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Mrs. Utsey's Classroom

  • Harmony Grove Elementary School
  • Camden, AR
  • Half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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show projects from all time

Past projects 11

  • Financial Futures: Empowering Young Minds

    Funded Sep 19, 2023

    I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for your generous support of our first-grade classroom project, which focuses on enhancing financial literacy and economics education through a digital classroom economy.

    Thanks to your contribution, we have successfully implemented a system where students earn points for their positive behaviors, completion of assignments, and active classroom participation. These points translate into digital rewards, offering a practical and engaging way for students to learn the principles of budgeting, saving, investing, and responsible spending.

    Your support has not only enabled us to expand our educational toolkit but has also reinforced our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approach. This alignment ensures that we continue to promote positive behavior while providing an interactive learning experience.

    The impact of your donation goes beyond the classroom walls. Our students have embraced the digital economy with great enthusiasm and are already demonstrating a better understanding of the financial concepts critical for their future success. The joy and excitement they exhibit when engaging with this project are truly heartwarming, and it is clear that your support has sparked a passion for learning that will last a lifetime.

    Once again, thank you for your kindness and belief in our mission. Your support is not just a gift, but an investment in our children's future.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab and 3 other donors.
  • From Excellent to Amazing

    Funded Oct 5, 2022

    Thank you very much for your generosity and kindness in helping to get our project funded. The materials that I requested helped tackle not only hunger, but also learning and fun. Not only were the snacks used during snack time, but they were also also be available to students as prizes from our classroom store. Students earn income through our classroom economy. Financial Literacy has become a great tool in our classroom. Students earn income based on their classroom jobs, as well as good behavior. They are learning to spend and save their earnings. Participating in this experience daily gives the students a sense of pride and places a level of responsibility on their shoulders, as they are aware that they can earn, spend, and save.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab and 2 other donors.
  • Math Incentives

    Funded Aug 30, 2022

    Thank you so much for your generosity and help with funding my project "Math Incentives" My students and I greatly appreciate your kindness in helping us get our project fully funded. Because of your generosity I was able to provide incentives, such as PBIS incentives or rewards, for my students. I've focused on improving our Financial Literacy/Economics curriculum, throughout the last few school years, in our classroom. The gift cards were helpful in motivating my students when they completed their math lessons, facts test, and doing their best by working hard in class. The gift cards were used for prizes to motivate my students to work hard in Math, and other subjects, as well as showing good behavior. I have implemented many reward systems to help teach Financial Literacy/Economics, math, and science as well as to reinforce good behaviors. Thank you again for helping to make my classroom a great learning environment.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 6 other donors.
  • Take a Look, it's in a Book!

    Funded May 9, 2021

    Thank you so much for helping to fund our project! It means so much to me and my students. It has been said that many students will get a summer slide in education if they aren't continuing some sort of learning during the summer. Our students had already suffered enough school loss during these unpreceded times during this world pandemic and I could not imagine letting them lose out any more. I was so grateful that I was able to provide each of them with book and supplies for the summer thanks to your help. The books were given to my students so that they could continue reading high-interest books while they were out of school. I was also blessed with some items that helped me continue my efforts in teaching them Financial Literacy thanks your help!! Thank you!!!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and 8 other donors.
  • Learning With Comfort

    Funded May 10, 2021

    Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for helping to fund my project! My students have really enjoyed being able to have a comfortable place to learn and grow during their First Grade year. This had provided our classroom with more comfortable seating. We LOVE the NUGGET Comfort. I have provided my students with a comfortable, clean, and safe place to foster their learning. It has been more than just a place to sit it has also been a place to learn comfortably with our classroom family! What has made this particular comfort extra special is that the covering can be washed when we do need to clean it! This is a bonus because it will allow me to ensure that my classroom is clean and safe. Currently, we use this during our independent learning times. We have independent and small group times during math and literacy. I have also used it as an incentive for good behavior. Students in my class earn points for making good choices and for their jobs. They can redeem their points for various incentives. This is part of our Financial Literacy. I have been so happy to use the Teachers Pay Teachers gift card to purchase more units and materials for our Financial Literacy units. Thank you very much!!!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and 3 other donors.
  • Good Citizen in the Making

    Funded Dec 4, 2020

    Thank you SOOO much for supporting our classroom and "Good Citizens in the Making!" We are, exceedingly, grateful for your generosity! We appreciate the support in receiving the materials and supplies needed to make it all possible! The items were so useful during the holiday season!!!. The organization bins have helped us get organized and store many daily materials.

    The Kleenex and masks were very useful during the cold and flu season. The masks were useful for students that don't have masks at home.

    The materials that we used for the parent's Christmas gifts turned out very cute and the students enjoyed making them. Our classroom is blessed by your selflessness.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and 9 other donors.
  • From Great to Excellent!

    Funded Dec 18, 2020

    Thank you all so much for helping my project come alive!!! The materials that I requested surely helped tackle hunger and were also helping for our learning and fun. My students LOVED all of the snacks. I was so surprised when they started arriving.

    The other items were used by all of us in the room. The students enjoyed everything. The toys and trinkets have been used for our treasure box as well as our points bin. The students have worked extra hard to earn prizes. This makes me and them happy!

