{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Westwood Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":36.0,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":1014420,"projectId":10301883,"letterContent":"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting my special education Life Skills students. Your generosity has made such a meaningful difference in our classroom, and I want you to know just how much your donation has meant to my students and to me.\r\n\r\nBecause of you, my students started this school year with a classroom full of materials ready for them to explore, create, practice, and learn. We have used crayons, markers, glue sticks, construction paper, tempera paint, and dot markers for art projects and hands on learning activities. The pony beads and pipe cleaners have given my students opportunities to work on fine motor skills while creating something they can be proud of. Even an activity as simple as threading beads can be a meaningful accomplishment for a student who is working hard to strengthen those small muscles and improve coordination.\r\n\r\nThe Velcro floor tape has also become an important part of our classroom. We use it to create visual boundaries and clearly defined spaces, which helps our students understand where activities take place and supports them as they move through their daily routines. The Velcro dots, packing tape, and laminating pouches have allowed me to create individualized materials, visual supports, learning activities, and communication tools designed specifically for my students. The storage bins help us keep our activities organized and accessible while giving students opportunities to practice independence and responsibility.\r\n\r\nWe have now reached the end of our first nine weeks, and it has been wonderful to see how much my students have already grown. Every day brings small victories. Trying something new, completing an activity, making a choice, communicating a need, working independently, or proudly showing someone the work they created are all accomplishments worth celebrating in our classroom.\r\n\r\nYour donation has helped make those moments possible. You have given my students more opportunities to learn through hands on experiences, express themselves through art and creativity, strengthen their fine motor skills, and take pride in their accomplishments. Most importantly, you have helped me provide a classroom where my students can learn in ways that are meaningful and accessible to them.\r\n\r\nAs their teacher, there is nothing more rewarding than watching a student accomplish something they once found difficult and seeing the pride on their face when they realize, \"I did it!\" Your generosity has helped create many of those moments during our first nine weeks, and I am incredibly grateful.\r\n\r\nThank you for believing in my students, supporting our classroom, and investing in their learning and independence. Your kindness has touched our classroom in ways that will continue throughout the school year.","fullyFundedDate":1786014560529,"projectUrl":"project/back-to-school-in-life-skills/10301883/","projectTitle":"Back to School in Life Skills","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lloyd-Carney","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1014420_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1459304137400","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jcarney"},{"teacherId":1014420,"projectId":10178761,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous support in providing 127 social stories for our special education students. I wanted to share just how meaningful these resources have been in our classrooms and how they are helping our students develop skills that directly impact their everyday lives.\r\n\r\nOne of our students has used a social story to better understand her menstrual cycle, including the important steps for caring for and managing her period underwear. Having the information presented visually and in a way that she can review repeatedly has helped make this new and potentially challenging experience more understandable and manageable for her.\r\n\r\nAnother student has been working on appropriate greetings and social boundaries. Through social stories, we have been able to explicitly teach him appropriate ways to greet others and help reduce his tendency to tell unfamiliar people, \"I love you.\" The stories give him the language and examples he needs to understand what is appropriate in different social situations.\r\n\r\nWe also have a student who needed direct instruction on how to appropriately interact with peers on the playground. A social story has provided a concrete way to teach those skills, allowing the student to see and practice what successful peer interactions can look like in a setting that is meaningful to him.\r\n\r\nWhat makes these social stories particularly valuable is that they include real photographs and editable text, allowing me to individualize each story to the student and the specific skill I am teaching. Instead of simply telling a student what to do, I can provide the language for the concept in a context that is familiar and meaningful to that individual student.\r\n\r\nOur students have always benefited from social stories, and having a collection of 127 full-color stories has significantly expanded the resources available to us. We can use them in printed form, on our interactive whiteboard, on an iPad, or on other personal devices. This flexibility allows students to access the stories in the way that works best for them.\r\n\r\nAnother unexpected benefit has been our ability to share these resources with families. Providing parents with individualized social stories allows them to reinforce the same skills at home, creating consistency between school and home and giving students more opportunities to practice.\r\n\r\nYour generosity has provided far more than classroom materials. You have given our students tools to understand their world, communicate more effectively, develop independence, and navigate social situations with greater confidence.\r\n\r\nThank you for investing in our students and believing in their ability to learn and grow. Your support is making a real difference in their everyday lives.","fullyFundedDate":1776109314509,"projectUrl":"project/special-education-social-stories-bundle/10178761/","projectTitle":"Special Education Social Stories Bundle","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lloyd-Carney","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1014420_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1459304137400","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jcarney"},{"teacherId":1014420,"projectId":9844916,"letterContent":"Thank You for Supporting Our Literacy Learners!\r\n\r\nThank you so much for your generosity and belief in my students. Because of you, my classroom now has powerful multi-sensory tools that are making a meaningful difference in student engagement and progress toward their IEP goals in language arts. Your support has truly transformed how my students experience learning to read and write.\r\n\r\nTactile Upper and Lower Case Sandpaper Cards\r\nThe sandpaper cards have been incredible for helping students connect letter shapes with sounds through touch. Tracing the letters while saying the sounds aloud has increased student focus and participation, especially for learners who struggle with traditional pencil-and-paper tasks. This hands-on approach is strengthening letter recognition, improving letter-sound correspondence, and directly supporting IEP goals related to foundational reading skills.\r\n\r\nTactile Liquid Letters for the Light Table\r\nThe liquid letters on the light table have been a huge motivator for my students. The visual and tactile elements keep students highly engaged while practicing letter identification and formation. Students who previously avoided literacy tasks are now eager to participate, and I am seeing increased confidence and independence as they work toward their IEP goals in early literacy.\r\n\r\nAlphabet Flashcards\r\nThe alphabet flashcards have provided structured, consistent practice with letter naming and sounds. We use them in small groups and one-on-one instruction, allowing for targeted intervention based on each student's needs. This has helped students make steady progress toward their IEP goals in letter recognition and phonemic awareness.\r\n\r\nSight Word Flash Cards\r\nThe sight word flash cards are helping students build automaticity and confidence in reading high-frequency words. Students are more engaged during literacy instruction and are beginning to recognize sight words in connected text. This progress is directly supporting IEP goals related to reading fluency and comprehension.\r\n\r\nKaplan Multi-Sensory Literacy Kit for Segmenting, Blending, and Spelling\r\nThe Kaplan multi-sensory literacy kit has been a game changer for phonological awareness and spelling instruction. Students are actively segmenting, blending, and building words using hands-on materials, which has significantly improved their understanding of how sounds work together. This multi-sensory approach is helping students meet IEP goals related to decoding, spelling, and written expression.\r\n\r\nBecause of your generosity, my students are more engaged, more confident, and making meaningful progress every day. Thank you for investing in their learning and for helping them build the foundational literacy skills they need for long-term success. Your kindness is truly making a lasting impact.","fullyFundedDate":1760922890725,"projectUrl":"project/multi-sensory-literacy-for-special-needs/9844916/","projectTitle":"Multi-Sensory Literacy for Special Needs","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lloyd-Carney","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1014420_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1459304137400","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jcarney"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_16326","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":473,"numTeachers":42,"percentFrplEligible":95,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":3,"percentWhite":4,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":89,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":1,"gradesServed":"K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"11.3:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":64.0,"schoolId":16326,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Westwood Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Westwood Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/texas/spring-branch-independent-school-district/westwood-elementary-school/16326"}