{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Leesville Road Middle School","outOfStateSupporters":23.8,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":3167233,"projectId":10081826,"letterContent":"Thank you again for supporting our middle school math classroom! My students were so excited when I shared that our project had been funded. They immediately started asking when the materials would arrive and how we would use them in class. Even before opening the boxes, students were excited about being able to use more hands-on tools and interactive activities during math. In middle school, engagement can sometimes be half the equation, and these resources are already helping multiply excitement about learning.\r\n\r\nWe are using the dry erase markers and erasers daily for warm-ups, partner work, and problem-solving activities. One of the biggest benefits has been seeing students become more willing to take academic risks because mistakes can simply be erased and tried again. The pressure feels lower than working on paper, which has helped build confidence and participation. The 3D geometric solids have been especially helpful during our volume unit because students can physically hold and examine the prisms while discussing dimensions, faces, and volume formulas. Being able to touch and visualize the shapes has helped abstract concepts finally \"click\" for many learners.\r\n\r\nThe laminating sheets are helping me create reusable task cards and scavenger hunts that get students moving, collaborating, and talking about math in meaningful ways. Next, students will continue applying these skills through hands-on review activities and real-world problem-solving tasks as we prepare for upcoming assessments. Because of your generosity, my students are not only strengthening their math skills, but also building confidence, perseverance, and a more positive mindset toward learning. Thank you for helping us add more opportunities, subtract barriers, and calculate success together!","fullyFundedDate":1770943651984,"projectUrl":"project/making-math-visible-touch-able-and-fun/10081826/","projectTitle":"Making Math Visible, Touch-able, and Fun","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Sinor","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3167233_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1561553151542","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3167233"},{"teacherId":4600754,"projectId":9784409,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for donating to our Middle School Gateway: Quick Reads to Lifelong Readers project. In a school where there is no mandated funding for school libraries in our state or district, my 800+ students rely on donors like you to help us obtain new books for our library. \r\n\r\nYour donation helped to add 36 new books to our library collection. All of the books were highly recommended by various school library authoritative organizations, like Junior Library Guild and/or the American Association of School Librarians. In addition, the titles were chosen for being shorter chapter books that spark engagement from students who typically don't like to read or struggle to remain invested in a book.\r\n\r\nOur students are always excited to see when I put new books out on display. Quite a few of the books from this project didn't even last half a day before being checked out! It was amusing and heart-warming to see several kids arguing (kindly) over who would get to checkout The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich first. Thankfully they came to an agreement and made their own \"hold\" list.","fullyFundedDate":1765985519363,"projectUrl":"project/the-middle-school-gateway-quick-reads-t/9784409/","projectTitle":"The Middle School Gateway: Quick Reads to Lifelong Readers","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Bussell","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp4600754_orig.jpg?crop=960,960,x0,y48&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1679683059707","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4600754"},{"teacherId":3167233,"projectId":9760605,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for funding our class set of calculators. Your generosity has made an immediate and meaningful impact on my students' learning. Now that every student has access to a calculator, they can fully participate in lessons without waiting to share or feeling left behind. This technology supports deeper problem-solving by allowing students to focus on reasoning, patterns, and strategies instead of getting stuck on long computations.\r\n\r\nWhat excites students most is having their own calculator to use consistently—it builds confidence and independence. Several students who previously struggled have already shown increased engagement and willingness to attempt challenging problems. Most importantly, your donation ensures all students have equal opportunities to practice with the same tools they will use on their end-of-grade test. Thank you for investing in fairness, confidence, and student success.","fullyFundedDate":1759512647511,"projectUrl":"project/equipping-every-learner-calculators-for/9760605/","projectTitle":"Equipping Every Learner: Calculators for All","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Sinor","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3167233_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1561553151542","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3167233"},{"teacherId":4600754,"projectId":9240452,"letterContent":"Access to new, high-quality books is transforming our students, introducing a wealth of essential skills that go far beyond basic literacy. Our students are diving into diverse texts—especially those recognized as Junior Library Guild selections—which are intentionally chosen for their literary merit and educational value. These new texts are helping us explicitly teach skills like deepened comprehension through complex plot analysis, vocabulary acquisition by encountering rich language in context, and critical analysis as students engage with varied perspectives. Crucially, the books are powerful tools for building social-emotional intelligence. For instance, students are learning about empathy by connecting with characters whose experiences differ from their own, and they're internalizing lessons on managing emotions and responsible decision-making by observing characters navigate similar challenges. This reading experience is not just about decoding words; it's about using literature as a lens to understand the world and develop the skills necessary for academic achievement and life beyond school.\r\n\r\nIn our library and school, reading is a dynamic and integrated activity, not a silent, solitary chore. It looks like students engaged in lively book clubs discussing character motivations, or quiet moments of sustained independent reading where they apply comprehension strategies learned earlier. We are using the new books to foster a culture of reading engagement; since the books are highly desirable, students are naturally more motivated, which in turn boosts their overall performance in all curricular areas. We're observing that particular students who may have previously struggled with engagement or felt unrepresented in literature are especially enjoying these new titles. Students who see characters like themselves—or who are fascinated by the distinct perspectives of characters from different backgrounds—are showing a noticeable increase in reading stamina and deeper reflection. Their enthusiasm manifests as improved writing skills—they're incorporating new vocabulary and complex sentence structures from their reading—and a greater willingness to participate in whole-class discussions, demonstrating that their access to these engaging texts is truly unlocking their academic and social potential.","fullyFundedDate":1744227436652,"projectUrl":"project/leading-lions-to-love-literature/9240452/","projectTitle":"Leading Lions to Love Literature","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Bussell","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp4600754_orig.jpg?crop=960,960,x0,y48&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1679683059707","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4600754"},{"teacherId":4600754,"projectId":9257564,"letterContent":"The students of the Environmental Club put the new resources to use by using the oyas to plant in three of our pollinator gardens: two located out front of the school and one in the back. This hands-on project has been a fantastic way for them to apply their learning in a tangible way that benefits the school environment. When the students first saw the materials, they had many questions—primarily about what the oyas were and exactly how they worked. Their initial reaction, however, was excitement; they thought the oyas were \"pretty cool.\" This initial curiosity and positive response is exactly what we hoped for! Seeing a practical, innovative tool for water conservation has sparked a lot of great discussion among the club members about sustainable gardening practices.\r\n\r\nSince the initial planting is complete, the students will continue to maintain the pollinator gardens throughout the semester. This involves regular watering, weeding, and observing the health of the plants, with the oyas helping to regulate the water supply. The immediate next step for the Environmental Club on this project will be to set up a regular monitoring schedule to document the effectiveness of the oyas compared to traditional watering methods. For their next lesson, we will transition into documenting the different types of pollinators that visit the new gardens and researching how the specific native plants chosen support their lifecycle. This will build on their initial work and tie directly into their learning goals about local ecosystems.","fullyFundedDate":1745264064293,"projectUrl":"project/watering-as-we-grow/9257564/","projectTitle":"Watering as We Grow","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Bussell","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp4600754_orig.jpg?crop=960,960,x0,y48&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1679683059707","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4600754"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_1857","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":792,"numTeachers":54,"percentFrplEligible":33,"percentAsian":4,"percentBlack":25,"percentWhite":51,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":13,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":3,"gradesServed":"6 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"14.7:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":76.2,"schoolId":1857,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Leesville Road Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Leesville Road Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/north-carolina/wake-county-public-school-system/leesville-road-middle-school/1857"}