{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Alma Easom School","outOfStateSupporters":19.8,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":466946,"projectId":10682333,"letterContent":"Thank you for generously supporting \"Surviving History, One Book at a Time!\" Your gift of I Survived books has expanded our classroom library and provided opportunities to connect reading with learning about the past. As a first-grade teacher, I want my students to discover that books can take them beyond familiar places and experiences. These stories offer a starting point for exploring how people face challenges, solve problems, and help one another. Your generosity makes it possible to introduce these ideas through literature that connects historical events with the experiences of individual characters.\r\nOne valuable way these books support learning is through teacher-led read-alouds. First graders are still developing the foundational skills they need to read independently, but they can listen to and think deeply about stories that are beyond their current reading levels. Reading aloud allows me to model fluent, expressive reading while guiding students through unfamiliar vocabulary and ideas. We can pause to clarify what is happening, revisit an important detail, or explain a historical setting. This approach gives children with different reading abilities access to the same story and an opportunity to contribute to our classroom conversations.\r\nThe books also provide material for practicing essential comprehension skills. Students can identify characters and settings, retell important events in order, and consider how a character responds to a problem. Before reading a new section, I can invite students to make predictions and explain their thinking. As the story continues, we can return to those predictions and discuss which details support or change our ideas. These conversations help children understand that reading involves paying attention, asking questions, and making meaning. They also give students practice expressing their thoughts clearly and listening respectfully to the ideas of their classmates.\r\nAnother benefit of this project is the opportunity to connect literacy and history. Historical fiction allows us to discuss the difference between an imagined character's experience and the real event that inspired the story. With age-appropriate explanations and support, students can begin developing an understanding of life in other times and places. The stories provide starting points for questions about how people lived, what resources they had, and how communities responded to difficult circumstances. Having these books available gives me more flexibility to build those connections and follow students' questions with additional learning opportunities.\r\nBeyond academic skills, these stories offer opportunities to discuss courage, kindness, perseverance, and cooperation. We can think about how characters feel, what choices they make, and who helps them along the way. These discussions connect with the social and emotional skills we practice every day in first grade. Children are learning how to handle frustration, ask for assistance, support a friend, and keep trying when something feels difficult. Literature gives us shared examples to reflect on together, while reminding students that asking for help and working with others are important strengths.\r\nYour support has given our classroom resources that can be used throughout this school year and shared with future students. It has also broadened the choices I have when planning read-alouds and connecting reading lessons with other subjects. A classroom library grows in value when it offers different topics, perspectives, and possibilities for discovery. Thank you for investing in that growth and for helping me create opportunities for every child to participate. I am grateful for your kindness, your belief in teachers, and your willingness to put books into students' lives. You have helped make our classroom a place where stories open doors to learning.","fullyFundedDate":1790791143379,"projectUrl":"project/surviving-history-one-book-at-a-time/10682333/","projectTitle":"Surviving History, One Book at a Time!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Wheeler","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp466946_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1548547580596","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/daniellewheeler"},{"teacherId":466946,"projectId":10588244,"letterContent":"Thank you for supporting \"Magic Happens When We Read!\" Your generosity has brought new books into our first-grade classroom, giving my students more opportunities to explore stories and grow as readers. These books support important skills such as making predictions, identifying characters and settings, retelling events in order, and discussing a story's key details. \r\nReading in our classroom includes teacher read-alouds, partner conversations, and time to explore books independently. During read-alouds, we pause to explain unfamiliar words, ask questions, and make connections. These shared experiences allow every child to participate in rich discussions, even while they are still developing the skills to read the text on their own.\r\nYour kindness supports much more than our classroom book collection, it helps make reading an inviting part of our day. Thank you for investing in my students and helping nurture their confidence, curiosity, and love of stories!","fullyFundedDate":1789589282353,"projectUrl":"project/magic-happens-when-we-read/10588244/","projectTitle":"Magic Happens When We Read!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Wheeler","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp466946_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1548547580596","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/daniellewheeler"},{"teacherId":466946,"projectId":10242973,"letterContent":"Thank you for supporting \"Big Laughs, Big Learning With Junie B. Jones!\" Your generosity has brought wonderful opportunities for laughter and learning to our first-grade classroom. Sharing chapter books introduces my students to stories they my not yet be able to read independently and helps them discover joy of following a character through a series.\r\nWe use Junie B.'s adventures to practice making predictions, retelling events, and discussing characters' feeling and choices. Her experiences provide opportunities to connect stories to our own lives and talk about friendship, kindness, and solving problems. These conversations help build vocabulary, listening skills, and comprehension.\r\nAs we continue reading, we will compare Junie B.'s adventures across books and practice supporting our ideas with details from the stories. Thank you for giving my students books we can enjoy together throughout the year and helping nurture their love of reading!","fullyFundedDate":1787585187155,"projectUrl":"project/big-laughs-big-learning-with-junie-b-j/10242973/","projectTitle":"Big Laughs, Big Learning With Junie B. Jones!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Wheeler","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp466946_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1548547580596","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/daniellewheeler"},{"teacherId":466946,"projectId":10484792,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our \"New Chairs\" project! Your generosity has helped create a more comfortable and welcoming learning space for my first graders. These chairs provide seating for students as they read, write, work together, and practice new skills throughout our busy school day.