Anonymous wrote:Things I Bought and Liked (on Instagram) is currently doing a social media push to clear teachers’ Amazon wishlists. I’m not sure if you can still join the list but it’s worth a try as she’s gotten quite a lot of exposure.

Yes! She is awesome! Also, I've contributed many times to Donors Choose.

Also, do you know when you'll be allowed into the school to start getting things ready? I would suggest introducing yourself to everyone and letting them know you're starting from scratch. Also, if you can go into the supply closets, you'll probably find a lot of stuff other people have left behind.

DON'T let Pinterest lure you with the cutesy things. You don't need Legos or wallets. Or desk organizers. Keep it simple and build gradually. You can do it!

Anonymous wrote:What school district are you in that does not have a bookcase/books in the classroom at the beginning of the year unless purchased by the teacher?

Hahaha. Most school districts. I've never heard of a school that provides a classroom library. A bookcase, maybe, but chances are it was probably left there from a previous teacher and passed down. I purchased (or was given) all the books in my classroom library. I taught in an upper middle class district and as a 1st year teacher, I received $100 at the beginning of the year. Returning teachers got $50. People would be shocked if they knew how much teachers have to spend for classroom supplies. There were years my school ran out of copy paper in March or April and we had to buy our own.

OP, I echo what others have said. Join local Facebook groups. I bet there are retired teachers who would love to pass along what they have. Also, ask your coworkers. Some probably have posters or bulletin board decor they are not using. Your room does NOT have to look like Pinterest. It can be a work in progress. Plan some beginning of the year activities that will create artwork to put on bulletin boards. The most important thing is your students feel welcomed and safe, not what is hanging on the walls.

Two of my sisters are teachers. They work in the Seattle school system so it might be different than this school system but they are given a fund of over $200 each year to buy books and other supplies for the classroom. Have you talked to your principal does the same funding occur here locally? Another thing, is they go to thrift shops, yard sales, etc. to buy children’s books and other items. You can also use the next door listserv and say you are a new teacher looking for supplies and list things you want, and I can guarantee people will be happy to donate to you.

OP, I work at a Title I school with no PTA and we get $50 for supplies, so we are always scrambling. Donors Choose (https://secure.donorschoose.org/teacher/teacher.html?) is a godsend. It takes very little time to create a project and I've been funded quickly every time I've written one. It is more likely to be funded if the total is less than $500.

Make a school twitter account and start following other teachers and children's book authors. I often see people asking for teachers to post their Amazon wish lists there.

Focus on your classroom needs and not wants. You need books and school supplies, not legos or cutesy wallet containers. Befriend your secretary and ask for envelopes the kids can decorate instead, for example. Remember that what makes a good classroom is the way students feel in it, not how cute or Instagram-worthy it is.

Check with your administration--my low-income school gets school supplies donated from a local charity so that teachers don't have to buy them out of pocket. Be honest and tell them you don't have any money until you get paid--they may have additional funds or supplies they can release to you.

When you officially start, send an email to the teachers in your building requesting cast-off supplies. Most experienced teachers will have something they will be willing to give.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA gives every teacher a gift card before school starts - can you ask if yours does that?

Seconding creating an Amazon wishlist and posting it on all your social media (with what you posted here) and making it sharable and asking ALL your friends and family to share it too. I've bought from the wishlists of friends of friends before.

Also, teachers post on Buy Nothing all the time and people LOVE to give away their things. I had a teacher take a beanbag for her classroom last summer.

Hahaha title one school here. You think our teachers get gift cards?!?

I am on the board of the PTA at a Title I school and yes, we dedicate money to helping teachers buy supplies for their classroom at the beginning of the school year, because we know that a lot of your students aren't able to buy their own.

Things I Bought and Liked (on Instagram) is currently doing a social media push to clear teachers’ Amazon wishlists. I’m not sure if you can still join the list but it’s worth a try as she’s gotten quite a lot of exposure.

