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Supporting classroom projects focused on mental health is an important step in eliminating stigma.

Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2012 by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. We aim to support the mental health of young people and work with them to build a kinder and braver world. Through our goals of making kindness cool, validating the emotions of young people, and eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health, we inspire acts of kindness and build communities that understand, prioritize, and foster good mental health.

There is an undeniable link between kindness and mental wellness.

While a majority of young people prioritize their mental health, less than half know where to go for support if they are in crisis. Results from our Kindness Is Action report showed that, while parents and guardians continue to play an important role in the lives of their young people, more youth are turning inward to find the motivation to be kind (51%). Young people are also recognizing their peer networks are key to resilience.

All young people deserve to have someone in their lives show them kindness, and our research shows that mental health improvements come from having someone listen when youth have a problem. Teachers play an essential role in encouraging open dialogue around mental health, and supporting classroom projects focused on this topic is an important step in eliminating stigma. 

Born This Way Foundation connects existing resources in our communities with the young people that seek them, but we can’t do it alone. Teachers are often the first adults outside of family who identify mental health needs of students. Through our partnership with DonorsChoose, we aim to equip teachers and their classrooms with the necessary tools to support their students.

Resources to help support and inspire classroom projects focused on mental health

Channel Kindness 

A digital platform that invites young people and youth advocates, including teachers, to share their stories and put compassion into action in their own lives.

Please Stay

A pledge to stay alive, to keep going, to reach out when you need help, and to promise to stay here. Find resources, connect with people for support, and find your anchor.

#BeKind21

A campaign that calls on participants around the world to practice an act of kindness - for themselves or others - every day for 21 days. An array of programming is offered to make kindness cool and support mental health.

BeThere.org

An initiative that reinforces the importance of equipping young people with the knowledge and confidence to recognize when someone is struggling, lean into tough conversations, and connect that person with resources to support their mental health.

Trevor Project 

A national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under 25. TrevorLifeline is a crisis intervention and suicide prevention phone service available 24/7/365. 

The Jed Foundation

A nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for U.S. teens and young adults. JED partners with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems.

For additional resources please visit Born This Way Foundation’s Get Help Page.

If you’ve found a mental health resource that has been helpful with your students, please share it with us on social media at @btwfoundation with the hashtag #BTWFxDonorsChoose.

Need some inspiration for your next project?

Teachers like you have been leading the way in supporting their students’ mental health throughout this challenging year. Many teachers have already posted incredible projects that don’t just address mental health — they change the culture around mental health in their classrooms. We celebrate them and thought you might be inspired by their ideas too: 

• Expanding Emotional Resilience Through Reading and Writing, Mrs. Petty (Grades 9–12)
• Zen in Uncertain Times, Mrs. Asmus (Grades PreK–2) 
• Mental Health First Aid, Mrs. Counasse (Grades 3–5) 
• Sensory/Calm Down Corner for Ms. Bolton and Ms. Dec's rooms, Ms. Bricker (Grades PreK–2) 
• Breathe Through Change: Teaching Social-Emotional Wellness Through Mindfulness and Yoga, Ms. Cipov (Grades PreK–2)
• SPOT of Emotions, Ms. Jimenez (Grades PreK–2)
• Focus, Flexibility, and Positive Mental Health!, Mrs. Amanda (Grades PreK–2)
• A Little Touch of Home, Mr. Brian (Grades 9-12)

Let your students and fellow teachers know that your classroom is a safe place to talk about mental health.

Your classroom is an essential place to encourage a brave, open dialogue around mental health. Use these graphics on social media and in your classroom to keep the courageous dialogue going.

Student engagement has been one of the hallmark challenges of this unruly school year. Now with the end of the year just weeks away, teachers everywhere are thinking about how to equip students with the items they'll need to stay engaged with learning throughout the summer.

Before you wrap up your school year, consider posting one simple project that will shift vacation to exploration, like Ms. Fahy from Florida:

“Statistics show that every summer, many students experience the 'summer slide'. Help me to get my 6th grade scientists outside this summer! This could be the summer of STEM, instead of the summer of slide.”

“Summer Slide”, “Summer Brain Drain” — Whatever you call it, you and your students have worked too hard this year to let it happen. Check out some of the most popular summer project items to bridge this school year into the next, while keeping fun at the forefront:

Art Supplies

“Little backpacks with a watercolor paint set, art journal, colored pencils, and a sharpener will allow my little guys and gals to have their very own art supplies. I'm hoping my students will limit their screen time this summer and choose to spend the time doing art instead.” (Ms. Skiles, 2nd Grade, Arizona; Choosing Art Time Over Screen Time for a Colorful Summer!)

Mindfulness Materials

“A Self-Care Summer is about self-love, self-care, and self-respect. These materials will make a difference in the student's learning because they will learn (through the characters in the stories) how to make sound decisions; and, develop empathy for those who do not.” (Mrs. McKinney, Grades 9-12, Oklahoma; Self-Care Summer!)

Basic Supplies

“These deodorants, toothpastes, toothbrushes, and personal hygiene products will be supplied to my students as summer care packages. These items will help to meet the basic needs of my students during the summer when they may not have access to resources from teachers and other staff members.” (Mrs. A, Grades 6-8, Texas; Summer Supplies)

Outdoor Games & Toys

“My students and families deserve recognition for their active participation throughout a crazy school year – so I'm rewarding them with a Summer fun family bucket including squirt guns, sunglasses, otter pops, and a ring pop.” (Mrs. Pick, Kindergarten, Washington; Summer Fund Buckets!)