    The speaker has helped us in our classroom to be able to better hear the sounds that are played on songs and videos. I have a soft voice and the microphone helped when I recorded and streamed virtual lessons. The buzzers have been fun for games that we play when we are reviewing our skills weekly and monthly. Getting this project was helpful for the entire class, those that are virtual as well as those in class.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and 4 other donors.
  • It's Beginning to Feel More Like Normal

    Funded Nov 16, 2020

    I would like to thank you for your support in helping my students. Some of these items helped to enhance our holiday season. I love to make activities hands-on so that students can retain the information in a better way. I have planned a few classroom flips. I have not gotten to complete a few of the activities but the ones I did do were so much fun. We did small a 50s school day on the 50th day of school. I took the students on many virtual trips during our "Holidays Around the World" unit. The activities were very engaging and kept the students attention. The students enjoyed using the donut hole maker during our donut unit. The mountain winter themed shower curtain added a cute look and set the mood during our winter themes. I want to keep the class as clean as possible. The air dehumidifier has helped keep the class air clean and fresh. I have be able to use the webcam for my virtual learners when we zoom. I've had a hard time getting this done with limited technology. All of the books have been a great addition to our read alouds. As we continue to learn about our financial literacy I will continue to provide incentives for the students. The classroom basic such as the crayons have been used at the VIP table. Each week I choose 1 student to sit there. They get to use special supplies. We use many online apps such a NearPod, SeeSaw, Google Classroom, and Spelling City. I have used the Apple TV to mirror our presentations and to show students content while walking around the class. I have had to adjust and learn many new things this school year. I am hoping these additions will continue to ease my stress and help me make this school year great for the students.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and 3 other donors.
  • Classroom Basics for Basically Successful First Graders!

    Funded Oct 21, 2020

    WOW!! Thank you so very much for your help with funding our classroom project! The requested materials have helped my students and me as we have learned to adapt to the different school year. We are from a very small rural town where the internet is very limited. We have class Monday through Thursday and we meet virtually on Fridays. I have to create lessons for students that are virtual Monday-Friday. From the beginning of the year until now I have wanted to make sure that all students who are enrolled in my class have the same learning and fun experience whether they come to class or are virtual. I have used the spinner in lessons during math and literacy. The LED lights have been a neat addition and added a fun vibe during the school day. We use them during writing time as well as during other times of the day. Soon we will be back on a 5 day a week schedule and I will use them during our Fun Friday. The laptop stand has made it easier for me to do my virtual lesson. The whiteboard clipboards have been useful during our center time. We don't share supplies due to the current pandemic so it's important for me to supply each student with their own clipboard. I will also be able to send them home to the virtual students. I want to be able to give all students incentives and rewards for their accomplishments and behavior. The students have had a blast during our "glow days" where all the activities are glow in the dark. I use the storage bins to store materials that I create for instructional purposes. I laminate, label, and cut many center activities, more than I normally have to because of sharing purposes and cleanliness. These classroom basics for my students helped enhance our school and I appreciate you for your help.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and one other donor.
  • New Times Calls for New Beginnings

    Funded Oct 24, 2020

    Thank you so much for your help in funding our project. Everything has been so useful!! This school year has brought many challenges that we needed to make adjustments for, not only in the way we teach but also in the manner that our room is set up. These resources have helped support the daily needs and learning within our classroom. The items that I requested ranged from drawers that helped to keep our materials organized to a bubble machine that that I use daily to enhance our learning. I use it as an attention getter for my "first-grade scholars''. I consider our classroom to be a family and each student brings a picture of their family to display in our class. I have used the camera to capture many moments such as when students create STEM projects, when we do challenges such as Fear Factor, and to capture the students' "aha" moments during their learning in Math and Literacy. The students have loved the LED Strip Lights and I have used them to encourage a more fun approach to academics. With any activity, we want to make sure that we practice "healthy habits; " supported by the supply of Kleenex within the center. My students are motivated by fun rewards and they have loved all the small prize. I have built and supported our financial literacy concepts that we are learning through economics Arkansas in our classroom with incentives. Students are paid for their classroom jobs as well as good behavior through a points system. I look forward to continuing to learn and finish this year! Thank you!!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Utsey

    This classroom project was brought to life by Economics Arkansas and 7 other donors.
This school year has brought many challenges that we need to make adjustments for, not only in the way we teach but also in the manner that our room is set up. These resources will support the daily needs and learning within our classroom. The requested items range from drawers that will help keep our materials organized to a bubble machine that will be used to enhance learning. I will use the bubble machine to help get my “first-grade scholars'' ready for critical thinking. I consider our classroom to be a family and each student brings a picture of their family to display in our class. I will use the camera to capture many moments such as when students create STEM projects, when we do challenges such as Fear Factor, and to capture the students' “aha” moments during their learning in Math and Literacy. The LED Strip Lights will add some light that will encourage a more fun approach to academics. With any activity, we want to make sure that we practice "healthy habits;" supported by the supply of Kleenex within the center. My students are motivated by fun rewards which is what I will use the small prizes for. I will build and support our financial literacy concepts that we are learning through economics Arkansas in our classroom with incentives. Students are paid for their classroom jobs as well as good behavior through a points system.

About my class

This school year has brought many challenges that we need to make adjustments for, not only in the way we teach but also in the manner that our room is set up. These resources will support the daily needs and learning within our classroom. The requested items range from drawers that will help keep our materials organized to a bubble machine that will be used to enhance learning. I will use the bubble machine to help get my “first-grade scholars'' ready for critical thinking. I consider our classroom to be a family and each student brings a picture of their family to display in our class. I will use the camera to capture many moments such as when students create STEM projects, when we do challenges such as Fear Factor, and to capture the students' “aha” moments during their learning in Math and Literacy. The LED Strip Lights will add some light that will encourage a more fun approach to academics. With any activity, we want to make sure that we practice "healthy habits;" supported by the supply of Kleenex within the center. My students are motivated by fun rewards which is what I will use the small prizes for. I will build and support our financial literacy concepts that we are learning through economics Arkansas in our classroom with incentives. Students are paid for their classroom jobs as well as good behavior through a points system.

About my class

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