Classroom Funding
Teaching Profession
The IRS Increased the Teacher Tax Deduction. Will It Help?
Teachers use the deduction to offset the cost of classroom supplies.
Budget & Finance
Teacher Requests on DonorsChoose Spike for SEL and Mental Health Resources
Educators are asking for class resources to help improve students' mental health and foster SEL skills like creativity and collaboration.
Teaching Profession
Teacher Showers: Helping Hand or Symptom of a Profession in Trouble?
It's a boon to new teachers, but others worry about it reinforcing the idea that teachers should pay for things out of pocket.
Budget & Finance
Teachers Take to Twitter to Crowdfund Classroom Supplies
Teacher wish lists posted under the hashtags #Clearthelists and #Adoptateacher are trending on Twitter.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Why I Left Teaching (Spoiler: It Wasn't the Students)
A public school teacher explains how three troubling trends drove him out of the profession this year.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Why This Teacher Will No Longer Pay for the ‘Privilege’ to Wear Jeans
Getting to wear jeans occasionally at my school hardly seems worth the outlay, explains a teacher.
Budget & Finance
Opinion
Teachers Need More Money for the Classroom. Here's How I Would Spend It
An elementary teacher explains what he'd do with a $3,000 classroom-supply budget.
Teaching Profession
Teachers Can Apply PPE Costs to Their $250 Educator Tax Deduction. Is That Enough?
Many teachers were hoping the $250 tax break would be increased for this school year, given other expenses they've had to contend with.
Teaching Profession
Schools Need Extra Supplies Since Kids Can't Share. Per Usual, Teachers Are Paying
While schools are making bulk purchases of hand sanitizer and face masks, it's less clear if district money will cover all of the other new expenses teachers will encounter this year.
Teaching Profession
This Teacher Is Suing Her District Over Working for Free, Buying School Supplies
School districts have "unconscionably and impermissibly shifted operating costs of the classrooms directly on the financial backs of our teachers," the lawsuit alleges.
Teaching
Lenders Push High-Interest 'Back-to-School' Loans on Parents Via Social Media
Posts on Facebook and Twitter urge parents who need money for school supplies to take out payday and other loans, which experts caution have sky-high rates and school leaders say are unnecessary.
Teaching
Opinion
Response: Show Me the Money! Ways Teachers Can Raise Funds for Their Classrooms
Suggestions on how teachers can raise private monies to support their classroom are offered by Alfonso Gonzalez, Holly Spinelli, Susan Lafond, Amanda Koonlaba, and Barbara Gottschalk.
Budget & Finance
From Our Research Center
How Do Teachers Fund Their Classrooms? 6 Takeaways
Most teachers say they expect to contribute resources to their classrooms, but teachers aren’t only putting up the cash themselves. In addition to old standbys like grants and bake sales, many are turning to other fundraising opportunities, including online crowdfunding platforms like DonorsChoose.
Early Childhood
Photo Essay
Teacher Keeps Up Long Tradition of Hatching Chicks With Kindergartners
Cynthia Christopher's kindergarten class receives chicken eggs to hatch at Stonehurst Magnet School in Sun Valley, Calif.