We say we appreciate teachers — on coffee mugs, at school board meetings, in graduation speeches, on social media, in the rhetoric of politicians of all stripes. We mean it, too. But appreciation has its limits. Words alone become a comfortable substitute for the harder thing: actually giving teachers what they need to do their jobs.
No one knows students like teachers.
Teaching requires subject-matter expertise, but also expertise in child development, social-emotional learning, conflict resolution, and the art of reaching a child who is difficult to reach. Teachers know their students best — they know who is excelling at math, who is struggling with reading, who focuses better when they sit near the front. They know who has a new sibling, whose parents just went through a divorce, who loves all things baseball, who is shy but quietly hilarious. They know things that no algorithm or standardized test can capture. Teachers are often the first adult outside a family to recognize a child's potential or spot a child in crisis. It’s impossible to overstate the difference a good teacher can make in the trajectory of a child’s life.
This doesn’t add up.
On average, teachers report spending $655 of their own money per year on supplies for their students and classroom. And according to this study from the Economic Policy Institute, the relative gap between teacher wages and those of similarly educated professionals reached a record high of 26.9% in 2024. In addition to out-of-pocket spending, 49% of teachers report working at least one alternate job to supplement their teacher salary.
For anyone who values education, those numbers send a strong signal: Students aren’t always getting the supplies they need. And despite heroic efforts, teachers can’t fill the gap on their own.
“You give us structure and stability.”
The pressure to provide for students is further complicated by a growing mental health crisis in America’s classrooms. More than 60% of teachers report being concerned or very concerned about their students’ mental health, and high school teachers are the most concerned.
This is one more way that the expectations placed on teachers have expanded dramatically. Teachers are increasingly one of the most vital sources of stability in children’s lives and are striving to make their classrooms havens where learning can still happen.
In the words of Ms. K from Minnesota, a teacher who requests supplies on DonorsChoose:
“This year has brought significant change to our classroom community. During a period of deep disruption in the Twin Cities, nearly half of my students moved to a temporary virtual learning option our district offered… We had to rebuild routines, relationships, and our classroom identity very quickly. Your donations helped anchor us during that transition. The new supplies gave us structure and stability at a time when we needed it most.”
A well-resourced classroom isn't a luxury. It's a necessary environment that creates the stability and warmth that children depend on — especially when navigating difficult home circumstances or an unstable world outside school.
Show up. Give back. Fund a classroom.
Want to help but not sure how? Fortunately, teachers have taken the guesswork out of lending a hand. They are requesting exactly what their students need.
When you fund a teacher’s request on DonorsChoose, you support a teacher in a tangible way. Appreciation becomes action. The teacher spending their paycheck on books, crayons, and construction paper can stop dipping so deeply into their own pocket. The teacher with a room full of both eager and struggling readers can supply books for every level. The teacher who dreams of bringing robotics to their students can bring that dream to life. The classroom becomes what it's supposed to be — a place of possibility, not scarcity.
Teachers have always shown up for our kids. It's time we show up for them.
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