Board Games

“The school year is about to end, but the learning does not have to stop! Besides, summer time is a great opportunity for kids to enjoy a great read and have a productive family time around a board game!” (Ms. S., PreK-2, New York; Summer Learning, Having a Blast)

Gardening Supplies

“With these resources, we would be able to explore gardening...by taking what we grow at school in starter pots to transplant in the student’s home garden and continue growing during summer break. Students will be able to grow vegetables started in class in the spring and continue harvesting produce for their families in the summer growing season.” (Mrs. Hankins, Grades 6-8, Arkansas; For the Love of Gardening)

Books

“These books will give students inspiration to continue to read during summer break at home. With these new books, it will enhance their creative thinking and still stay on grade level, if not above, during the summer.” (Ms. Ivey, Grades 3-5, Virginia; Reading for Vacation!)

Writing Prompts

“The envelopes, stamps and labels will help my students and I to communicate in the summer as Pen Pals. By writing to me during the summer, my ELL students will continue to develop their writing skills.” (Ms. Tapia, Grades PreK-2, Maryland; Summer Pen Pals)

STEM Kits

“I want to give my students the summer gift of seeing our local marine environments, with swimming goggles for all face to face learners. I hope that by providing my students with goggles & in-class printed local field guides that they may be able to experience a spectacular summer of STEM exploration in their own backyards!” (Mrs. Fahy, 6th Grade, Florida; See the Sea this Summer)

A few more bright ideas from the DonorsChoose Teacher Community:

“Woodworking projects for summer school. A little hands-on building to ease students back to in-person learning.”

“Simple recipes to make and either supplies for garden or gift card to get items so they can practice life skills but also have access to healthy food during summer.”

“Games to send home with students to encourage family engagement.”

“My recent favorite project was pre-prepped craft activities. The pieces are all foam stickers. So easy for my students to complete and work on the fine motor skills of peeling the stickers -- plus it’s super cute after.”

“Art makes little ones happy. Art supplies like watercolors, brushes, art paper, collage materials, canvas, etc.”

“Yoga mats, blocks, balls, stretchy bands to continue stretching, mindfulness that we’ve done in advisory during distance learning.

”
“BOOKS - Always BOOKS! It is so important for students to have books of their very own so they self identify as readers. BOOKS!”

And perhaps most importantly...

“A note to remind students to stay curious, keep learning, and we’ll be anxious to hear what they did over the summer when we return.”

Ready to send your students off with something special for summer? Start your project today!

Five years ago, our Data Science & Analytics team wrote about our centralized data stack in this post. The setup that previous members of our team built has served the organization’s needs very well over time, and we appreciate the eagerness of our predecessors in adopting the most modern tools and technologies to power the entire org’s data work and allow everyone at DonorsChoose easy access to our data.

Since then, we’ve added a few more tools and services to our data stack, and thought it was a good time to write an update.

Our Updated Data Stack

Some of the biggest changes in our stack over the last five years include:

• Integrating more data sources with Fivetran connectors (primarily more Amazon S3 connectors)
• Transitioning some data transformations from Looker to dbt
• Switching from ExactTarget to Simon Data for our Email Service Provider
• Introducing Amazon Comprehend for one of our core machine learning models

Limiting access to our “open data” Looker instance in favor of more broad access to a standardized data set updated annually

A Deeper Dive

The data stack is a little more complicated than it was five years ago, so we’ll break it down below in some detail.

• Data Ingest
• Fivetran still lives at the heart of our data ingestion process. Fivetran connectors are easy to set up and have allowed us to pull data from several different sources into Redshift. Current sources include our site’s PostgreSQL database, Zendesk, Salesforce, several Amazon S3 buckets, and CSV files from our staff users. You can read a case study about our experience with Fivetran. 
• We use Heap Analytics to capture and aggregate end-user interaction events on our website, and Heap pipes that data directly to Redshift. 
• We’ve onboarded Simon Data as our new Email Service Provider. They push engagement data (eg. sends, opens, clicks) into an S3 bucket which Fivetran then pulls into Redshift. Simon Data also pulls data from Redshift (more on that in the Data Security section below). 
• Data Warehousing
• Our data lives in a single Redshift cluster. We use 3 ds2.xlarge nodes, which are storage-efficient and cost-efficient. Currently we’re using about 25% of our allotted storage space. Redshift Advisor analyzes queries and automatically recommends specific sort and distribution keys to optimize table setup over time. 
• Data Transformations
• Up until recently, all data transformations happened in Looker Persistent Derived Tables (PDTs). 
• Last year we started transitioning some of our transformations from Looker to dbt, and it has been a game-changer. For example, dbt allows for incremental updates on tables that would otherwise take a long time to rebuild, and can automatically generate a DAG that shows dependency relationships between all our models. 
• Business Intelligence
• Even though we’re transitioning some transformations over to dbt, we’re still as happy as ever with Looker as a business intelligence platform. On any given week, we’ll have 100 Looker users that spend more than 2 hours per week. In addition to adding Explores and fields as requested, we’ve archived older views and fields that are no longer used. With the newer updates to our data stack, our email marketing team can use Looker to join email engagement from Simon Data with transactional data from our website for a more holistic view of our audience. 
• Machine Learning
• Our most recent machine learning model in production, Taxonomy, is a text classification algorithm in Amazon Comprehend that categorizes requested classroom resources into one of 11 categories, such as Art Supplies and Sports Equipment.
• In addition, we use an Amazon EC2 instance to run machine learning cron jobs on some website data. For example, one model predicts whether current projects will be funded the next day, and another predicts donor lifetime value. 
• We’re also testing a few other machine learning ideas using DataRobot, which has provided us with a free license and expert consulting through their wonderful AI for Good program.

