A big chunk of money comes out of Alabama teachers’ wallets to buy supplies for their classrooms.
The Huntsville nonprofit Free 2 Teach gave out more than $1 million worth of supplies last year, a record number. They open their doors to teachers Monday.
Numbers from the National Center for Education Statistics show teachers spend close to $500 on supplies every year. The ones WZDX News talked to say that number varies based on what and where you teach, but it happens across the board with reportedly 94 percent of them using their own money.
“How much of your own money do you spend on school supplies?” WZDX News asked a Madison County Schools art teacher.
“I would say a couple hundred,” said Anna Parks.
Getting the classroom essentials and creating a fun learning environment adds up. Teachers are given some money for supplies.
“But it’s not enough,” said Jennifer Cummings, the Free 2 Teach store manager. “It’s like two or three dollars a child that you can spend with the stipend money.”
The National Retail Federation’s 2018 survey shows families planned to spend close to $700 on one public school-aged child. Many families can’t afford that and teachers step in.
“To give them the tools they need to succeed makes them better people in the future, too,” said Cummings. “You have to think, if you’re that child that’s left behind because you didn’t have a crayon or you didn’t have a pencil or you didn’t have a notebook to take notes and you do badly on your test you’re not gonna want to succeed.”
That’s where Madison County’s Free 2 Teach store comes in. Teachers shop there up to five times a year, adding up to more than $500 worth of school supplies that they get for free.
“It’s important for them to be able to go to school and be like, ‘Hey this is a fun place. I want to be here,'” said Parks. “There are eventually going to be less drop-outs because the kids are like, ‘Hey I like school, this is a great place.'”
Alabama is consistently ranked toward the bottom in education. Free 2 Teach aims to change that by helping teachers and students get the tools they need.
The state’s largest education budget was just passed in Montgomery, which teachers see as a good sign. It includes just over $7 billion for education, a 4 percent teacher pay raise, and more money for Pre-K programs.
Learn how to donate to Free 2 Teach or get involved as a teacher in any of the three school systems in Madison County here.
