\r\nThe magnetic boards are a huge hit and have helped the students practice correct pencil grip to make lines and shapes on the board. The students have used the colorful scoops in the sensory table to scoop water beads helping them develop hand strength and coordination for writing and cutting. While learning about patterns, they used the colorful bingo daubers to create their own patterns. Our ELA goal this fall was rhyming and the rhyme match puzzle was a fun way for students to show what they learned. The Pigeon and Pete the Cat book series are fan favorites during story time and ones that the students ask to be read again and again!\r\n\r\nComing up we'll be diving into letter names and sounds. The fun alphabet puzzles and dough stampers will be a great way for them to practice letter recognition. The Family Counters will be an engaging way for us to explore counting objects up to ten and recognizing that numbers are made of groups.\r\n\r\nThese resources will benefit not only the students this year but students for many years to come!","fullyFundedDate":1727958311366,"projectUrl":"project/enhancing-early-literacy-and-fine-motor/8839628/","projectTitle":"Enhancing Early Literacy and Fine Motor Skills for Lifelong Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lisa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6751530_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1722963818012","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6751530"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_78596","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":418,"numTeachers":25,"percentFrplEligible":37,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":3,"percentWhite":78,"percentIndigenous":6,"percentLatinx":8,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"16.7:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_SMALL"},"inStateSupporters":67.8,"schoolId":78596,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Paxson Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Paxson Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/montana/missoula-county-public-school-district-1/paxson-elementary-school/78596"}