Mrs. Layne's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 10

• Emotional Regulation Station

  Funded Mar 1, 2021

  Thank you for choosing to donate to my project to fund materials and resources for our Zen Den. The Emotional Regulation Station has been a BIG hit with students! Little did I know that the fidgets and "pop its" that I requested would become such a huge trend with kids this year, so of course that's been a major highlight for students visiting this area. Also, the "A Little Spot of Emotion" book set has been such a great asset to my co-counselor and I as we have read them many times over with students in for classroom lessons and small group and individual counseling.

  The cube shelf and storage boxes have really helped us to delineate this special area of the Zen Den. Students are naturally drawn to the bean bag chairs to help their bodies relax and regulate when they are experience emotionally charged moments during the school day. Having this safe space within the Zen Den has been so helpful during this most challenging school year. Thanks to your generous donation, we were able to create something really special and beneficial for our students. You ROCK!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

  This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation and 5 other donors.

• Lunch & Learn: Book Clubs with the Counselor

  Funded Aug 21, 2016

  Thank you for your generous donations. I have successfully completed one group already utilizing the Friendship Troubles book set. The 4th grade girls who participated absolutely LOVED the experience. The skills and strategies they gained from the book have proved very valuable as they have been practicing them inside and outside the classroom. They enjoyed the entire group experience, especially supporting each other and sharing ideas for how to handle the friendship problems they were dealing with. At the conclusion of group, the girls shared many sentiments about their time together and what they learned from the experience, but one note to me from a participant stood out. She wrote "Thank you for showing me that I could be me even when no people approve." Your donation helped this child feel empowered to be herself and that's pretty amazing, so thank YOU!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

• Help This School Counselor Dive into Data

  Funded Jul 1, 2015

  Thank you for your generous donations that allowed me to complete a very meaningful professional development training in data. I started at two new schools this year as a split school counselor. I have used the knowledge gained through the training course to help each school's counseling program become more data driven.

  I worked in partnership with the full time counselor at each school to develop data driven program goals. I used existing data such as grades, testing, and attendance to develop my small groups and I am so excited to see the post data after our groups are complete. Thanks to the training I will be able to do more activities like this to help drive our program and share data with all stakeholders.

  Your donations have helped us improve our school counseling programs, so a BIG thanks to you all!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 24 other donors.

• School Counselor Leadership to Support Students

  Funded Mar 10, 2015

  I am so grateful for your generosity! Your donations gave me the opportunity to complete a meaningful professional development course through the American School Counselor Association. I have completed the course requirements over the past several months and I am now a School Counseling Leadership Specialist. You might wonder what this designation means for my students. My students will benefit from my leadership skills because I will be able to utilize these necessary skills to facilitate an effective, comprehensive school counseling program that serves all students.

  Leadership skills are necessary when it comes to breaking down the barriers that often get in the way of success in school counseling practices. With my new skills I will be able to communicate the needs of my students to my administrators and other stakeholders more effectively. I will also be able to efficiently lead school-wide initiatives and get buy-in from teachers and staff. I plan to utilize my new skills and experience to help mentor other counselors to become better leaders as well so the effects of this project will touch more than just my students.

  Completed this professional development has inspired me to pursue other learning opportunities to help my program even more. I hope to complete the School Counselor Data Specialist course with the help of DonorsChoose. I am so grateful that DonorsChoose has piloted funding professional development opportunities and that generous donors like YOU help educators reach their goals.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 18 other donors.

• Fancy Nancy Book Club For Girl Empowerment

  Funded Dec 1, 2013

  Thank you for your generous donations! I am currently hosting a small group book club for 6 second grade girls. They were SO excited to participate in this special group. They absolutely love the Fancy Nancy books and the self-esteem boosting activities we do in group that go along with the books.

  We meet once a week to discuss the books and complete fun, engaging activities that help the girls identify what makes them unique and what they love about themselves. They truly enjoy participating in the group!

  This project has helped to provide a much needed boost to the self-esteem of the participating girls. Some of them are shy and they have really opened up over the past few weeks with the other girls in the group. Helping them build meaningful friendships is priceless and for that I thank YOU!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

• Bully Blocking Book Clubs

  Funded Jul 30, 2012

  Thank you for your generous donations books to be used for student book clubs about bullying. I am in the midst of hosting a 3rd grade boys book club using the "Stick Up For Yourself" books and a 4th grade girls book club using the "Stand Up For Yourself" books. Both groups are going very well and the students are truly enjoying their time learning about ways to stand up for themselves. I can already see positive changes in the group participants in regards to their self-esteem. I look forward to using the books with students for years to come. Thank you for making these groups possible!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

• Help us Bust Bullying with Books

  Funded Jan 5, 2011

  As a 2nd year school counselor at an elementary school serving pre-K through 4th grade at a title one school, I do not have a lot of resources to use with my students. Your generous donation and funding of my project has put a lot of great bullying resources at my finger tips! Like many other schools our students experience a fair amount of bullying at our school in all grade levels. I enjoy teaching bully prevention lessons that help our school become a more safe and caring place to learn and using the donated books has help tremendously with my lessons. The students really connect to the characters and situation in the bullying stories. Also, many of the books include activities that help the children practice positive behaviors. I use the materials not only in classroom guidance lessons, but also for small group and individual counseling. The books help my students understand what bullying is, learn why it is not an acceptable behavior, and learn skills to deal with bullying in healthy ways. Thank you for donating towards this worthy project as it has benefited so many of our students in need and is helping make our school a safe and caring school!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

• Helping Children Cope With Divorce

  Funded May 19, 2010

  I was so excited to learn that my project was funded! I sincerely thank you for your kindness and generosity. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to thank you all as it has been a very busy year so far!

  The materials will help me work effectively with my students individually and in small groups. The materials will allow me to meet the social/emotional needs of my students. So many of my students are effected by family changes including separation and divorce.

  I have been successfully utilizing the materials in with my students and the students seem to really relate to the materials, especially the children's literature! The resource books have great ideas for creative activities that help the students express their feelings in comfortable ways. The materials are so useful for small group and individual counseling.

  Working for a title one school can be challenging when it comes to getting the resources we need to serve our student population. Your donation has truly touched the hearts of our students and it is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

  This classroom project was brought to life by Barnes & Noble and 5 other donors.

• Stories of a Doll House

  Funded Mar 20, 2010

  Thank you for your very generous donation! I was so excited to learn that this project was funded! I have enjoyed using the dollhouse with students. The student population at my school deals with a many difficulties and challenges in their home lives. The dollhouse has allowed them to express their feelings in a comfortable way. I am grateful that I was able to expand my play therapy toy collection with this awesome dollhouse. My students, girls and boys of all ages, are drawn to the dollhouse when they enter my office!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

• Let's Create a Safe and Caring School!

  Funded Nov 17, 2009

  I was so excited to learn that my project was funded! I sincerely thank you for your kindness and generosity.

  The materials will help promote the following for my students: Awareness of Self and Others, Positive Attitudes and Values, Responsible Decision Making, and Social Interaction Skills. The materials will allow me to meet the social/emotional needs of my students.

  I have been successfully utilizing the materials in with my classroom guidance lessons and the students absolutely love it! I also use the materials when conducting small group guidance and individual counseling. My teachers have found the materials useful as well as they often borrow my books and use the materials to supplement their classroom lessons.

  Working between two title one schools can be challenging when it comes to getting the resources we need to serve our student population. Your donation has truly touched the hearts of our students and it is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Layne

  This classroom project was brought to life by Rugby Ralph Lauren and 2 other donors.