Letter from Mary Lazarus, 3rd grade teacher
February 8, 2011 - My 3rd grade students and I would like to thank you very much for the wonderful gift of dictionaries you provided to our class & school. It is such a worthwhile & generous program to help further the education¬al needs of elementary aged children. And, the fact that the kids abso¬lutely LOVE their new dictionaries is a win-win for us all! Upon receiving your generous gifts, our class spent some time learning about all the jewels the dictionaries had to offer. They were amazed &enthralled with all the resource information your dictionary gift contained. You will see by the letters I'm including, written by my students, that the dictionary they each received will provide them with information and enjoyment for years to come. I hope you enjoy these letters as much as each of my students will -and already are -enjoying their dictionary! Thank you again for supporting education in public schools by providing each student with their own personal dictionary. It is a truly valuable gift that I know my students and I are very grateful to you for.

Letter from Linda Schindler, 3rd grade teacher
January 6, 2011 - Here are some letters of thanks from my students. They were very excited to receive a dictionary of their "own". Thank you so much! This greatly enhances the teaching of dictionary skills in third grade.

Letter from Liz Kim, Principal
January 18, 2011 - We wanted to share thank you letters from some of our 3rd grade students at Strandwood. Our 3rd grade teachers appreciate this gift to our students each year and value the service your organization offers. With the continuing cuts to education in California, this is a welcome event each year. We know our 3rd grade students will have a current dictionary in their hands to support their learning in the classroom and at home. Thank you so much for the on going support of the students of California.

Testimonials from California Dictionary Project Teacher's survey, West Contra Costa Unified School District
December 2009

“Thank you! Please continue to bring this essential school material/tool to students.” – Dora L. Valentin (Lincoln Elementary)
“Thank you very much for your support! We will put our new dictionaries to good use.” -- Jamie Brumfield (Highland Elementary)
“It is very beneficial to the students to receive a dictionary that they can keep at home.” -- Leah Kleinman (Highland Elementary)
“Please continue it. It has been a valuable asset to our children.” -- Elizabeth Mooney (Grant Elementary)
“The dictionary is an integral part of our daily learning activities. Thanks, greatly.” -- Kendy O.S. Nam-Dolgoff (Stege Elementary)
“Every home needs at least one dictionary! No family should be without one for reasons too innumerable to write here.” -- Susan Tuttle (Lincoln Elementary)
“The children are very enthusiastic about receiving the dictionaries!” – Rosalie Stillford (Peres Elementary)
“I think the program is wonderful. Every year my class has gotten these the students have been very excited to see them and have them as their own. They love looking up words and all the extra information.” -- Gail Harris (Riverside Elementary)
“High interest level when distributed. We examined it as a group. Noticed students looking through them the next day during free time.” -- Tema Wengell (Sheldon School)
“This is great. Dictionary work is an integral part of our instruction.” -- Dan MacDonald (Grant Elementary)

Letter from John Gaxiola
Nov 1, 2010 - "Thank you very much for your generous donations of dictionaries to our school. All of the children were very excited when they heard that they were all going to receive brand new dictionaries. Both the preschool and school aged children, as well as school teachers and staff, could not wait to open the boxes when they arrived. For many of these children and their families, receiving these new dictionaries, was like opening a Christmas gift, they could not wait to open them up. From the moment the boxes were brought to the school and unpacked, all of the staff and children were absolutely filled with excitement and happiness. Each of the children pushed ahead of each other, trying to be the very first child to receive their new book. By the end of the dictionary distribution, all of them were all sitting down at their tables in groups, happily looking through their new books."

Letter from San Jose Unified School District
The generosity of people in our community is an integral part of the success of our students. Your support has greatly assisted us in our mission to create life long learning opportunities for all students.

Letter from HEROES
March 24, 2008 - "The response by students is nothing short of sheer delight. They truly are grateful for th ereference tool and are more than eager to learn."

Email from Michele Melvin
March 5, 2008 - "My third grade class thanks you for the fabulous dictionaries! We LOVE them and appreciate having such a valuable resource at our fingertips! This project is truly one that is effective and gets right into the students' hands for immediate use."

Quotes of Volunteers & Teachers from SFUSD Dictionary Day 2006
November 16, 2006 - "The kids were really enthusiastic about getting their own dictionaries, and they were really responsive to the dictionary activities and fun to work with too!"

"In all my twenty-five years of teaching I have never seen a child hug a dictionary until Dictionary Day 2006. Your generosity in supporting the language development of my 20 English Language Learners is truly appreciated."

Letter from Lance Coletto
November 16, 2006 - "Dictionary Day... was a great opportunity to get involved in a very worthwhile cause."

Letter from Kelly Thomas
March 8, 2006 - "I cannot emphasize enough how beneficial it was for my 3rd graders to receive the dictionaries.

Letter from Janet Ohanis
March 4, 2006 - "I can't express to you the looks of excitement and joy when [the students] receive their dictionaries... Thank you once again for the gift of a lifetime."

Letter from Principal Cherie Ivey
March 2, 2006 - "Dictionaries are a hands-on, instantly ready reference tool that our children will value, use and cherish for many years to come."

Letter from Ms. Martin
March 1, 2006 - "Our class would like to thank you for the Spanish and English Dictionaries... They have been very useful both in the classroom and at home."

Letter from T. Wright George
March 2, 2006 - "I would like to commend your efforts to help California's students improve their literacy and expand their vocabulary, by means of the 'free dictionary program.'"

Letter from Raynell Hernandez
March 5, 2006 - "[M]y students... come to class enthusiastically requesting to share information they have learned from their dictionaries... This program is vital component to elementary education because a dictionary is a tool to help devlop sills for students that will last a lifetime."

Letter from a Parent
"[A]s a parent it is the best to know that your child can count on people who provide support in funding services like C.D.P."

Letter from Barbara Styles
March 6, 2006 - "[CDP] is to be commended for its interest in and concern for our school."

Letter from Severn Foundation
March 6, 2006 - "We have worked with many non-profit literacy groups in the bay area, and we consider CDP to be one of the top tier organizations that provides a unique service which fills a need within our financially troubled education system."

Letter from San Francisco School Volunteers
March 20, 2006 - "SFSV volunteers have enjoyed teaching students how to use the dictionaries and had the great satisfaction of being able to deliver these very special gifts."