Closing the Feedback Loop

Historically, we’ve analyzed data by using Looker to visualize trends, running raw SQL on our warehouse tables, or conducted more detailed Python analyses using Google Colab. We’re now thinking about how to use our data in operations more effectively. 
One example we’ve implemented recently involves identifying unengaged users based on their email history. We now have two sources of email data: Simon Data and website data from our PostgreSQL database. After combining both in Redshift and transforming it with dbt, we can easily discern which of our users haven’t opened or clicked any of our emails over the last six months. We then feed that list back into an S3 bucket, which our Engineering team uses to send less email to inactive users. The entire process helps us avoid spam traps and keep our domain reputation high.

Data Security

As our data stack has grown in complexity, we’ve thought carefully about improving data security at every level. 

In our warehouse, we provide external vendors with their own usernames with the minimum level of permissions they need for their service. The Heap Analytics user can only write logging data to their own schema. For the Simon Data user, we’ve created a schema full of important views that they can pull a few times a day. The views reference tables in other schemas, but don’t allow the user to actually access the raw data from those other schemas.

We only make personally identifiable information (PII) data available to our internal users when  they need it for their job using role-based access control within Looker, and we time-bound that access. For staff who do not need access to detailed data, they can still see aggregated information. We find that this setup allows our users to get all the info they need while limiting the identification of specific PII of our donors and teachers.
Lastly, our awesome IT team has set up Okta, a single-sign-on provider that enforces strong passwords and multi-factor authentication for account creation and access to our Looker instance.

In a school year like no other, let’s give thanks (and tangible support!) to the teachers who’ve gone above and beyond for our country’s kids.

DonorsChoose was founded by a history teacher in the Bronx and over the last 20 years has become the nonprofit classroom funding site for public school teachers (see our impact). That means we do Teacher Appreciation Week like it’s every other holiday combined. And this year, we’re going all out. 

Throughout the week, you’ll see matched donations and other surprises that make it easy for citizen donors to support our public schools. (Citizen donor support means the world to educators and kids!) Check out the calendar below to see what we’re up to this week and how to participate.

Monday, May 3

Surprise! Starting at 7am ET, our friends at Ford are doubling donations to projects at schools where nearly all students receive free-and-reduced-priced lunch. This match will last until $500,000 in matching funds are unlocked. See matched projects. (Missed the match? Don’t worry — there’s more where that came from this week!)

Double surprise! We unleashed our inner poets and wrote poems for all the teachers who use our site. Here’s just one.

Tuesday, May 4

Starting at 7am ET, SONIC Drive-In is donating $1.5 million to 50% match donations to every project on DonorsChoose — and it’s going to move fast. (Are you a teacher? Get the details.)

Wednesday, May 5

Woah! Our friends at Google.org are bringing racial equity front and center! On Wednesday, up to $500,000, Google will be doubling donations to projects from teachers of color and any teacher requesting resources reflecting their students’ identities. Plus, male teachers of color will receive tripled donations! Get all the details.

Double woah! Here’s a special message from our staff for teachers. Take a look!

Thursday, May 6

Yes! In memory Anton Schulzki, his high school history teacher, Craig Newmark (friend to teachers everywhere and craigslist founder!) just gave a $25 gift to 40,000 DonorsChoose teachers — that's every teacher with a current project on our site and then some! (You can find more details here.)

Here’s why he’s giving this (huge!) gift.

Friday, May 7

High five! To help as many teachers as possible receive a donation this week, donors can use the code FRIDAY on the project of their choice. When they enter the code at checkout, we’ll top-off their donation with an extra $5 gift! (Get the details here.) Ready to give now? Pick the teacher you’re going to high-five with your Friday gift!

In addition to the promotional code above, our partners have stepped up for teachers in a big way today with a few surprise flash fundings to finish the week strong!

• Our friends Biz and Livia Stone just brought to life more than 200 projects from teachers who’ve never before had a funded DonorsChoose project.
• A friend of Hawai’i teachers fully funded all 223 projects from Hawai’i today! Plus, they’ve just launched a match offer tripling donations to projects from Hawai’i educators.
• College Football Playoff Foundation and the Big 12 Conference are huge fans of teachers. They funded 26 projects that support racial equity in Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Kansas.
• Rothy’s fully funded 44 projects in cities where their stores are located. Lookin’ at you, New York, San Francisco, LA, Boston, and D.C.!
• Curry Brand teamed up with Eat. Learn. Play., led by Stephen and Ayesha Curry, to make sure teachers in Oakland, CA and Charlotte, NC had an amazing end to their week. The organizations donated to bring 124 literacy and sports projects to life!
• SONIC Drive-In capped off the week in a big way, fully-funding 568 projects hand selected by their team. Woah!

Teachers and students are working harder than ever right now, and they deserve our support. What a wonderful appreciation celebration it’s been!

Every day DonorsChoose teachers are finding new ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage in their classrooms. Join us this Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month as we explore and digest (at times literally) some of the ways educators are celebrating the contributions that AAPI people have made to the history, culture, and successes of our communities.