\r\nClassroom essentials like chairs may seem simple, but they are important part of a space where children learn and grow. Your support also reminds my students there are caring people who believe in them and their education. Thank you for investing in our classroom and helping meet my students' everyday needs. \r\nWe are so grateful!","fullyFundedDate":1787585252268,"projectUrl":"project/new-chairs/10484792/","projectTitle":"New Chairs","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Wheeler","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp466946_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1548547580596","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/daniellewheeler"},{"teacherId":107122,"projectId":9976119,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donations that allowed me to purchase the color printer to be used in our classroom. I have already created many games and activities to be used during both reading and math centers using the color printer. I can laminate these games and they can be used with students this year as well as many years to come. \r\nThe color printer has also allowed me to create a picture schedule and visual cue cards for a student with special needs in our class. This has helped him be able to better understand and follow the rules and routines of our classroom. Thank you for caring about the students in my classroom and helping to support their learning.","fullyFundedDate":1771355609812,"projectUrl":"project/kindergarten-in-color/9976119/","projectTitle":"Kindergarten in Color","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Hyer","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp107122_orig.jpg?crop=527,527,x66,y121&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1645280886517","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-hyer"},{"teacherId":7949428,"projectId":9744896,"letterContent":"The portable centers have offered fun ways to play and learn. The game tray sets include 6 reading and math game boards which are great for small groups and centers. They also have colorful designs, player pawns, and easy-to-use spinners. These game trays have made skill-based learning engaging and effective for my class. My students enjoy learning especially when it is based around fun games. \r\n\r\nThe shag erasers have come in so handy and they are much more durable than the magic erasers we were using. They are washable, so they will last much longer than what we were using. \r\n\r\nThe large ink pads are perfect for kid-sized hand prints! The Jumbo Circular Washable Pads have been used for holiday crafts and have made the experience clean free compared to using paint.","fullyFundedDate":1758946020165,"projectUrl":"project/fun-with-literacy-and-math/9744896/","projectTitle":"Fun with Literacy and Math","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Thompson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7949428"},{"teacherId":9883783,"projectId":9601190,"letterContent":"Thank you so incredibly much for donating to this project. As a beginning teacher, there are still lots of gaps in things that would be helpful in the classroom, and a lot of things I have purchased for the classroom myself. This project has given us resources I wouldn't have been able to purchase myself, and for that I am eternally grateful. \r\nThe stools have been a huge help when working at my table- the previous chairs were not quite tall enough, making writing a challenge. The writing/drawing pads have been a fun tool for my students to use to practice their sight words and proper letter formation. They just love the boards! \r\nTeaching kindergarten has its challenges, but with the proper tools and help, it makes it that much easier.","fullyFundedDate":1758123403829,"projectUrl":"project/kindergarten-essentials/9601190/","projectTitle":"Kindergarten Essentials","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Rangel","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9883783_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1735491340657","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9883783"},{"teacherId":107122,"projectId":9552400,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donations that provided much needed items for my kindergarten students. We have been using all of the materials since August and the students have enjoyed them all. The item that stands out the most are the dry erase, boards, markers, and erasers that we use daily for reading instruction and practice. The students also like to get them out when they have free time to exercise their fine motor skills with writing and drawing. Thanks to you, we will be using the materials that you provided for learning, throughout this school year and for years to come. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.","fullyFundedDate":1756506128434,"projectUrl":"project/kickstart-to-kindergarten/9552400/","projectTitle":"Kickstart to Kindergarten","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Hyer","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp107122_orig.jpg?crop=527,527,x66,y121&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1645280886517","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-hyer"},{"teacherId":7949428,"projectId":9586040,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support of our classroom! My students now have access to engaging math resources and exciting ELA bingo games that bring learning to life.\r\nThese materials have helped to make a meaningful difference—students are more excited, more confident, and more eager to participate. My students love playing the Bingo games which iclude 4 different games- animals, ABC's sight words, and numbers. The items come in color coded bags. The Make A Splash Game has been a great resource for students who need a challenge with counting and identifying numbers. The book \"Our Class is a Family\" is a wonderful book to share with students to build a classroom community. The number dots keep organization when lining up and we use them for number recognition and numbers before and after.\r\n\r\nYour kindness has helped create a classroom environment where learning feels fun, accessible, and empowering for every child. Thank you for investing in their success!","fullyFundedDate":1755740514785,"projectUrl":"project/classroom-essentials/9586040/","projectTitle":"Classroom Essentials","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Thompson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7949428"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_1342","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":306,"numTeachers":18,"percentFrplEligible":95,"percentAsian":1,"percentBlack":36,"percentWhite":31,"percentIndigenous":1,"percentLatinx":20,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":7,"gradesServed":"K - 1","studentTeacherRatio":"17.0:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_MIDSIZE"},"inStateSupporters":80.2,"schoolId":1342,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Alma Easom School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Alma Easom School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/north-carolina/cumberland-county-schools/alma-easom-school/1342"}