Adopt a Classroom

In a country that's spending $32,937,502,356,093,785,290 on a stupid war, it seems ridiculous that this type of need would exist, but it does.

http://bit.ly/DYlPm

I just found this site. There are lots of Brooklyn schools on here, including PS9. I'm thinking of at least helping the classroom that needs glue (if only because I found the teacher's note about the kids eating it to be amusing, but also because it's a concrete need I know I can fill). Does anyone know these teachers or classrooms directly?

There is also a great site that I know a lot of teachers use:

http://www.donorschoose.org/

The teacher lists items/projects he/she wants for the classroom and then people can donate money toward the entire need or just partially. That way, if a teacher needs a laminator or a new model of the solar system you don't have to give the full amount but just part.

I know teachers everywhere need to buy everything for the classroom. From Sunday-Wednesday this week at Staples there are FIFTY CENT 12-packs of pencils, 4-packs of glue sticks, boxes of erasers, reams of copy paper, and notebooks -- all things teachers buy for the classroom. Just buying $10 of that stuff and dropping it off at a school in your area next week (when Principals are in getting ready) would be appreciated by the teachers and the kids.

I just adopted three classrooms in PS 138, just up the street from me. This is a very poor neighborhood and these kids need all the help they can get. I've asked family and friends to adopt these classrooms instead of sending birthday or holiday gifts.

Mrs. Field is a great teacher as is her assistant (forget her name but she's been an assistant for like 20 years). So she would be very worthy of yours or anyone's help.

I've adopted classrooms with adoptaclassroom.org (the one in the original post) and it's extremely gratifying. You get immediate feedback from them about what they've used the money to buy, in the form of an itemized list.

I have an old computer that needs some cheap repairs. If I got it running, would I be able to donate it to the school? Are there protocols to follow, or could I just deal with the teacher?

rosweed wrote: I have an old computer that needs some cheap repairs. If I got it running, would I be able to donate it to the school? Are there protocols to follow, or could I just deal with the teacher?

I recommend this: http://www.thepencilbox.org/ where you can donate individual items following DOE rules.

Or if you find an individual teacher, donate to them and then it can be used in the classroom, without going through the DOE.

Edited for my Mad Men craziness.

xlizellx - no wonder they can't afford computers if they're spending that kind of money on decanters!

I appreciate the info. I think I'll contact the teacher directly so I can give it to her for her classroom.

rosweed wrote: I have an old computer that needs some cheap repairs. If I got it running, would I be able to donate it to the school? Are there protocols to follow, or could I just deal with the teacher?

these folks will also do good things with it
http://www.perscholas.org/recycling/equipment.html

rosweed wrote: xlizellx - no wonder they can't afford computers if they're spending that kind of money on decanters!

I appreciate the info. I think I'll contact the teacher directly so I can give it to her for her classroom.

Oh crap -- I was busy multi-tasking. I fell in love with the ones in Don Draper's living room....

The link I actually meant to sent was changed this morning to simply tell you to go to PencilBox...so there you go.

Edit: Fixed above.

a good time to use the edit feature...

Some of the things my adopted classrooms have had to buy so far, because apparently the school system can't supply them with things as basic as this:

Pencils (yes, seriously)
Scissors
Post-it notes
Scotch Tape
Staplers

meanwhile, laser-guided bombs we dropped on Iraq and Afghanistan cost something like $30k each.

squindar wrote: Some of the things my adopted classrooms have had to buy so far, because apparently the school system can't supply them with things as basic as this:

Pencils (yes, seriously)
Scissors
Post-it notes
Scotch Tape
Staplers

meanwhile, laser-guided bombs we dropped on Iraq and Afghanistan cost something like $30k each.

this year i got a memo from my principal saying all we would receive was 1 ream of copy paper. for the year. no tape, glue, scissors, crayons, writing paper, notebooks, etc. etc.

xlizellx wrote: this year i got a memo from my principal saying all we would receive was 1 ream of copy paper. for the year. no tape, glue, scissors, crayons, writing paper, notebooks, etc. etc.

that makes me ill.

what grade is this for?

i teach 2nd

xlizellx wrote: [quote=squindar]Some of the things my adopted classrooms have had to buy so far, because apparently the school system can't supply them with things as basic as this:

Pencils (yes, seriously)
Scissors
Post-it notes
Scotch Tape
Staplers

meanwhile, laser-guided bombs we dropped on Iraq and Afghanistan cost something like $30k each.

this year i got a memo from my principal saying all we would receive was 1 ream of copy paper. for the year. no tape, glue, scissors, crayons, writing paper, notebooks, etc. etc.

That's terrible! It really bothers me that the DOE can't seem to supply its classrooms properly, but it also can't seem to kick the UFT to the curb and get those reserve-list teachers off of the payroll.