Emphasizing Diversity

If you’re in Ms. Yokoyama’s California classroom, you know that, “AAPI Heritage Month is a time to recognize, celebrate and honor ALL Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander ancestry.”  This includes small touches like encouraging students to use the term “Lunar New Year” to be inclusive of all the Asian communities — including but not limited to China — that celebrate the holiday. And it also includes a huge amount of fun enrichment, including an Asian Culture Night where they hold workshops for parents and students, offer authentic food, read relevant books, teach dances, and share stories of inspiring Asian people.

Some teachers’ own experiences inform how they choose to bring the month to their students. Mr. Pond has identified a gap in AAPI education in his own high school experience; other than the Vietnam War, AAPI topics and subjects weren’t really talked about.

“I do believe that it's important for students to learn about AAPI heritage and culture because it's a chance to understand and appreciate a diverse group of people who are oftentimes stereotyped and caricatured.” —Mr. Pond

With that in mind, he’s planning to showcase graphic novels, books, and artifacts from various AAPI cultures. For him, it’s a way to celebrate the school’s AAPI students, teachers and staff and demonstrate support and belonging from the surrounding community.

Connecting Cultures with Cooking

A person’s taste, both literally and figuratively, grows with exposure to different experiences. For many students, exploring different cultures gives them the freedom to develop their curiosity and acceptance of others.

The students in Mr. Andy’s Pre-K class in New York (and their parents) are forming their own culturally diverse family through cooking.

“Food is a big part of family. I want to connect with all of my kids and their family and the way to do it is through cooking. I am requesting materials to create a cooking cart where parents can come in and find appliances and utensils needed to cook a special dish to share with our school family.” —Mr. Andy

The bonding that happens over these special meals can break down the barriers and create strong connections. Check out the items Mr. Andy requested for his cooking cart here.

Similarly, Ms. Nakamura’s students know that the fastest way to her students’ hearts and minds is through their bellies. Even though she teaches in the 4th largest district in the United States, her students aren’t aware that Asia is made up of many countries, including her own, Japan. 

“When I teach them that Pika-chu, Toyota, and Nintendo are all from Japan, they are always surprised.” —Ms. Makamura

To counteract this, she brings her own Japanese culture to the classroom, making origami hats and carp streamers, and teaching them to use chopsticks to eat noodles — slurping noises included! 

Did you know you can request cooking tools, food, and other materials to help celebrate AAPI culture through DonorsChoose? Get started by visiting donorschoose.org/teachers

Dance is a Universal Language

Mrs. Purin celebrates the AAPI community year round by finding fun ways to incorporate games and dances from different Asian cultures, such as the Maori song called Tititorea and the stick game that goes with it, or the dance from the Phillipines called Tinikling.

“One of my students last year had a grandmother from the Philippines and asked her about the dance… her grandmother was so excited to hear that [she] was learning it and they had something they could talk about and share." —Ms. Purin

Did you know you can request clothing, food, and other materials to help celebrate AAPI culture through DonorsChoose? Get started by visiting donorschoose.org/teachers

Books, Books, and More Books

One of the best ways to open a student’s mind is to get them to open a book! It takes them beyond the superficial and shows them that even if someone looks different, eats different food, or speaks a different language, all people share stories of love and growth.

Mrs. O’Neill is breaking down stereotypes by incorporating stories about Asian Americans into her class’ daily independent reading time. Her students read books and share about their learning through weekly student-led book talks.

“[These books] will allow my students to understand and experience Asian and Asian-American people through authentic texts in which they will be able to make real life connections.” —Mrs. O’Neill

Check out Mrs. O’Neill’s project Open Doors To Asia for a list of books that showcase the authentic Asian-American experience.

Let Your Students’ Interests Lead The Way

Regardless of their cultural heritage, all kids are going to have a handful of subjects they prefer above the others. And regardless of the cultural heritage, there are going to be role models in those fields. Mr. Reyes’ students pointed out how rarely schools highlight AAPI role models. so his students are working to change that in their classroom.

“They have asked us to include books like "Role Models Who Look Like Me: Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Who Made History" so that they can do a Biography project around some AAPI Role Models…. So we have put together a collection of books that will teach our students about a variety of heroes across many different disciplines. We want to make sure that every student finds someone to connect with. We want to make sure we have heroes from Art, Literature, Music, Science, Math, and Sports.” —Mr. Reyes

Take a peek at Mr. Reyes’ project, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: The Untold History to see exactly which AAPI role models he’s picked out for his students.

How are you celebrating the AAPI Community this month and beyond?

___

Do you have everything you need to celebrate the AAPI community during AAPI Heritage Month and beyond? Create a project for what you and your students need!

After founding DonorsChoose from his Bronx classroom 21 years ago, Charles Best has decided to pass the torch to a new CEO in 2022 and transition to our Board of Directors. The search for a new CEO is currently underway. 

Watch Charles’ message to our community.

Theresia Gouw, the newly elected chair of the DonorsChoose Board of Directors, shared with our supporters, “Charles’ spirit of service has been the driving energy of DonorsChoose, and his decision to welcome a new leader into this role shows his unwavering dedication to our mission. I’m excited to work with Charles and my fellow board members to find a visionary leader for the organization.”

Russell Reynolds Associates will lead the search for the new DonorsChoose CEO. Over the next year, Charles will lead DonorsChoose as the organization continues to address racial inequity in education and to support teachers and students through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Share a message with Charles on our Facebook post.

