{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Cedar Ridge Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":13.8,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":8283798,"projectId":7905145,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting my art classroom and helping put paintbrushes into the hands of nearly 800 young artists!\r\n\r\nIf there is one thing I have learned as an elementary art teacher, it is that kids LOVE to paint. There is an immediate excitement in the room when students walk in and see watercolor sets, brushes, and watercolor paper waiting for them. Painting projects are consistently some of the projects my students are most excited about and invested in.\r\n\r\nThanks to your generosity, we received new watercolor sets, watercolor paper, and cardstock that have allowed us to do more of those projects. Students have been able to practice important skills like color mixing, color theory, brush control, and experimenting with how water and paint work together. And because they are creating on quality paper designed for watercolor, they can really explore the medium and create artwork they are proud to take home.\r\n\r\nBut as much as I love what my students learn through these projects, I also love what happens to the classroom when they paint. There is something almost magical about watching a room full of busy elementary students settle in and focus on creating. I have seen students come to art overwhelmed, frustrated, or just having a rough day, and then find a sense of calm once they have a paintbrush in their hand.\r\n\r\nThat is one of the reasons I believe so strongly that art belongs in our students' education. Yes, we are learning about color, artists, techniques, and the basic skills of making art—but we are also learning to slow down, experiment, make choices, solve problems, and enjoy the process of creating something that is completely our own.\r\n\r\nWith nearly 800 students, paint and paper can disappear incredibly quickly. Your donation gave hundreds of kids the chance to experience the excitement of painting and gave me the supplies to say \"yes\" to more painting projects in our classroom.\r\n\r\nCreative kids really are content kids.\r\n\r\nThank you for helping us learn, create, and make a little colorful mess along the way!","fullyFundedDate":1701221068877,"projectUrl":"project/paint-time/7905145/","projectTitle":"Paint Time!","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Rash","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8283798_orig.jpg?crop=2400,2400,x0,y128&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1756845697932","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8283798"},{"teacherId":8283798,"projectId":8154792,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting my art classroom and helping provide supplies for nearly 800 creative kids! With that many students coming through my classroom, pencils, markers, and especially paper disappear pretty quickly. Your generosity helped make sure my students had quality materials to keep creating, learning, and exploring.\r\n\r\nI've always believed that the materials we give students matter. When I hand a student a nice piece of cardstock for a project, they know they are creating something worth keeping. They tend to slow down, put in more effort, and take greater pride in the finished product. Thanks to your support, my students have been able to use these materials for drawing, painting, collage, and all kinds of creative projects while practicing the art skills we work on throughout the year.\r\n\r\nBut one of the greatest things you helped provide goes beyond the artwork itself.\r\n\r\nI see every day how much kids need opportunities to simply create. School can be busy and, at times, overwhelming. Art gives students a chance to slow down, use their imaginations, and focus on something completely different for a little while. I have watched students walk into my classroom frustrated, overwhelmed, or having a difficult day and then completely settle into a project. Sometimes a pencil, a piece of paper, and permission to create can make a pretty big difference.\r\n\r\nAs we continue through the year, students will keep building their basic art skills, experimenting with new materials, and learning about artists whose creativity and stories can inspire them to dream a little bigger. My hope is that they leave my classroom knowing that art isn't just about making something beautiful—it can also be a way to express yourself, find some calm, and discover what you are capable of creating.\r\n\r\nYour donation provided us with art supplies, but it also provided hundreds of kids with opportunities to create, explore, and find a little joy in their school day.\r\n\r\nCreative kids really are content kids.\r\n\r\nThank you for helping give my students the opportunity to create!","fullyFundedDate":1706715588226,"projectUrl":"project/kids-creating-magic/8154792/","projectTitle":"Kids Creating Magic!","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Rash","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8283798_orig.jpg?crop=2400,2400,x0,y128&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1756845697932","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8283798"},{"teacherId":8283798,"projectId":10141144,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting my art classroom and, more importantly, my students! With nearly 750 kids coming through my classroom, we go through A LOT of art supplies, especially paper. Your generosity helped make it possible for us to keep creating right up until the very end of the school year.\r\n\r\nIt may seem like something as simple as cardstock wouldn't make a huge difference, but it really does. I've found that when students are given quality materials, they treat their artwork differently. They take a little more time, put in a little more effort, and are proud to create something that feels special and worth keeping.\r\n\r\nBecause of your support, my students were able to continue drawing, painting, cutting, gluing, experimenting, and learning all the way through the final weeks of school. We used the cardstock for a variety of projects as students continued building their art skills and learning about different artists and ways of creating.\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite things about teaching elementary art is knowing that I get to be a small part of so many childhood memories. For many of my students, this was our last year together before they moved on to their next school and their next adventure. I wanted to make sure we didn't spend those last weeks simply counting down the days. We kept making things. We kept learning. And, of course, we kept making a little bit of a mess!\r\n\r\nAs my students move forward, I hope they take some of the skills they learned in my classroom with them. But even more than that, I hope they remember what it felt like to be creative, try something new, make mistakes, and create something they were genuinely proud of.\r\n\r\nYour donation may have purchased paper, but it gave nearly 750 students more opportunities to create, learn, and be proud of what they made.\r\n\r\nWe weren't just creating art, we were creating memories.