My name is Bianca Fortis, and I’m the education reporter at New York Focus. I always heard stories from my teacher relatives about how they had to buy their own classroom supplies. My cousin, an art teacher, routinely bought basic craft supplies like paper, paint, crayons, glue, scissors and clay. She even bought costumes for her students’ end-of-year performances.
As we head into the new school year, we’re asking teachers across New York State to share with us what they plan to spend on supplies for their classrooms.
We know it’s a long-standing practice for teachers to pay for classroom supplies out-of-pocket due to limited school budgets. But this extra cost places an undue burden on teachers. Many teachers turn to crowdfunding platforms in order to provide students with what they need to have a successful school year.
We are working with Chalkbeat New York to collect stories from teachers across the state. If you’re a teacher, I’d be so appreciative if you could fill out the survey linked below. And if you know any teachers, please help us by sharing the link with them.