Over Charles’ 21 years as CEO, DonorsChoose has empowered 4.7 million people to give more than $1 billion to nearly 2 million requests from U.S. public school teachers. In 2008, Charles led the organization through an expansion that made the site available to  teachers in every public school in the United States. Today, four out of five public schools across the U.S. have a teacher who has posted a request on DonorsChoose. The organization was the first charity to make the cover of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies” issue, has been named one of Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things, and has won multiple Halo Awards for its partnerships with the world’s most respected brands. In 2019, DonorsChoose received the largest known gift of cryptocurrency to a single charity: $29 million in XRP to fund all 35,000 teacher requests live on the site at that time.

In a normal school year, teachers play every role from educator, to therapist, to nurse, to friend, and then some. And this year was far from normal! More than ever before, the social and emotional needs of students have been front-and-center, and teachers (as always) stepped up to the challenge.

This past January, our friends at The Allstate Foundation asked teachers to share their boldest and most inventive projects focussing on social and emotional learning. More than 2,000 teachers answered the call!

A team of teacher experts and our partners at The Allstate Foundation helped us to select these five winning projects, based on their innovation and responsiveness to the current educational climate. Winning teachers received $5,000 in DonorsChoose funding for their classroom.

Meet our winners below! Feeling inspired? Create a project to bring one of these ideas to your students.

Congratulations to these five exceptional teachers!

Social-Emotional Learning through Podcasts

Mrs. Lanson | Louisiana | Grades 9–12

Mrs. Lanson requested microphones, audio interfaces, and other equipment so that her students could create a weekly mental health podcast to share with the rest of the school.

“We hope to host meetings where students share their stories, films, music, and creative writing. Our goal is to connect school-aged youth, who may have behavioral health issues, including serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness, with the help that they deserve.”

Student Run Food Bank to Help With Social Emotional Learning

Mrs. Joanna Chappell | New York | Grades 9–12

Mrs. Joanna Chappell’s students and their families faced serious hardships because of COVID-19, with many families facing food insecurity and students missing out on opportunities for work-study. To give her special needs students another chance at work experience, Mrs. Joanna Chappell requested resources that would enable them to run a food bank.

“Creating a school based worksite can aid my students in feeling a sense of purpose and give them the feeling of giving back to their community. The social emotional learning will come from giving my students a feeling of contributing to their community and helping those in need.”

Seeing Empathy through Different Lenses

Ms. Nguy | California | Grades 3–5

Ms. Nguy wanted to engage her students in SEL through art, so she requested cameras and memory cards for her students with disabilities as a way to connect with their general education peers.

“I want to eliminate bias for my students with disabilities and create opportunities for all students to learn the fundamentals of being kind and caring citizens, who have respect, understanding, and empathy for others and themselves.”

The Diamond Club: A Social-Emotional Support Group

Ms. Flanagan | Illinois | Grades 9-12

From her expertise as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Ms. Flanagan knows how vital social-emotional learning is to student success. She launched The Diamond Club as a way to provide students with SEL opportunities like art therapy, journaling, and more.

“The end goals are to help my students learn the skills/strategies to deal with setbacks, to strengthen their coping mechanisms, learn how to overcome challenges, be resilient, and remain focused on accomplishing their post-secondary goals and aspirations. I want to ensure that they always remember our motto that pressure makes diamonds.”

Zen Zone From School to Home!

Mrs. Drake | Ohio | Grades 3-5

Mrs. Drake’s Ohio elementary schoolers are moving from virtual learning to a hybrid set up! To help students manage that big change, Mrs. Drake is developing a Zen Zone filled with yoga mats, fidget toys, eye masks, and everything else you’d need to find calm.

“These items will allow them to have a zen zone. A place where they are able to recognize and regulate their emotions. It will also help them bridge the gap between home and school during these unprecedented times. These little people are our future and they have to be well rounded individuals and deal with adversity as it comes.”

Create a project

After many weeks (months? years? lifetimes?) of distance/hybrid learning, you and your students might be headed back to the physical classroom. This can feel overwhelming, so we asked members of our Teacher Community who’ve already made the transition to share their best tips and tricks.

Keep the social, add the distance.

Having your students back – in person! all together! – will be a sigh of relief and a completely different experience than it was before. Spend some time redesigning your classroom to adhere to your school, district, and state standards for social distancing. Small enhancements can keep students safe while still feeling connected.

"My students sit on the floor so I created a grid for the kids to sit in – that way they can still have flexible seating but know that they need to do it within a certain space to stay distanced. I used sit spots and LONG velcro strips since my floor is carpeted." —Carter Bell

"My back to school to-do list included rearranging my preschool classroom to close off all the toys and make individual tables, making individual boxes of toys for the kids, organizing my cleaning and sanitizing needs, taking care of licensing paperwork, and having a meet and greet for my incoming kids." —Cathy Marie

"I put painters tape Xs on my floor at six ft distances to use to keep desks/tables in the appropriate spaces as well as a guide for lining up. Visual is helpful for kindergarten students and their teacher

." —Andrea Ellsworth Melton

You can request velcro strips, storage boxes, flexible seating and much more through DonorsChoose. Inspired? Start your project today.

Right now, not sharing is caring.

Repackaging class sets for individual use takes time and extra organizing, but it’ll make your classroom run safely and smoothly. Subject-specific kits, supplies for special classes, books, and indoor recess items can all be prepped and labeled for individual students.