Anonymous wrote:I have only taught in a title 1 school and we always had a lot of money for what we needed. Sometimes we didnt have the money at the right time when I needed it, but there is a lot of money there. Dare I say that we waste a lot of money. Our classrooms are filled to the brim with stuff - its sometimes just not with the right person that wants to use it because teachers are also picky and want everything their own way.

It was only in my 9th year of teaching in a Title One school that I suddenly started being asked to make a wish list of what I wanted. We got money due to the pandemic. By then, I had everything I needed because I bought it myself. I did ask for a new projector because ours die every few years. I also got tons of hand sanitizer and soap. Normally, we got nada at our school.

Also, milk crates make good bookshelves if you truly need to provide those yourself.

If you are in the DC area, there is an FCPS Teacher Yard Sale page. I bet you there would be some experienced teachers who would give you some hand-me-downs. Also, in Norther Virginia, there was an organization called "Toys for Teachers." See if they are still around and reach out. I have also seen friends of new teachers post their Amazon wishlists on community FB pages and I have bought a couple of things for them. Just think about the essentials. I'm a middle school teacher, so I can't give you are much guidance there, but like others have said, if your school has a poster printer, you can print out posters and there is a free version of Canva you can use. You can make anchor charts out the butcher paper the school SHOULD have for you.

You've got this! Don't go into debt to set up your classroom! You may be surprised when you show up to teacher workweek at what other teachers may pass onto you.

Anonymous wrote:I’m just in tears, since I’m not currently getting paid, I do not have any extra funds. My coworkers are talking about buying legos for back to schooo night, wallets for their class cash, prizes for the treasure box. I can’t even afford a bookshelf to my books on! I don’t have decorations, posters, supply carts, organizers, clipboards….I don’t have anything and I don’t know what to do. I mean I always knew teachers had to spend some of their own money, but I never realized how much. It’s a low income school so we also have to make sure to have extra supplies on hand for the kids who do not bring anything. We also cannot ask parents to donate. I’m just so discouraged and have cried all day.

OP are you able to share generally what area you are in?

5 pages and it does not seem like OP has come back at all. OP are you reading this at all?

Anonymous wrote:I’m just in tears, since I’m not currently getting paid, I do not have any extra funds. My coworkers are talking about buying legos for back to schooo night, wallets for their class cash, prizes for the treasure box. I can’t even afford a bookshelf to my books on! I don’t have decorations, posters, supply carts, organizers, clipboards….I don’t have anything and I don’t know what to do. I mean I always knew teachers had to spend some of their own money, but I never realized how much. It’s a low income school so we also have to make sure to have extra supplies on hand for the kids who do not bring anything. We also cannot ask parents to donate. I’m just so discouraged and have cried all day.

I’ll be honest I didn’t have time to read five pages but don’t sweat it. The best classrooms are created as a class community. I always leave one bulletin board for students to pick work they want to post. One board for a blank word wall. One bulletin board blank for the class jobs they decide would be best. Leave that empty for the first six weeks and make it a true community you’ll be fine I promise

Anonymous wrote:What school district are you in that does not have a bookcase/books in the classroom at the beginning of the year unless purchased by the teacher?

I know of a teacher who needed a new bookcase for her class library because she moved from her old classroom with built in shelves to the new addition without built ins. This is an affluent NoVa school district and she was a teacher of several decades in that school. She left the books on the floor rather than provide her own bookcase. The books stayed on the floor for months before the school came up with a bookcase. For her it was a matter of principle and she was pretty disgusted, nobody blamed her except maybe admin I guess.

Why can't you ask parents to help? The past two years, my older daughter has had a brand new teacher and we the room moms asked them to create an Amazon Wish List that we could send out to the parents in the class.

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA gives every teacher a gift card before school starts - can you ask if yours does that?

Seconding creating an Amazon wishlist and posting it on all your social media (with what you posted here) and making it sharable and asking ALL your friends and family to share it too. I've bought from the wishlists of friends of friends before.

Also, teachers post on Buy Nothing all the time and people LOVE to give away their things. I had a teacher take a beanbag for her classroom last summer.

Hahaha title one school here. You think our teachers get gift cards?!?