Michael T Simmons Elementary School in Tumwater, Washington on DonorsChoose

{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Michael T Simmons Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":23.8,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10285582,"projectId":9763027,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your support! The grant-funded phonics kits have had a significant and measurable impact on all my reading students (kindergarten-5th grade). With access to hands-on and color-coded magnetic letter tiles, students were highly engaged and excited to participate in daily literacy activities. I often heard \"Do we get to use the kits today?\" The phonics kits include magnetic tiles for every letter of the alphabet with vowels highlighted in red, along with vowel teams, word endings, double letters, digraphs, and r-controlled vowels—all visually organized to support foundational reading skills.\r\n\r\nMy kindergarten & first grade students used the single-letter and sound-colored magnets to isolate and articulate the sounds in words before building them. The color-coding system provided critical visual scaffolding, enabling students to identify beginning, middle, and ending sounds with confidence—even before they were developmentally ready to consistently connect those sounds to printed letters. This multisensory approach strengthened phonemic awareness, increased participation, and built early decoding skills in an accessible and developmentally appropriate way. As a result, students demonstrated greater confidence in segmenting and blending sounds, laying a strong foundation for future reading success.\r\n\r\nEqually important was the high level of student engagement the kits inspired. The most impactful activity was the \"I Spy\" letter/sound game, which quickly became a classroom favorite. Students regularly asked to use the kits, often saying, \"Can we please use the kits and play I Spy?\" Their enthusiasm reflected not only enjoyment, but meaningful learning. Students especially loved taking on the role of the letter or sound \"giver,\" an activity that encouraged peer interaction, oral language development, and leadership. This hands-on, student-centered approach transformed phonemic awareness practice into an interactive experience, reinforcing skills through play while fostering a positive attitude toward early reading.\r\n\r\nOlder students were able to quickly identify vowel teams and other complex letter combinations that are often challenging. Using the kits, they successfully built words and then transferred that understanding into written form with increased accuracy and confidence. The color-coding system supported immediate recognition of tricky patterns, reducing frustration and promoting independence. Students practiced word mapping to connect sounds to spelling patterns, divided words into syllables, identified syllable types, and analyzed the \"heart parts\" of sight words. These activities strengthened students' understanding of word structure and supported more accurate decoding and spelling.\r\n\r\nOne 3rd grade student who has been diagnosed with dyslexia said \"The kits really help me to not mix up the order of letters when I write or read them. Before having the vowel team and digraph magnet tiles I would always switch letters around...like when mapping the word hatch. Before the kit I would have probably put h-a-c-t-h but now I have 'tch' on one tile and it makes it easier for me.\" This student has then taken the next step of being able to write the word(s) correctly without having the tiles in front of her. When asked why she thinks it helps her she stated that she can now picture those sounds being glued together and read/write the words.\r\n\r\nAcross all age levels, students were noticeably more engaged, actively participating, and eager to practice reading and spelling skills. The hands-on nature of the kits allowed students to actively manipulate sounds and syllables, deepening their comprehension of how words work. Students were able to apply these skills across reading and writing tasks, demonstrating increased confidence and independence. By supporting both foundational and advanced phonics instruction, the kits proved to be a versatile and effective tool for literacy development across grade levels.\r\nOverall, the kits supported both academic growth and a joyful learning environment, laying a strong foundation for long-term literacy success. I look forward to using them in future years. Thank you for supporting the learners in my classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1759615966944,"projectUrl":"project/phonics-in-action-hands-on-learning-for/9763027/","projectTitle":"Phonics in Action: Hands-On Learning for Growing Readers!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Scott","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10285582"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_36707","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":461,"numTeachers":36,"percentFrplEligible":39,"percentAsian":5,"percentBlack":1,"percentWhite":61,"percentIndigenous":2,"percentLatinx":18,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"12.8:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_SMALL"},"inStateSupporters":76.2,"schoolId":36707,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Michael T Simmons Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Michael T Simmons Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/washington/tumwater-school-district/michael-t-simmons-elementary-school/36707"}

About this school

Michael T Simmons Elementary School is an urban public school in Tumwater, Washington that is part of Tumwater School District. It serves 461 students in grades Pre-K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 12.8:1. Its teachers have had 16 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Public School

Title 1

Grades Pre-K - 5

461 Students

36 Teachers

1205 2nd Ave SW

Tumwater, WA 98512 View local requests

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Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

Michael T Simmons Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

Mrs. Burt

Mrs. Scott

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Michael T Simmons Elementary School Demographics

39%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

26%

of students are Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian

Schools in districts that mainly serve students of color receive substantially less state and local support than similar districts that serve primarily White students. Learn more about this gap, why it exists, and how you can help close it.

Michael T Simmons Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Feb 25, 2026

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