When possible, make individual ‘kits’ for students to avoid multiple students touching classroom supplies. (ie, Have a basket for each student for their supplies. Baggies and pencil boxes are great for math tool kits, books and basic supplies)." —Teresa Morris

"I think getting each student the basic supplies they’ll need is important and also considerate. We don’t know what their families have been through this past year, or what fiscal position they’re in. It’s also safer for us to not have to touch items that come from students’ homes." —Jennifer Epstein-McFee

"Individual supply boxes with [their] own supplies to take to special classes (art, music, library) with earbuds and backpacks. No sharing of supplies in any area." —Jennifer Carrico

"Individual activity bins you can pass out for indoor recess or STEM time. I use pencil boxes and put things in them like legos, pipe cleaners, cubes, straws, etc. kids love to build! We also have individually labeled containers of play dough." —Janine Spiess

You can request zipper storage bags, supply boxes, individual sets of manipulatives, and much more through DonorsChoose. Ready? Start your project today.

Masks on, but keep smiling.

The newest must-have school supply? Masks. And lots of them. Keeping extra supplies on hand will help you and your students feel as comfortable as possible.

"Buy extra disposable masks for your students. I've found that one of the best ways to help them stay masked all day is to have tools on hand to make masking easier. My students love knowing they can ask for a new mask anytime, no questions asked." —Erika McDonald

"Find a method to encourage them to keep masks on. I have a mystery mask wearer in every class. If they keep their mask on, the class gets a treat. If they don’t, I don’t reveal who it was, but no treat." —Melissa B Sinda

"Hack: we all look so different in a mask. My co-worker used her Cricut to make a mask for each student with their name on it. BEST hack ever!!" —Harley Abrevaya

"I found it useful to have disposable masks and hand sanitizers readily available! My students use at least 2 masks each day depending on the durability of the disposable masks." —FJ Geldore

"Things to stock up on – masks! Lots of masks. Students go through masks like crazy (as do you). For yourself I would also keep face wipes because your face tends to sweat a lot and the wipe is very refreshing. Make sure to take your students outside a little more than normal for mask breaks." —Angela Knapmiller

You can request masks, hand sanitizer, face wipes and much more through DonorsChoose. Interested? Start your project today.

Reimagine, rearrange.

Everything is changing, again. Having new processes and routines in place before your students return to school will help set expectations from day one. From there, you can figure out what works best for your classroom and adjust as needed.

"I’ve found it helpful to have little checklists for all our new routines. And I end everything five minutes early to allow us time to do extra clean up between classes." —Natalie Ann

"Have a routine for moving through your classroom. I have a routine for entering and exiting, how many people can be standing at one time, which tables use which stations (trash, tissue, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes)." —Jessica Mishima-Donahue

"My advice: Think through *all* your pre-pandemic procedures. What do they need to look like NOW? (For example, I'm in PreK and the kids need to get their mask box if they want to take their mask off on the playground. So "get your mask box" had to become part of our procedures for lining up, and we need a protocol for cleaning hands before/after masks). Can they take masks off? When, and where do they go? (Command hook on their desk, or something different?) How do they get materials/supplies this year? Do they need to have their own at their seat? How are you delineating what their personal space looks like in your room? (Desks, floor tape, etc) Etc etc etc...you got this!!!" —Emily Dunham Les

You can request cleaning supplies, Command Hooks, personal storage and much more through DonorsChoose. Have an idea? Start your project today.

Remember, you’re all in this together.

There may be some long days ahead. Know that teachers everywhere are with you and cheering you on. And so is the DonorsChoose team! We’re here to help.

"Biggest tip – give yourself some grace. Make time for something that fills your cup." —Rebecca Jones

"We are back in the classroom and my biggest advice is to take it one day at a time. Extend grace to yourself and yourself students." —Ashley Adams Gray

"Take care of yourself! Self care is more important now than ever." —Teresa Morris

"Just breathe! We went back in October and you can't have a perfect plan. So give yourself some grace!" —Laura Goodner

"Also.... a lot of patience and flexibility! it’s been amazing to see the kids and their excitement to be back together 

" —Megan Hawkins

"My biggest tip- be flexible. All kids are "behind," so it's okay. We need to focus more on their mental health than if they know everything. What do they need? A teacher who cares and listens." —Liz Prince

Looking for more teacher-to-teacher real talk (and pep talks)? Connect with the 20,000+ teachers in our DonorsChoose community on Facebook.

After a year of quarantine and social distancing, even the most brightly-decorated classroom walls can feel like they’re closing in. Fortunately, DonorsChoose teachers across the country have figured out 2021’s version of the Magic School Bus: Virtual Field Trips.

Are you dreaming of having an author Zoom into your remote classroom? Wishing your students could spend a day with penguins at the aquarium? Looking for a way to escape Earth and spend a day on Mars?

Now you can create a virtual class trip or virtual class visitor project for your students on DonorsChoose. As part of your virtual class trip or virtual class visitor project, you’ll be able to request funding for the activity, event, or experience. As part of your virtual class trip for your students, you can also request supplemental items like funding for snacks to accompany your voyage! (What’s a field trip without the snacks?) For the best chance of success, we recommend keeping your total project cost below $600.

If you already know your dream (virtual) destination, the DonorsChoose virtual field trip help center can help you get started today.

Or if you’re just starting to create your classroom’s ‘travel’ bucket list, here’s one of our favorite round-ups: 25+ Amazing Educational Virtual Field Trips. From the International Space Station to the San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the whole world can fit right on your screen.

