Past projects 9
Organized Work Systems!
Funded Sep 15, 2023We are delighted to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generous donation towards the bookshelves for our Structured Routines Center (SRC) classroom. Your support has significantly impacted the progress and development of our students with autism, and we are truly grateful for your contribution.
The bookshelves you've provided are not just shelves; they are a gateway to independence and learning for our students. In our classroom, we are striving to create an independent work station system that empowers our students to develop essential job skills and gain the autonomy they deserve. These bookshelves are integral in helping us organize resources and sensory items, ensuring that our students have easy access to the tools they need to learn and thrive.
Your donation has not only helped us organize our sensory items efficiently but has also enabled us to foster a more conducive learning environment, promoting skills that will empower our students for a lifetime. Your generosity is instrumental in our mission to provide a holistic and supportive education to those on the autism spectrum. We are deeply thankful for your belief in our vision and dedication to making a difference.
Once again, thank you for your kindness and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
Visuals, Visuals, Visuals!
Funded Jun 2, 2023On behalf of the Structured Routines Center (SRC) and the entire autism community that we serve, I would like to express our deepest gratitude for your generous donation towards the funding of a much-needed printer for our SRC classroom.
Your thoughtful contribution will make a significant impact in our efforts to create a visually rich and supportive environment for our students with autism. The printer you have helped us acquire will enable us to create visual materials, communication boards, schedules, and other essential resources that are crucial in aiding our students' learning and communication needs. Your generosity has empowered us to enhance the quality of education and support we provide to our wonderful students.
Autism is a diverse and unique spectrum, and the SRC strives to meet the specific needs of each individual with care and dedication. Your contribution not only supports our mission but also promotes inclusivity, understanding, and the well-being of those we serve. Your kindness and support will forever be remembered and appreciated by our SRC community.
Once again, thank you for your generosity and commitment to making a difference in the lives of those affected by disability. Your kindness serves as an inspiration to all of us and reaffirms the strength of our community.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 8 other donors.Healthy & Humid!
Funded Jan 6, 2020Thank you so much for your generous donations. It is such a struggle for attendance for our school and when students experience illness, it means that they miss even more school. Thank you so much for helping keep us healthy! I would do anything for my students if it is research based and adding a humidifier to our environment is! The students were at first, very distracted, but I read them a summary of the studies I've found that support a relative humidity of 40-60% helps us combat viral and some bacterial infections. They're convinced. Along with keeping the data of what the temperature is outside and how that effects the humidity inside has been fun! Thank you again for keeping us healthy!”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
STEM Play
Funded Nov 7, 2019Thank you so incredibly much for your generous donations. Once again, your donations give my students the benefit of hands-on learning. The students were really excited to do our unit and discovered a lot on their own. They got to play while they learned which made it fun and hopefully a strong lasting lesson. Now that the unit is complete, the students take concepts and have build creations either out of the sticks with joint pieces or they have now realized with the Floof that you can make bricks and create a structure by making the material denser.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
Emotional Regulation Tools for Life
Funded May 14, 2019Emotional Regulation is the #1 skill that all my students need. It isn't just that "my" students need it but it is a skill that all middle school students need. Everyone learns to cope- just some learn to cope with emotions and stress in negative ways. How amazing would our world be that everyone got the emotional skills and supports that they needed?
My dream is for a world where everyone gets what they need. This is where your donation went. I have students that can handle academic stress well, but when emotional or social stress burdens them, they shut down. I have students that cannot sleep at night, or control their anger outbursts so that they can attend general education classes. With the tools you've given me, I can work with each student on the exact area they need help with. My job as a learning specialist is to prove tools, accommodations, sometimes modifications, and skills so that students can be successful at school and in general throughout their life. Thank you for giving me another tool for my toolkit! Your donation will help me help my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 4 other donors.Get Reading With Graphic Novels!
Funded Apr 16, 2019I wish you could experience the JOY that my students expressed when they opened the boxes of new books. I could have easily opened them on my own but I want my students to be EXCITED about books and excited they were. I was so busy in the moment watching their amazement and hearing their shouts of "DIBS on this one!" and experiencing their pure joy, that I forgot to snap some photos of that moment. My students are excited to see books at their reading level, and even books their friends in other classes have read.
Silent reading is so much less of a battle now that my students have graphic novels. They love visuals and often learn best when using them, so they are able to read a lot more independently! I've ran out of bookmarks, which is a telling sign because before I had this new library of books, my students would just close the book and put it back! They didn't care how it ended because they weren't engaged or it the reading was "babyish". Now, my students are asking if they can keep the book at their desk until they're done with it! This is huge! Before, I'd have students looking at books, several books, up from their seats and back down, and pretending to be interested in reading. Now, they have books that they actually like and are that are "cool" books.
In my heart, I had hoped this would happen and thanks to your generous donations, I now have the happy problem of fighting over who gets which book next! Thank YOU for helping me inspire the next generation of readers!”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 4 other donors.Help Us Read With High Interest Books!
Funded Feb 20, 2019Words are so important- the words we speak and the words we read. I never let my students tell me that they are not readers, they just haven't found the right book yet. In special education, many of my students have goals around reading and it can be painful to teach. I often am supplied with books that the kids deem "baby books". With your donation, I have selected high interest books that have my students excited to read or have read to them! Their excitement is measurable and I vow to teach them that we all can have joy from reading. Not only are these books high interest, but they represent the many of my marginalized students, so that they can see themselves as the main character. Thank you for the gift of books!”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
Making Us Mindful
Funded Nov 27, 2018Thank you so much for funding our mindfulness project. As you know, I work with students that have special needs and ALL of them struggle with anxiety. Not only does the typical student struggle with anxiety through middle school but it really impacts my students. They have complex sensory needs and mindfulness is a tool that I've started to introduce.
We have learned about the five senses and the chimes, bells, and gong are gentle auditory sounds that have helped me signal it is time for our mindfulness and it has provided me with a tool to use for auditory concentration. The singing bowl, chime and gong last long enough that students need to sustain their attention on them, yet not too long that they get distracted. Each student has a preferred item based on its sound. The success I've had with providing the audio stimuli has a huge impact on students and especially using the singing bowl provides a place for their hands and a tool to use when they need to calm down.
The Hoberman's Spheres have become an essential breathing tool in our classroom. We have some in our sensory space and during our mindful minute breathing exercises, this is a favorite of the students! They love the tactile feel of the spheres and the opening and closing helps them really concentrate on their belly breathing. We practice breathing techniques and exercises every day and I am pretty sure they'd choose this one always if they could.
Thank you so much for supporting a more mindful generation. They are our greatest hope and especially the students that think outside the box and learn differently are our greatest hope. Words cannot express the genuine gratitude I want to express to you for being so incredibly generous. With a full and warm heart, I appreciate you and your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
Special Education Supports for Sensory Processing
Funded Mar 27, 2018It is with gratitude that I express my appreciation for your donation. My students have not only enjoyed their new sensory items but now that they are familiar with the tools and expectations, they are using them as a sensory strategy. The putties, pins, chairs, fidgets, scooters, and sand all have social stories about how to use them appropriately as a tool for calm and focus. It makes me so proud when I have a student come up to me and ask to use the items so that they can calm themselves or take a break. Because of your generosity, our students are able to focus on what matters- learning!”
With gratitude,
Ms. H.
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 7 other donors.