\r\n\r\nThank you for helping make those memories possible!\r\n\r\nWith gratitude,\r\n\r\nMr. Rash","fullyFundedDate":1774115823039,"projectUrl":"project/creating-until-the-final-bell/10141144/","projectTitle":"Creating until the final bell","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Rash","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8283798_orig.jpg?crop=2400,2400,x0,y128&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1756845697932","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8283798"},{"teacherId":8283798,"projectId":9638200,"letterContent":"I'm truly overwhelmed by your generosity. Because of your support, we were able to bring our blacklight art project to life this year and it became one of the most memorable experiences my students have ever had.\r\n\r\nWhen the lights went down and the room filled with glowing color, you could feel the excitement instantly. Students who are usually hesitant or unsure of themselves were completely engaged, focused, and proud of what they were creating. It was incredible to watch them light up both literally and figuratively as their artwork came to life in a way they had never experienced before.\r\n\r\nWith so many students and a limited budget, opportunities like this simply wouldn't happen without people like you. Your generosity didn't just provide supplies, it created a space for creativity, confidence, and joy. Even more meaningful, we were able to stretch those supplies, and I'll be able to use what remains for additional projects through the rest of the school year extending the impact of your gift to even more learning experiences.\r\n\r\nThank you for believing in them and for supporting the work we do. It truly makes a difference.","fullyFundedDate":1759611315805,"projectUrl":"project/black-lights-and-glowing-memories/9638200/","projectTitle":"Black Lights and Glowing Memories","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Rash","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8283798_orig.jpg?crop=2400,2400,x0,y128&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1756845697932","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8283798"},{"teacherId":8274489,"projectId":9574513,"letterContent":"I want to share how excited my students were when we unboxed our brand-new color printer. While color printing is common in many places, having immediate access to it in our classroom makes a big difference for us. This technology is helping my students learn by allowing us to print clear, color-coded visual aids and graphic organizers. Being able to print in color means that charts, maps, and scientific diagrams are much easier for the students to read and distinguish between different data points.\r\n\r\nThe most exciting aspect for the students has been seeing their digital work printed out clearly. There is a real sense of pride when a student holds a project that looks professional and polished. Recently, we worked on a \"Cell Phone Essay\", and the ability to print their illustrations in color motivated them to put extra effort into their editing and revising. They wanted the quality of their writing to match the quality of the print.\r\n\r\nI have noticed a nice increase in engagement during our recent poetry and essay unit. When students realized they could print their final drafts on colored backgrounds or include illustrations, they were eager to finish their work. We posted their poems and essays in the hallway, and seeing their writing displayed so professionally made them feel very proud of what they accomplished. This printer has validated their creativity and given them a sense of ownership over their writing. Thank you for supporting our classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1756735110025,"projectUrl":"project/a-world-of-color-usbe-ai-for-k12-educa/9574513/","projectTitle":"A World of Color: USBE AI for K–12 Education","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Linford","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8274489_orig.jpg?crop=1932,1932,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1642472099705","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8274489"},{"teacherId":9142629,"projectId":9531052,"letterContent":"Since receiving these new manipulatives, my students and I have been using them daily throughout our place value and decimal units. The place value disks and money manipulatives have been especially valuable. At the start of our decimals unit, students explored how numbers change as digits move to different place values. This hands-on work helped them understand that we don't just \"add a zero\"—a zero is a placeholder representing a smaller value. Because of this, the concept of lining up decimals during addition and subtraction finally clicked for many of them. We also used the classroom money to introduce decimal benchmarks in a fun \"store\" activity where students estimated how much money they'd need to buy certain items. Using dollars and quarters helped them visualize their estimates and build concrete connections to decimals.\r\n\r\nTheir reactions to these materials have been full of gratitude and excitement. Each time I pull out the manipulatives, students light up—they're eager to explore, build, and test their ideas. Several students even choose to use them during independent practice without being prompted. Watching them teach themselves through hands-on exploration has been incredible. The manipulatives are helping students understand not just the how but the why behind the math.\r\n\r\nOur next steps involve moving into fractions and connecting those ideas to decimals. Students will use fraction tiles to understand units less than one and to visualize how fractions relate to decimals. Pattern blocks will help them build and compare equivalent fractions, while geoboards will let them create shapes and divide them into fractional parts using elastics. Thanks to your generosity, my students now have the tools they need to engage deeply with these concepts and grow as confident, capable mathematicians. We are so grateful for your support!","fullyFundedDate":1756161786386,"projectUrl":"project/hands-on-in-math/9531052/","projectTitle":"Hands-on in Math","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Browning","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9142629_orig.jpg?crop=1078,1078,x0,y114&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1691012259440","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9142629"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_53260","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":700,"numTeachers":null,"percentFrplEligible":15,"percentAsian":2,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":86,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":7,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":1,"gradesServed":"K - 6","studentTeacherRatio":null,"demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_MIDSIZE"},"inStateSupporters":86.2,"schoolId":53260,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Cedar Ridge Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Cedar Ridge Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/utah/cache-county-school-district/cedar-ridge-middle-school/53260"}