Your fellow DonorsChoose teachers have some extra special project ideas to share:

• Hamiltour: a Virtual NYC walking tour to dive deeper into the Broadway Musical Hamilton (Mrs. Schwarz, 8th Grade)
  
• The Challenger Center: an absolutely amazing virtual community mission to Mars (Ms. Woods, 6th Grade)
  
• The Gentle Barn: an incredible virtual experience where students will learn about kindness to one another, animals and our planet (Ms. Minas, 5th Grade)
  
• Zoom Visit: Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker to speak about his film on Emmett Till, offer insight into racism in American history, discuss recent events, and talk about the need for a relentless daily fight against ignorance. (Ms. Jess Hinds, 9th Grade)
  
• Crayola Factory: a kit of goodies to experience all Crayola has to offer while taking a virtual guided tour through the factory (Ms. O’Sullivan, Kindergarten)

Class field trips – even those made possible by WiFi instead of school buses – create favorite memories, get students engaged, and bring learning to life. Mrs. Schwarz from New Jersey said it best: “It would be my honor, in a year already so strife with difficult times due to the pandemic, to put a little sparkle into my students' day with a virtual field trip.”

Inspired to create a virtual field trip or virtual class visitor project? Get started today!

“I saw students on Zoom with blank stares. I saw students with little to no emotion. These students who were once filled with life had changed.” - Ms. Kelly, 9th Grade

For Ms. Kelly and her class, the answer was Finding Gratitude One Journal Entry at a Time. It’s been an extraordinarily challenging school year. You’re not alone in your fatigue, your concern, or your sincere desire to lift your students to a brighter place. Here are six ways your next DonorsChoose project can bring much-needed joy and wellness to your classroom.

1. Add some color.

Every sidewalk is a blank canvas, whether it’s outside your classroom or in your students’ front yards. For a simple project that will bring smiles to your students (and their neighbors!), request a forever favorite: buckets of sidewalk chalk and other outdoor art supplies.

"Sadly, my seven and eight year-old students are spending way too much time on their computers. Sidewalk chalk is another way to get students out and moving. They can create drawings or even leave messages for friends and neighbors. Getting outside and playing is so important for the physical and mental health of these young students." —Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies, Mrs. Maiorano, 2nd Grade

"It is difficult to create a sense of unity as a class among students who are learning entirely over Zoom, but we work hard to do this having grade level Zoom meetings on "Fun Fridays" where we do Fun activities together. For our final "Fun Friday" of the year, we'd like to introduce the students to the Kindness Rocks project and participate in rock painting together over Zoom. Students will paint rocks and can put positive messages on them. We will encourage them to hide the rocks around the community where people can find them, so that the rocks may bring joy to others." —Rock Painting Kits for Kindness Rocks, Ms. Mohr, 9th Grade

2. Send a smile.

A snail mail surprise makes any day brighter! You can request stamps from Staples, shipping supplies, and small treats and trinkets to send to your students at home, whether you see them in the classroom or only on screen.

"I'd love your help with purchasing more stamps so I can continue to send my students letters in the mail to let them know they're doing a great job! This pandemic has really made students feel disconnected from school, but these letters to them are reminders that they are still part of our school community, and we still care about them and all their successes, no matter how small." —Mail Call for our Class, Ms. Heckmann, 3rd Grade

"I had the opportunity to ship boxes of books and treats to all of my young learners, even the kids who are coming to campus for instruction (because everyone loves receiving mail!). I was so grateful for the chance to bring joy into their lives and connect with kids who I have only interacted with via a computer screen." —Spring Care Packages, Mrs. I., 4th Grade

3. Shake it off.

Lift your students’ hearts by raising their heart rates. Pedometers, musical instruments, colorful sensory objects, and yoga mats help get students moving independently or together, at home or in the classroom.

"Students and families will be given pedometers to...take mindfulness walks that will allow for mindfulness scavenger hunts, acts of kindness to be shared, and time for discussions of what they are learning, what interests they have, how they are handling life in a pandemic, and any other topics they wish to work on." —Steps for Students: Taking Steps for Social and Emotional Learning, Ms. C, 2nd Grade

"These instruments will give my children the opportunity to create their own music dance beat. Every single day we dance all around the classroom while listening to all different genres of music. The colorful scarves will be used while we dance to the music. This music project will certainly give my students the joy of music in such a fun way" —Music Ignites All Areas of Child Development, Ms. Palomba, Pre-K - 2

"My students need yoga mats to self regulate their bodies and emotions. At the beginning of each day we set aside 15 to 20 minutes to do child centered yoga, to help the kids get in touch with both their body and their emotional state." —Yoga-tastic, Ms. Burke, Grades 3-5

Go on a (Virtual) Adventure.

A little escapism might be just what your students need to re-engage with learning. The DonorsChoose Teacher’s Guide to Virtual Field Trips will show you how to bring farm animals, outer space, celebrated authors, or world-class art and music to your classroom or Zoom screen.

"As we explore the vast universe and the International Space Station, students wish to be more a part of the experiment but a field trip during Covid is not an option. Who doesn't remember going to the museum and someone buying space ice cream and getting to try it? Just a fun way to bring joy into learning when students have had to change and grow so much this year." —Space Ice Cream for Explorers During a Non-Field Trip Year!, Mrs. Schenk, Grades 3-5

5. Take a Brain Break.

When life gets overwhelming, learning becomes even more difficult. Request items that give your students a productive option for downtime. Chess sets, puzzles, sensory toys, fidget spinners, and art supplies can help students reset and recharge.

