Classroom Stories

The DonorsChoose.org community is full of generous souls who have helped bring over 1.3 million teacher dreams to life. Throughout the year, our team gets the chance to sit down with some of these classroom supporters to get to know them and pick their brains. The donor we’re spotlighting today prefers to give anonymously, but he let us make this interview public in the hope that his words can give some insight into what makes our classroom supporters tick. Since 2011, lucky teachers across the country have been receiving anonymous donations to their classroom projects from one generous donor; he’s

How can students imagine a college future for themselves if they’ve never stepped foot on campus? Steve Cain, a teacher at Duncanville High School in Texas, knew that his many of his students had never left their own city limits, let alone the state and that many of them had never considered traveling to attend college away from home as an option. With this in mind, he turned to DonorsChoose.org and raised over $21,000 to take his students on a college tour they’d never forget. With the help of their local community and strangers around the country, the project was fully

Mrs. Michaela teaches pre-K-2 in northern Minnesota and loves offering her students nature-based learning opportunities, despite the often inclement weather in her area.  As a new teacher, Mrs. Michaela had never created a project on DonorsChoose.org, until she was encouraged by a district director last August as part of #WelcomeWeek. She was inspired by seeing the other imaginative projects teachers have created, and the donors who support them.  “Teachers often have a hard time asking for help, but it is amazing to see what support people are willing to provide when teachers put their passions into words and go the

Courtney has been teaching for 3 years, and like 96% of teachers across the country who spend an average of $500 out-of-pocket on classroom supplies, she spends her own money on her students. As she was getting ready for the back-to-school season, she created a Twitter hashtag to stand by teachers like her. I initially started #clearthelists as a pay-it-forward, community building group of teachers to boost morale and help connect teachers to other teachers. When it grew so quickly, I quickly realized the issue of lack of funding for teachers is pervasive across the entire country (and globally).— Courtney

How do students react when materials from a DonorsChoose project arrive? These teachers have the scoop. Cheers, excitement, and utter surprise are just a few of the ways students express their gratitude when they learn donors are thinking of them. By connecting supporters with superstar teachers, the DonorsChoose community brings magic to classrooms across the nation every day. Watch the above video to hear our teachers describe firsthand the joy and meaningful impact DonorsChoose boxes bring to their classroom. Comments

Ms. Petrella excitedly sharing supplies she ordered for her students.Ms. Petrella is a high school special-education teacher. She moved to Phoenix after joining Teach for America, and from that moment on, her school has been her community. With the school building closed due to coronavirus, holding onto that community is more important than ever. For this amazing teacher and her students, getting through this challenging spring means holding on even tighter to the belief that change can be good. Ms. Petrella’s “we’re going to get through this together” attitude and candid account below exemplify what many of the country’s best

Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on LinkedIn Share Send email Mail Founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx, DonorsChoose is a nonprofit website that empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials for their students. Supporters contribute gifts of any size to a public school classroom of their choosing — helping teachers get the exact things they need for their students.From May 4th–May 8th, we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week with help and funding from a number of partners and citizen donors all over the country. These posts are just

As a DonorsChoose supporter, you know that teachers face challenges every school year, whether they are missing basic classroom supplies or trying to go above and beyond for their students. Since the Coronavirus pandemic began, teachers have faced even bigger challenges: Closed schools, teaching from afar, and getting essential learning tools to students scattered across a neighborhood, a county, or even further afield. As teachers rise to these new challenges, the DonorsChoose community keeps showing up to support them. And, as usual, teachers are sharing their gratitude — and their notes and photos are equal parts inspiring and heartwarming. We’ve