Classroom Funding

School supplies. Decorations. Snacks. Read more about where the money for classroom materials comes from and what it is spent on
Close up of a man's hands with shopping cart counting money in a store.
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Teaching Profession Educators Prepare Early, Spend Their Own Money for New School Year
As back-to-school looms, educators often spend unpaid time and personal funds to prepare for the year ahead.
Annie Goldman, August 8, 2024
5 min read
Photo of school supplies.
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Teaching Profession Teachers: Start Your School Supplies Shopping Now With These Discounts
As teachers start back-to-school shopping, Education Week compiled a list of educator discounts that can reduce costs.
Annie Goldman, July 9, 2024
3 min read
A display of school supplies in a Walmart in Pittsburgh on July 19, 2018.
A display of school supplies in a Walmart in Pittsburgh on July 19, 2018.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Budget & Finance Every Student Needs School Supplies. But Who Pays for Them?
Some districts cover the costs of classroom materials, while others expect parents or teachers to pay.
Mark Lieberman, September 6, 2023
4 min read
Images shows a stylized artistic landscape with soothing colors.
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Budget & Finance Opinion What Teachers Are Likely Missing From Their Back-to-School Wish Lists
Pens, paper, and markers are, of course, necessities. But for schools to thrive, more than basic supplies are required.
Samantha Keppler, September 6, 2023
2 min read
Back-to-school supplies await shoppers at a store on July 11, 2020, in Marlborough, Mass.
Back-to-school supplies await shoppers at a store on July 11, 2020, in Marlborough, Mass.
Bill Sikes/AP
Teaching Profession Most Teachers Spend Their Own Money on School Supplies. Should They?
Some district leaders say they shouldn't have to.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 25, 2023
4 min read
Image of school supplies falling into a shopping cart.
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Teaching Profession Interactive The Teacher Tax Deduction Got Bigger. But How Far Does It Go?
Use this interactive to tally up classroom expenses.
2 min read
Image of school supplies
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession The IRS Increased the Teacher Tax Deduction. Will It Help?
Teachers use the deduction to offset the cost of classroom supplies.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 20, 2023
1 min read
Special education teacher assisting a diverse group of elementary students in art class.
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Budget & Finance Teacher Requests on DonorsChoose Spike for SEL and Mental Health Resources
Educators are asking for class resources to help improve students' mental health and foster SEL skills like creativity and collaboration.
Lauraine Langreo, October 7, 2022
2 min read
At Olivia Aston’s teacher shower, guests ate wafer cookies shaped like pencils.
At Olivia Aston’s teacher shower, guests ate wafer cookies decorated like pencils.
Photo courtesy of Olivia Aston
Teaching Profession Teacher Showers: Helping Hand or Symptom of a Profession in Trouble?
It's a boon to new teachers, but others worry about it reinforcing the idea that teachers should pay for things out of pocket.
Madeline Will, September 13, 2022
4 min read
Image of supplies for the classroom.
Jianbi Chen/iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance Teachers Take to Twitter to Crowdfund Classroom Supplies
Teacher wish lists posted under the hashtags #Clearthelists and #Adoptateacher are trending on Twitter.
Apoorvaa Mandar Bichu, August 17, 2022
3 min read
Illustration of exit doors leading out of a school hallway
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Teaching Profession Opinion Why I Left Teaching (Spoiler: It Wasn't the Students)
A public school teacher explains how three troubling trends drove him out of the profession this year.
Paul Veracka, August 2, 2022
5 min read
A photo of money seen through a rip in denim
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Teaching Profession Opinion Why This Teacher Will No Longer Pay for the ‘Privilege’ to Wear Jeans
Getting to wear jeans occasionally at my school hardly seems worth the outlay, explains a teacher.
Kelly Scott, March 22, 2022
3 min read
Photo illustration of colorful school supplies
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty Images
Budget & Finance Opinion Teachers Need More Money for the Classroom. Here's How I Would Spend It
An elementary teacher explains what he'd do with a $3,000 classroom-supply budget.
Thomas Courtney, February 9, 2022
4 min read
Image of PPE
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Teaching Profession Teachers Can Apply PPE Costs to Their $250 Educator Tax Deduction. Is That Enough?
Many teachers were hoping the $250 tax break would be increased for this school year, given other expenses they've had to contend with.
Madeline Will, December 29, 2020
6 min read