"Learning through this pandemic hasn't been easy for anyone. My students [need] materials to make slime and stress balls, paintings, coloring books, snacks, and games to encourage and inspire relaxation, meditation, and friendship through collaboration to support mental and emotional wellness." —Let’s Be Stress Free!, Ms. Ovalle, 9th Grade

"We will be returning to the classroom soon! [My students] will be asked to stay at their seat for the entire time they are at school. This is going to be a challenge for many of my students so I want to provide a Brain Break Kit for every student in my classroom. This kit will include a couple fidget toys, a deck of cards, a Rubik's Cube, and some coloring pages." —Brain Break Kits, Ms. Potthoff, 6th Grade

6. Give 5 More Minutes of Recess

And finally, a request from all students everywhere that requires no DonorsChoose project at all: when the day gets overwhelming, 5 more minutes of recess or unstructured social time is always a good idea. 🧡

Ready for some classroom joy? Start your project today!

With a year of social distancing and virtual communication under our belts, we have no doubts just how essential technology is to our daily lives. For the past year, tech-as-learning-tools have been front and center — and they’re likely to remain, even as students and teachers head back to the classroom! This summer is the perfect time to learn new computer science skills, hone your expertise, and connect virtually with educators across the country.

The Pathfinders Summer Institute is a 5-day, virtual professional development conference that helps K–12 teachers across the country up their computer science and maker ed skills. Want to learn skills and tips to bring computer science into your English or Social Studies class? Looking to blow your students away with new cricut engineering skills? How about building confidence in teaching your remote learners robotics? Pathfinders has it, and a dozen other courses.

Infosys Foundation USA will triple donations to help DonorsChoose teachers access CS and maker education professional development opportunities through the virtual Pathfinders Institute this July.

Don’t take our word for it! Last year, 280 teachers representing 46 states attended the virtual Pathfinders Winter Institute, and 99.5% said they would participate in a future Pathfinders event! From connecting with fellow educators to learning new ideas they could implement in class the very next day, teachers new and experienced alike valued the hands-on PD approach.

Even better: You can create a DonorsChoose project to fund the cost, and the Infosys Foundation USA will match every donation by 3X. That means a $10 donation turns into $30, $25 turns into $75, and so on.

To get started, take a look at the extensive list of courses on the Pathfinders website, then visit our help center to find out how to apply to Pathfinders before creating your DonorsChoose project.

To qualify for DonorsChoose funding, apply for the Pathfinders Summer Institute by May 14, 5PM EDT and submit your project to DonorsChoose by May 17.

COVID-19 and social distancing made the past year a hard one for personal connection. For a year, we’ve been meeting online, attending virtual conferences, and celebrating birthdays and holidays far apart from loved ones.

Teachers and students have faced especially heightened challenges since schools began closing last March. From bouncing between in-person learning to virtual learning and back again, to trying to focus on arithmetic while worrying about health and safety, students are in need of support. In a recent DonorsChoose survey of 1,100 teachers, one educator shared, “Teaching this year has been like trying to catch butterflies.”

Through DonorsChoose, teachers create projects requesting resources and materials to help their students learn. Donors give in any amount to projects that inspire them. When a project is fully funded, the DonorsChoose team orders and ships resources directly to the verified teacher. Since the pandemic began, resources like books, learning basics like pens and notebooks, connectivity devices, and learning kits and games have all been essential for teachers working in the classroom and virtually.

When seeking a new way to engage employees while staying safe and socially distanced, LyondellBasell found a creative solution. By giving employees DonorsChoose gift codes, employees could have a hand in company philanthropy and support schools in their local community during the year when teachers and students most need support.

LyondellBasell gave $200,000 to bring to life 1,200 projects at 897 schools.

LyondellBasell wanted to give employees the opportunity to support their local community while helping students continue to learn during this exceptionally challenging year. Each employee received a DonorsChoose gift code to use towards a COVID-related project that inspired them. 

“I’m proud to work for a company that enabled me to team up with some of my colleagues to fully supplement a classroom in a low-income school district. This was truly a testament to the power of many and the difference we can make when working together.” —Jennifer Cunningham, senior engineer, LyondellBasell Channelview Complex

Read more on why LyondellBasell was so excited to inspire their employees to support teachers.

Here are a few projects Lyondell Chemical Company employees brought to life.

Allow Me to Paint You a Picture

Mrs. Mills | Grades 9-12 | Cleveland, TX

“During a time of economic uncertainty, I hope to provide my students with quality materials to continue creating, whether in the classroom or at home. Supplying my students with their own personal set of brushes will give them the freedom to create art at home, should the need arise to return to remote learning.”

Printing Our Way During Distance Learning!

Mr. De La Rosa | Grades 3-5 | Texas

“Our classroom will look somewhat different this year and we are working diligently to help our students have a successful school year. If we have a classroom printer, it will be much easier to print needed supplies or directions for students in class and also work virtually. Virtual students will benefit from the printer by having access to the printed materials we have in class and send them home with the students.”

Dedicated Scholars Even from a Distance

Ms. Dianne Gonzalez | Grades PreK-2 | Houston, TX

“Sometimes it is difficult to continue learning when you don’t have the supplies. This project provides materials like journals, crayons, and manipulatives that the students can use for learning at home. During these times of the pandemic, anything helps. and this will truly bring a smile to my students’ faces when they see all the materials they will be able to use in person and at home.”

Check out more funded projects